Photo Essay: LA Times Festival of Books

Chef Wes Avila of Guerilla Tacos and Tacorizzo Bill Esparza, author of “LA Mexicano” (Photo by Elise Thompson)

The sun was shining mightily on the LA Times Festival of Books last weekend. There were countless interviews and panels to attend, but that wasn’t the whole show. Writers signed books, vendors plied their wares, and chefs demonstrated their specialties. Oh, and some seriously creepy girls promoting “A Handmaid’s Tale” wandered the campus in sets of two, calmly intoning “Praise be” in answer to any queries.

Bill Esparza and Chef Wes Avila (Guerilla Tacos) made tripas tacos for the crowd and talked up Esparza’s upcoming book, “LA Mexicano,” which will be available on July 11, 2017. On Sunday, Nguyen Tran of Starry Kitchen, LA’s infamous underground-turned-legit restaurant, made their delicious Singaporean Chili Crab from “Adventures in Starry Kitchen: 88 Asian-Inspired Recipes from America’s Most Famous Underground Restaurant.” The cookbook, which is filled with Nguyen’s hilarious stories, is due out June 6th.

Elise Thompson

About Elise Thompson

Born and raised in the great city of Los Angeles, this food, culture and music-loving punk rock angeleno wants to turn you on to all that is funky, delicious and weird in the city. While Elise holds down the fort, her adventurous alter ego Kiki Maraschino is known to roam the country in search of catfish.
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