California Food Festivals

Guest Author: Erica Johansson

Did you miss Taste of Times Square, New York’s most popular food festival, earlier this summer? Or Chicago Food Festival at the end of June? No worries. Foodies and other travelers who rather enjoy good food prepared by professionals than whip together a meal at home can choose between plenty of events and festivals – especially in the sunny state of California.
For example, June 14, tourists and locals enjoyed splendid Japanese food, sushi making demonstrations, tea ceremonies, beer and sake tastings, music performances, and much more, at Long Beach’s Sushi and Sake Festival.

June 15-20, Palm Springs Restaurant Week brought together exquisite cuisine from the finest restaurants, bistros and cafés all over town. More than 30 restaurants in this desert oasis presented three-course prix fixe menus for either $26 or $36 per person. Guests could indulge in delectable taste sensations such as Dungeness Crab Tortelloni with Spinach Cream from The Falls, Italian dishes at Al dente Trattoria Toscana, or steaks seafood in Chop House.
June 19, The South Coast Plaza Summer Food & Wine Festival in Costa Mesa celebrated its 16th year with live entertainment by Beatles Tribute Band “Imagine”. Culinary delights from restaurants, wineries and breweries at the Crate & Barrel/Macy’s Home Store Wing, ensured an exciting evening for visitors and Orange County residents.

In the end of July, Oxnard Salsa Festival honoured everything salsa – the music, the dance, and, of course, the food. In the Salsa Tasting Tent, everyone could try samples of the salsa vendors’ mixtures (from mild to hot), and restaurants offered Thai food, gourmet tamales, asada tacos and tortas.

Apart from these popular festivals, California boasts plenty of other events for food lovers. If you happen to travel near Anaheim in the next few days, do visit America’s Best: Celebrity Food Show in the Hilton Anaheim, August 15–17. At southern California’s premier food event more than 200 companies highlight their samples, gourmet products and services. Guests will be able to taste top-quality food and wine, attend cooking sessions with celebrity chefs, walk along the restaurant row, a platform for local restaurants and their chefs, and enjoy the dynamic atmosphere with other foodies.

Things to do in California

Websites: Long Beach’s Sushi and Sake Festival. Palm Springs Restaurant Week , Oxnard Salsa Festival , America’s Best: Celebrity Food Show

Posted by Erica Johansson, a freelance writer and photographer from Sweden and publisher of Travel Blissful. Her love for writing and traveling led her to travel writing.

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