Ah, the fabled Rose Bowl. Host of UCLA football games, THE Rose Bowl, a monthly flea market and now the annual Masters of Taste. As a blogger extraordinaire, I was invited to cover the event, which took place on May 7th and I found it a much easier way to set foot on the Rose Bowl field than winning the Big Ten Championship (and some might say it was much harder than winning the Pac-12 Championship, huzzah!). Food and drink vendors appeared from all over LA to help bring in money for Union Station Homeless Services. It’s a good cause, and surely the now two-year old event is doing a much better job of drawing in money than the annual gala did before it. But enough, let’s talk food.
Belly Bombz – Spicy Garlic Parmesan Wing
If I had more time, I would have eaten all of their wings. As it was, all I could do was try out the Spicy Garlic Parmesan wing, which is Korean-inspired like the other wings they offered. It certainly inspired my belly to want more.
Nerano – La Polpetta
This is described as a “grass-fed meatball slider” but I will still refuse to call such a thing a slider. Yet, this meatball mini sandwich was delicious enough to make up for the misnomer. The cheese was all melty-like, the meatball was juicy and you can’t ask for much more.
The Raymond – Raclette
The Raymond decided to test the theory that everything is better with melted cheese. Uh, dude, yes. But while it seems obvious that their chorizo taco and Moroccan sausage would be better with melted cheese, the Fire Chicken (fried, topped with gochujang, and rice cakes) was just the right kind of experiment and proved well worth it.
Milk and Honey – Wellness Bowl
I know this isn’t what you expect, but I seriously love fruit and this Wellness Bowl was packed with it. The base was pureed dragonfruit (or pitaya if you’re being fancy) and the toppings were sliced fruit, a chunk of honeycomb, maybe chia seeds and some ridiculous edible flowers. No joke, this was incredibly refreshing with all the gluttony going on.
Cafe Dulce – Bacon Donut Hole
That’s more like it, right?
And that’s a wrap (at least of the food I thought worthy of highlighting)! Despite a brief period of torrential downpour and game delay due to lightning, the event was undoubtedly delicious and, more importantly, brought it more than 500k for Union Station. Good food and a good cause? Don’t mind if I do.