The orange curtain has been lifted.
This past Saturday, at the Honda Center in Anaheim, fifty (yes, 50) food trucks converged on one spot in north Orange County to deliver a little slice of Los Angeles to very hungry OC locals. Over 8,500 citizens of OC showed up to eat, wait, and eat some more. There was hardly a complaint in the crowd.
The concept of delivering culture is difficult, especially given the infrastructure of how culture localizes and hardly transfers. One street in an urban sprawl can function as a culture barrier and prohibit spillover.
Not here. The urban, raw feel of LA street eating and community was handed over to Anaheim via the OC Foodie Fest, and it was done in a way that translated well:
Lines were formed in a near perfect zig zag, almost reminiscent of the OC amusement parks.
The crowd was comprised of families, and there was hardly any drinking.
People were calm.
Parking was close.
Food was cheap.
Many OC foodies are hesitant to make the trek to LA, and food truck operators from LA may feel like OC is too far from their core business. OC Foodie Fest was the handshake that introduced the two parties.
The seamlessness of translating the subculture of LA to OC may seem simple, but it took some hungry OC locals, willing to accept the gift of mobile food from LA, to make it a reality.
To see pictures, click here.