Food I love you, and not just when I am consuming you, but also, when I am researching you. So when Fernie Mac asked me to make a list of restuarants he and Bibi (paternal grandmother) should go to in Miami for her birthday, I was more than happy to call upon my friends Google, Yelp, Eater, and Zagat, to find the perfect spots.
Making lists on the best/interesting restaurants in town is something I hold with high respect (hahahaha). It’s something of a hobby for me. The idea of reading menus and reviews for places to which I have not yet been, slightly quenches my thirst for traveling and eating around the world.
When Fernie Mac told me that he and Bibi were going to go to La Mar and Pubbelly (one of my favorites ANYWHERE), to say I was jealous was putting it lightly. The only thing keeping me going and not lusting over the amazing food they were going to consume without me was the fact that in a few short days I would be at the 2nd Annual Sriracha Festival!!!!!!!
Yesssssssss you heard me (or read me?) correctly, SRIRACHA FESTIVAL.
Sriracha is truly a beautiful thing, and clearly others agree with me. When I saw that there was going to be a festival of holiness in Chinatown, I knew just who to call (no, not the Ghostbusters), Stacey (funnily enough the reason I finally saw Ghostbusters was because of Stacey and her BF)!
Not only was there going to be food highlighting this wonderful red sauce, butttttttttt a few of the eateries were on JG’S 101 List. WOOOOO, REJOIIIIIICEEEE!
Fast Forward to the festival. We arrived to Chinatown’s Central Plaza greeted by Red and Green everywhere. This was going to be glorious.
Stacey being vegan had more limited options; I on the other hand had the world of Sriracha in the palm of my hands (where do I come up with theses things, I should be embarrassed). After being momentarily stunned by an over stimulation to the senses, there was a lot happening, people drinking, people eating, fooooooooooood everywhereeeeee!! We were off to the races (literally offffff, were we being timed? Did anybody else notice our speed?) !!!
In the just under two hours we were there, we managed to do 3 rounds., as well as down 2 beers and 1 nice cucumber tequila cocktail, each. 120 minutes has never gone by so quickly. Did I mention that we also seemed to have forgotten our vocabulary and only seemed to be able to express our contentment with these three phrases: “OMG”, “Stop It”, and “Shut Up” (we are ridiculous).
Alrighty, enough didilly daddilling, let’s get to the stars of the show!
There was everything from Sriracha Deviled Eggs to Sriracha Apple Pie.
My favorites were as follows:
Eagle Rock Brewery Public House- you provided me with lovely nostalgia, Chicharron, but it wasn’t just any ol’ Pork Chicharron, it was Beef (!), paired with a Sriracha Sugar Mexican Chocolate dipping sauce. YUUUUUUUUM. Crispy crispy crispy. Light and flavorful. I went back 3 times (to be fair the first time my plate was knocked away after one bite).
Komodo- your Sriracha Marinated Chimichurri Steak Tacos were – Mama Mia! – juicyyyyy and delectable.
Jitalda- what are you doing to meee?! Spicy Fried Rice with Tofu and Sriracha + Tamarind Dip with Chicken, yessssss please!!! Let me just say, this was the spiciest thing at the festival by a long run, and I was so thankful for it.
The Gadarene Swine/Scratch Bar- Crispy Yucca
- thank you for not kicking us out when Stacey took 3 plates and I took 2 plates, on our first stop at the table
- thank you for providing one of the BEST things at the festival
This crispy yucca, was indeed crispy, but yet soooo fresh tasting and flavorful.
Mei Lin (she’s on Top Chef!)- Sriracha Deviled Eggs with Chicken Skin Crumble- Just the thought of remembering how good this deviled egg was with the CRUMBLE, makes me want to recreate the expression the half blue emoji with hands on its face has. I want a bottle of that Crumble to put on everything in my life.
Red Bread- Sriracha Apple Pie and Sriracha Black Bottom Lemon Custard Pie
WHO ARE YOUUUU?! YOU WONDERFUL MAGICIANS.
The Sriracha Apple Pie was Stacey’s favorite, but man oh man OH MAN that Lemon Custard Pie was stupid good. Creamy, thick, light, flavorful, tart, rich allllll in one. How can I have this magically appear in my fridge right now?
Surprise favorite: Shophouse Southeast Asian Kitchen- Pork & Chicken Meatball or Tofu Bite with Papaya Slaw and Herb Salad
Owned by Chipotle, I had heard good things about this restaurant before, but to be honest, fair or not, I was not expecting to like it this much. Super moist, super textural, super delicious (and they gave free gift cards for the restaurants!)
I should mention to you, my dear computer screen, that one of Stacey’s favorite that I sadly did not put in my list was:
Sqirl and their Root Vegetable Crispy Rice Salad with Sriracha-Lemongrass Vinaigrette. I really wanted this to be my favorite, but sadly and probably much to Jonathan Gold’s disappointment (Sqirl is on the 101 List) it was not. Don’t get me wrong it was good, just in my opinion, not great.
Thank you LA for being such a Sriracha loving city and for making this Chinatown Festival a reality.
***Jitalda- #21 on JG’S 101 List
Sqirl- #57
I became one with the Sriracha
Food Loves Me Back 