In the sunny city of Long Beach, Flavor Fest took place May 16 on a Saturday from 1 p.m. to 9 p.m. with the goal of bringing a day with fun-filled performances and incredible food vendors. BruinLife’s Polly Lee and Caroline Gin are giving the run-down on parking, prices, ambiance and everything you need to know if you’re planning to head over to Flavor Fest in the future.
Located at Thunder Studios, a production studio for sets of movies and TV shows, there was lots of space for stages and vendors. The early bird catches the worm, thus we arrived at 12:45 p.m. to a line of cars out the parking lot. Paradoxically, the line to enter was short, with only one or two families ahead of us. The tickets were sold on Eventbrite and had three different tiers, which varied from a general admission ticket to an admission ticket with the chance to eat at five booths. Tickets were readily available until the day of the event, where the lowest tier was sold out.
Surprisingly, when we entered, a majority of the booths for food were still continuing to be set up. This would be important to know especially for those who want to look at all the booth offerings before eating. By 2 p.m., the festival was fully set up, live music was going and the people were filing in. Seating was minimal with a few standing tables and tables with chairs in the shade near the back of the plot.
Although not Flavor Fest as an organization’s fault, there was a peculiar situation with Elsa’s Juice Bar, the first vendor we ordered from to quench our thirst through the hot weather. A $10 agua fresca, while definitely on the higher end, was a price we were willing to pay for the large sized fresh fruit refresher. The vendor charged for paying with a card, which is not the standard for any other vendor we tried, leaving the final amount we paid at $11.12. Around an hour later, we were craving for more, but after ordering, we found we were charged $14.12. With some questioning, we were told the boss had raised the price. To our knowledge, this was not the standard for the rest of the vendors at Flavor Fest, and it felt dubious to be charged more in such a short time.
One of the stronger aspects of Flavor Fest was the generosity of the vendors. Samples were constantly being handed out left and right across the venue, from mac and cheese to fried shrimp bites, allowing us to try a wide range of dishes before committing to full plates. In fact, some of our favorite bites from the festival ended up being samples, the most memorable being Dotty Rollz Bistro’s barbecue egg roll, which had an unbelievably crispy exterior wrapped around smoky Caribbean-style BBQ braised pork.
The majority of vendors specialized in rich soul food dishes such as ribs, oxtails and loaded barbecue plates, meaning the food overall leaned heavy, savory and filling. While the portions were generous, the range of offerings occasionally felt slightly less diverse than expected, with many booths selling similar styles of comfort food.
That same feeling carried into the atmosphere of the festival itself. Although live music played throughout the event and the crowds gradually grew throughout the afternoon, the ambiance never fully reached the lively energy we had anticipated from a large-scale food festival. Combined with the delayed setup during the early hours of the festival, the overall experience occasionally felt slightly unpolished.
Overall, the food itself was enjoyable, and several dishes remained memorable long after the festival ended. However, considering the ticket prices, minimal seating, long drive to Long Beach and less-lively-than-expected atmosphere, Flavor Fest may not appeal to everyone. If you are looking for a highly energetic daytime food festival experience, this may not necessarily be the event for you. However, for those who enjoy trying generous portions of rich comfort food from local vendors and do not mind a more laid-back atmosphere, Flavor Fest still offers a worthwhile experience.
