It’s 626 SZN! Summer is finally here and the hype (and the hunger) is real. We hosted a media preview tasting event at Santa Anita Park and invited the most highly anticipated new vendors and returning vendors with new concepts for the 2019 season. Note that vendors will not be at all event dates but certain ones based on their availability, so please check the full Event Directory before each event to see if they will be there on the dates you are planning to attend. Check it out!

La Cuillère Gourmet

Have you ever tried escargot? If not, you will have a chance from new vendor La Cuillère Gourmet! Escargot de Bourgogne, or Burgundy Snails, are an iconic dish of Burgundy and French gastronomy. The main ingredients are garlic, herbs and butter, paired with freshly-baked crusty bread. We also sampled the Popelini Cream Puff stuffed with chocolate cream, gigantic macarons, and Merguez Sandwiches (a popular French street food) with spicy lamb sausage, crispy fries and super melty raclette cheese. They will be at the 626 August 9-11 event. Ooh la la!

Little Fluffy Head Cafe

Little Fluffy Head attended a 626 Night Market event last year, but joined later and missed the media event so we invited them out this year. The cheese tea trend is going strong at the moment and a must try! Started in Taiwan in about 2010, cheese tea is not cheese with tea but a cold tea base topped with foamy cheese cream. The cheese cream from Little Fluffy Head is made fresh daily with real cheese, real whipping cream, milk and pink salt for the sweet and salty taste mixed with earthy and grassy flavor of the tea. You mix and match your tea base such as Milk tea or Matcha with toppings such as Boba, Crushed Oreo, Ground Cocoa Powder, Salted Caramel Crunch, White Chocolate Crunch, or Coconut Flakes. They will be at the 626 July 5-7 and August 30-September 1 dates.

Main Chick Hot Chicken

Nashville hot chicken is trending at the moment, so we are happy to have new vendor Main Chick Hot Chicken! They’re bringing on the heat with their spicy and perfectly crispy chicken Sandwiches and Tenders with sides such as Fries, Toast, Slaw, and Main Chick dipping sauce. Catch them at the OC August 23-25 event!

Nachos Lab

The Cloud 9 dessert nacho by @annikayip.

You've tried nachos, but have you ever tried dessert nachos? Check out the debut of Nachos Lab! This colorful confection is the Cloud 9 with circus ice cream, cotton candy, sprinkles and glitter. They will also have the Shorty Got Cake, S'mores and Mama's Pie. Find them at the 626 July 12-14 event!

Rice & Nori

Rice & Nori takes onigiri and musubi to the next level. These Instagram-worthy snacks look like anime food and come in flavors such as Spam & Egg, Sweet & Spicy Bacon Avocado, Salmon Yuzu Miso, Mentaiko (spicy caviar) Avocado, Spicy Lobster Shrimp, Uni Cheese& Ikura and more. They will also serve Pineapple, Yuzu Ice Tea, Lychee Lemonade, Red Shiso Lemonade and Matcha Horchata to complete your meal. Look for them at 626 July 12-14 and 626 August 9-11.

RKKN Cheese Wheel Noodle

RKKN is a veteran vendor, the one who made the pho tacos and garlic crab fries 626 Night Market classics. They have been testing a new concept called the Cheese Wheel Noodle, inspired by cheese wheel pasta in Italy, in which a cheese wheel made of a full round of Parmigiano-Reggiano is partially hollowed out into a bowl and pasta or risotto is placed inside the bowl and tossed while the cheese slowly melts and combines with the pasta. RKKN’s version uses thin, curly noodles more akin to that of ramen noodles instead of pasta but their 50 pound cheese wheels are imported straight from Italy. Flavors include Garlic cheese crab noodles, Truffle cream noodles, Prosciutto noodles and Lobster cheese noodles. If you’re a cheese lover, this cannot be missed! RKKN will be at all events but check to see which of their multiple booths is specifically for the Cheese Wheel Noodle.

Scoops On Tap

Cheers to beers! Image via @eatswithashley.

Beer and ice cream is a match made in dessert heaven! New vendor Scoops On Tap is bringing their beer-infused ice cream to our event with flavors such as Sapporo Green Tea with organic cream and milk base, organic Match Green Tea, infused with Sapporo; and Ballast Point Blackberry Buttermilk with organic cream and milk base, organic buttermilk, Marion blackberries, and infused with Sour Wench from Ballast Point. Their booth setup is pretty sweet as well with a bar counter where you can sample flavors to go with the boozey theme. Scoops On Tap will also have ice cream that is not beer-infused and vegan options. They will be at 626 July 12-14, 626 August 9-11 and OC August 23-25.

Spice Bites

Step right up for this unusual crossover of Indian and Mexican fusion food! Spice Bites will have tacos, flauta and tikka tots. Each have a choice of Indian or Mexican seasoned meat such as chorizo or chicken, or vegetarian options such as mushroom, hominy, jackfruit, black beans or paneer cheese. Everything is served with Indian chutneys made with cilantro, dates and tamarind or Mexican cremas made with cilantro, avocado or masala. Catch them at the 626 August 30-September 1 event!

The Golden Marrow

The creators behind The Golden Marrow are the same people behind Honey Belle, selling natural soaps and skincare at our events before teaming up with a chef from popular Los Angeles restaurant Republique to make their first foray into food. Bone marrow comes from beef bones of the femur bone and is a succulent food source high in protein and fats. The femur bone is split in half, roasted with an open flame, and then drizzled with house-made sauces and specially-paired toppings for a burst of flavor. Flavors are the Korean, marrow glazed and roasted with Korean spicy gochujang, and topped with scallions, torched kimchi, and chilli salt; the Bacon, marrow glazed and roasted with slow-cooked bacon jam, cracked pepper, and topped with chives; and the Garlic, marrow glazed and roasted with house-made black garlic oil, topped with garlic aioli, fried garlic chips, and gold foil. You eat it by scraping the marrow off the bone and mixing it with the crispy, buttery egg dumplettes. They will be at 626 July 5-7, 626 July 12-14, OC August 23-25 and 626 August 30-September 1.

Titas of Manila Filipino Kitchen

Filipino street food spread with food porn YouTuber @twaydabae.

Titas of Manila Filipino Kitchen is a new concept by returning vendor Kickin’ Balls. On top of selling Filipino street food such as fish balls, squid balls, lobster balls, balut, skewers such as chicken, pork or isaw and sisig garlic rice with pork teriyaki or adobo, they will also have ube crinkles, ube leche flan, ube macarons, and more! Titas of Manila with all the ube desserts will be at 626 August 30-September 1 and Kickin’ Balls with all the street foods will be at all the 626 events.

Wanderlust Creamery

This is Wanderlust Creamery’s first year at our events and they will be at all OC and 626 events. They are known for their deliciously creamy ice cream and ice cream bars called “Escape Bars” in interesting flavors inspired by travel. Their White Rabbit candy flavor also went viral on social media and is a big hit! Flavors include Ube Malted Crunch with Sweet purple yam, malted milk ice cream, crunchy malted milk pieces; Sticky Rice + Mango, a vegan and dairy-free ice cream made of housemade rice milk and coconut cream, swirled with Alphonso mango puree; Japanese Neapolitan, a trio of Japanese classics: matcha, hojicha, and black sesame ice creams; The White, an intensely milky ice cream inspired by Chinese White Rabbit candies; and Sakura, grassfed milk and cream infused with preserved Japanese cherry blossoms.

Thanks to all the vendors and media who came out! We look forward to having you at our events!