LOS ANGELES, June 27, 2012— Foodies, mark your calendars! LA‘s biggest, best and most affordable tasting event produced by Angelenos for Angelenos returns to the Rose Bowl for its third consecutive year on Saturday, July 21st 2012. Imitated by many but equaled by none, the LASFF’s 3rd Annual Summer Tasting Event will raise the bar again, introducing guests to dozens of legendary street food chefs from all parts of Los Angeles and beyond. Back in the Rose Bowl this year with just 5000 all-inclusive (pre-sale only) tickets available, and the option of a VIP Hour+ early admission ticket, attendees get the best of LA‘s vibrant street food scene plus top chefs and award-winning restaurants in an iconic, idyllic setting.

Attendees will enjoy a curated selection of signature street inspired eats from numerous vendors  including the city‘s best gourmet trucks, old school carts and stands, celeb chefs and award-winning restaurants serving from white tented booths and umbrella shaded tables around the Rose Bowl. Attendees can take advantage of the Rose Bowl’s pristine green field to picnic, stretch out and enjoy their eats and treats plus plenty of seating options throughout the venue.

A few highlights from the mouth watering line-up of vendors include LA favorites the Grilled Cheese Truck, Border Grill, Gravy Train Poutinerie and Kogi; street eats from foodie favorites Mariscos Jalisco, Antojitos Carmen, Mexicali Tacos and BigMista’s BBQ. Several restaurants and chefs make their debut at this year’s Fest including Lazy Ox Canteen (Chef Perfecto Rocher), Short Order (Chef Christian Page) and Ricardo Zarate’s new Mo-chica. Several trucks will also hit the streets for the first time at this year’s Fest, including Sam Choy’s Pineapple Express and Fuji Foods from Japan. Baja’s best curated by Bill Esparza (Street Gourmet LA) will be back with another legendary line-up including (last year’s crowd and judge favorite) Javier Plascencia, La Guerrerense, and new this year, Tacos Kokopelli. The ever popular Ice Cream Social also returns, featuring cult favorites CoolHaus and Longboards alongside Sweet Lucie’s and Beachy Cream.

More surprise chefs will be announced closer to the event, including sponsored booths from Los Angeles Food & Wine; St Vincent Meals on Wheels’ Cart for a Cause with a celebrity chef at the wheel; and Test Kitchen with a few of their own guest chef filled booths to tease their return in the fall. A complete list of this year’s participants will be posted to the LA Street Food Fest website closer to the event.

To avoid any issues of crowds or long lines associated with these types of food events, attendance is capped at 5000 and all tickets will be pre-sold through Eventbrite. Affordable, all-inclusive $45 Summer Tasting tickets include sampling from 75+ food vendors, cold brews at our Singha Beer Gardens, our signature Tequila Tasting tent, refreshing summer cocktails from Hendricks Gin, refreshments from Honest Tea, Dry Soda, Coba, Cascal and Single Origin coffee; photos at our signature photo booth, DJs,  collectible shwag (like last year’s hand fans, stickers and shot glasses), raffle prizes and great giveaways, plus free parking for all attendees. The event is all ages with 21+ wristbands for those who’d like to enjoy beer and cocktails.

A portion of every ticket sold will benefit St Vincent Meals on Wheels. Flowers at the event will be provided by Pasadena’s John Muir High School’s ‘Muir Ranch’ student gardeners, led by school garden advocate, Mud Baron.

All-inclusive tickets are available online now through the LA Street Food Fest website and Eventbrite and are presale only. No tickets will be available at the door. All inclusive tickets are $45. VIP Hour+ early admission tickets are available for $65. LASFF 2012 is shaping up to be the hottest ticket of the summer! The event sells out every year, so don’t delay getting yours!

Event sponsors include Los Angeles Food & Wine, LA Weekly, Pasadena Magazine, Test Kitchen, Cart for a Cause, Roaming Hunger, Single Origin Coffee, illy, Singha Beer, Hendricks Gin, Tequila Rack, Tequila Corazon Azul, Honest Tea, Dry Soda, Cascal, Coba, ONE Coconut Water and KIND Bar.

The LA Street Food Fest was started not only to fill a gap in the local foodie and events scene with a delicious good time, but to create community and a platform to educate and support independent small business owners. For that reason, all of our events aim to do much more than just entertain. We host mandatory meetings for our vendors that cover everything from the basics of food handling to marketing skills, including how to create sustainable business models. Partial proceeds of all of our events support local causes, and a portion of every Summer Tasting ticket sold will go to support our charity partner: St Vincent Meals on Wheels. Charity based tasting events often require vendors to donate their food and services, something we know can be challenging for new and less established vendors, and for that reason, the participation of every vendor at our event is subsidized by us. For us, every event is an opportunity to do a little good and to help make this amazing city we call home a little better for it. Over the past two years, we have not only helped to launch numerous small businesses and help build on the success of others, but have donated more than $35k to local charitable causes. We hope that you will join us in enjoying fantastic food and a great time, while also supporting our local community and economy.

On Eventbrite: www.LASFF2012.eventbrite.com

To download media buttons and banners for web and print:  www.LAstreetfoodfest.com/spread-the-word

For photos of past events:  www.LAstreetfoodfest.com/photos