In case you missed it, we wrote a Coachella food roundup for the print edition today.
But there was only so much we could fit. On Saturday I tried out several festival food novelties — $12 “party wings” from one of the new, organic-type pop-up tents by Night + Market Song, plus a $3 peanut butter and jelly cookie from Fancy Boyz.
I tested a $7 iced chai tea latte from Stumptown Coffee Bar and sipped a $10 IPA from the new Craft Beer Barn (It’s no longer strictly Heineken for Coachella attendees). Tough work, I know, but someone has to do it.
PARTY WINGS
The folks at Hollywood-based Thai restaurant Night + Market Song say their party wings have been the biggest hit of the festival so far, so I gave them a go. They’re a nice little upscale take on the chicken wing. You get five of the slightly-spicy wings for $10, or 10 for $20.
An exhausted Chef Kris Yenbamroong came out and said hello when I poked my head in on Saturday and inquired about the food. The wings sit in a brine and fish sauce, he said. The wings themselves are coated with tempura flour, along with palm sugar, fish sauce and vinegar. Chives garnish the top.
I’d recommend giving them a try if you’re going to Coachella weekend two — or perhaps test out the cooler papaya salad, another popular item. Night + Market Song also just opened a second location in Silver Lake, in case you’re in the neighborhood.
PB&J COOKIE
This little $3 cookie from The Fancy Boyz bakery in Los Angeles has also been a popular Coachella purchase, employees said. The ingredient list is straighforward: organic peanut butter, sugar, flour, eggs, butter, milk, strawberries, salt and baking soda.
Even though I love a good peanut butter and jelly sandwich, I usually dislike goodies that attempt to mimic them. Yet the Fancy Boyz cookie does a nice job as primarily a peanut butter cookie (and who doesn’t like those?) with only a hint of the J.
They offer other offbeat cookie flavors you can try, too.
SPENDY EATS
Courtney Angeley, a six-time Coachella attendee from Huntington Beach, estimated the food in the new pop-up tent section only costs about $2 more per plate. I think she’s about right.
Even in the “normal” festival food section, you’re looking at $15 for a plate of chicken and waffles, $11 for a pulled pork sandwich, $12 for a little pepperoni pizza, $8 for a lamb gyro and $12 for a teriyaki plate.
If, as Angeley says, the food from a few of the higher-end joints inside The Terrace really does pack a little more health and flavor, you might as well spend the extra buck or two.
I’ll keep posting odds and ends from my first time at Coachella throughout this next week. Feel free to email me with questions, lramseth@pe.com, and follow me on Twitter, @lramseth.