From BBQ to Burgers, Here’s What to Sample at This Epic Open-Air Food Market in Los Angeles
Food nourishes the body and feeds the soul, and there is no better place to try a variety of new bites and sips than Smorgasburg LA, an open-air market held every Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Row DTLA. Packed with hundreds of exciting vendors showcasing flavors from all over the world plus the latest LA creations, trying to decide what to devour is half the fun. Curate your own foodie tour by starting with these must-try vendors. You’ll get a perfect taste of Los Angeles—one of the best culinary destinations in the world.
Battambong BBQ
Must-try food item: 17-Hour Smoked Brisket and Spare Ribs
Chad Phuong is a Cambodian cowboy pitmaster from Long Beach who adds his own flair to Texas smoked BBQ. A former refugee who fled Cambodia in the 1970s, Chad once worked at a slaughterhouse in the Texas Panhandle and never lost his love for meat. He pivoted during the pandemic from working at a surgery center and now uses his skills slicing juicy ribs, tri-tip, chicken, pulled pork, twako (Cambodian sausage) and brisket smoked with red oak and world-renowned black pepper from Cambodia.
5/26
Softies Burger
Must-try food item: Classic Cali or Ahi Verde Burger
Josh Kim and Sam Hong left the tech world behind during the pandemic and set up two griddles as a pop-up in a coffee shop, serving burgers flattened with a mound of stringy onions. While they don’t want to be called smash burgers, the juicy patties and soft buns are drawing long lines. Asian flavors are celebrated in creative sauces like the Shroom Burger with yuzu mayo and the Aji Verde Burger—inspired by Peruvian aji verde—with cilantro mayo, pickled jalapeños and a spicy kick.
ManEatingPlant
Must-try food item: Fried Shroom Bao and Char Siu BBQ Bao Combo
In 2018, Phil Kwan and Candice Tzeng began exploring a vegan lifestyle and noticed a lack of Asian representation in vegetarian options. They started with a book of recipes inspired by their grandparents’ and parents’ cooking, with a vision to share it with the community—starting first at Cosmic Brewery in Torrance in a humble little tent pop-up. At Smorgasburg LA, dive into a bao bun loaded with crisp beer-battered king oyster mushrooms or their popular garlic noods, and wash either down with a bottle of Oolong Arnold Palmer.
Miya Miya Shawarma
Must-try food item: Chicken Shawarma Wrap, the Yaz Way
Bite into a shawarma wrap with chicken marinated for 48+ hours in a sacred Jordanian spice blend imported from Amman. This creation is served with housemade creamy garlic sauce and pickles and comes tightly wrapped in a long stick of handmade saj bread. Amp up your bite the “Yaz Way” with a dripping of Jordanian pomegranate molasses. Miya miya means “100%” or “very good” in Arabic, and this new vendor was one of our favorite discoveries at Smorgasburg LA.
5/26
Glad
Must-try food item: Leek ‘Nduja Focaccia di Recco
Freshly stretched and made to order, this crispy, thin focaccia with a bubbly, cheesy interior originates from the small town of Recco, Italy. While the Original is a delicious blend of stracchino, olive oil and sea salt, turn up the flavor with Leek ‘Nduja featuring spreadable pork salami, Calabrian chili, pecorino Toscano and braised leeks. The dough is their own variation with influences from Albania, Greece, Turkey and Balkan cuisine because the couple missed byreks (pastries) from Turkey and couldn’t find good options in the States.
Sweet Grass Sugarcane Juice
Must-try food item: Calamansi Cane Juice
Watch the sugarcane press at Sweet Grass extract the liquid gold that enhances a variety of freshly pressed real fruit juices. All drinks are made with sugarcane shipped regularly from Southeast Asia. The most popular flavors are watermelon, passionfruit and lychee, but other standouts are strawberry, dragon fruit and calamansi (orange and lime mix). “Phin Filter” Iced Coffee can be blended with sweet cream, ube cream or egg mixtures. Cambodian-owned, the concept of Sweet Grass materialized during the pandemic with a food truck and evolved into its own storefront in Long Beach.
Evil Cooks
Must-try food item: Unhappy Meal
Kill your appetite with these amped street tacos. Known for marinated black al pastor octopus, new additions include The McSatan—a tortilla topped with mozzarella cheese, beef patty, American cheese, caramelized onions, bacon and guac—which was inspired by a vendor in Mexico City that the owner frequented as a kid. Make it an Unhappy Meal box with one of their standout dessert tacos and a prize! Try the S’more Taco, the Churro Cheesecake Taco with strawberries and mint, or the Flan Taco with coconut candy, orange peels, mint and polvorón. Choose from the carnivore’s Hell Menu, the Secret Menu or the vegan Heaven Menu.
MuMu Bakery
Must-try food item: Croissant Taiyaki with apple and mango chunks
The special croissant dough (not made from flour) is what makes these fish-imprinted Croissant Taiyaki pastries so divine. The light pastry dough is crunchy on the outside with a hint of Japanese rock sugar and stuffed with gooey goodness. Select a filling like traditional red bean or cream cheese, custard, cheese, mochi, Nutella, pizza, crunchy cookie or apple mango. More Korean delicacies, decadent ice creams and flavored milks and teas are served at their Koreatown cafe.
Mama Musubi
Must-try food item: Mama Sando
Crafting traditional Japanese flavors for over 10 years, Spam Musubi is a bestseller that plays with different flavors and textures. Order the Mamo Sando with a layer of housemade crab mix, thick Spam and kewpie mayo sealed with nori. The sweet crab with the rich salty Spam is a heavenly flavor combo! Another filling option is the mix-and-match Rice Ball Combo with rice hugged in seaweed and stuffed with fillings like salmon, spicy tuna, miso chicken, eggplant chili miso and spicy kelp, all topped with furikake.
Lobsterdamus
Must-try food item: Lobster Nest
Satiate those crustacean cravings with a crowd favorite: a whole Maine lobster grilled over Mesquite, cracked open, then brushed with salt and Cajun butter—all atop a generous portion of garlic noodles. Try the Lobster Fries or their newest item, buttery lobster over mac and cheese. Cousins Johnny Angeles and Francis Reyes grew up in a Filipino family eating lobster for holidays thanks to a family member in the lobster business. That sparked the idea to use their culinary backgrounds to bring loaded lobster dishes to Smorgasburg LA.
All About the Cinnamon
Must-try food item: The Missy Elliott Cinnamon Bun
These hot or cold hip-hop-inspired organic cinnamon rolls—stuffed with brown sugar, butter and cinnamon—were inspired by the need for a comforting classic during the pandemic. Two high school sweethearts created decadent flavor options inspired by their favorite rap artists. Choose from more than 15 topping styles; there’s the fan-favorite Missy Elliott, covered with their signature cream cheese frosting, strawberry shortcake crumbles and fresh strawberries, or Lil Kim, doused with Fruity Pebbles and strawberries. Coffee lovers will adore Salt-N-Pepa, with coffee-infused cream cheese and a caramel drizzle.
Rice Gang
Must-try food item: Meatball atop Sticky Rice floating in Thai Marinara
Smorgasburg LA staple Moom Maam, known for specialty Thai gelato with flavors like smoked cookie and Vanilla of SouthEast Asia, is expanding thanks to former software engineer Saran Wai. He flavor-experimented with Thai rice bowls featuring various global stews, adapting a similar street food concept from Thailand. “Gang” means curry or stew in Thai. Try the half-pound meatball served with sticky rice and Thai marinara or Japanese curry rice with Tonkatsu served with a beef cheek roux sauce.
Smorgasburg LA
When: Every Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
@smorgasburgla
