One of the most quintessential Los Angeles food soirées is back, and this year's lineup is stellar. It's not simply a so-L.A. fest because it's held on a movie lot (though, OK, that's part of it)—this annual smorgasbord is presented by the Los Angeles Times, and it's full of restaurants repping our city with some of the best bites you can find anywhere in town.
From August 30 to September 1, this year's The Taste takes over the Paramount back lot for unlimited bites and sips from a daily rotating cast that includes the Bazaar by José Andrés, Rao's, Le Comptoir, Park's BBQ, SLAB, Salazar, Jitlada, Triple Beam Pizza, Employees Only, Freedman's, Ghengis Cohen, Bone Kettle and Izakaya Osen, to name just a few.
Various LA Times editors and writers will be onsite, too, hosting panel discussions and demonstrations on topics from the so-trendy Nashville hot chicken and Tijuana-style tacos to perfect wine pairings. (There'll even be "A Mystery Taste Extravaganza," with food editor Lucas Kwan Peterson, whatever that means, and we can't wait to find out.)
Tickets for each night of The Taste run $115 per person, unless you want to splurge for skip-the-line entry, premium parking, VIP-lounge access, exclusive cocktails, and sushi from Phillip Frankland Lee's Sushi Bar (one of our favorite sushi spots in all of L.A.)—then your ticket runs $190. Whichever option you pick, all tickets allow full nibbling privileges and access to the back-lot block party as you check out live entertainment, sample to your stomach's content and soak up knowledge from the esteemed panelists.