After the inaugural Taste of Japan food festival invaded the Pike Outlets in Downtown Long Beach last year—to a sold-out crowd, no less—the return this year was hampered by the pandemic. Instead, organizers have decided to do a mini-popup food festival at Ten Mile Brewing in Signal Hill, Sep. 6.
Participants will have to order all food from the various vendors beforehand online and choose a slot time to arrive. Once there, they will be handed their food and have the ability to pair Ten Mile beers with each of their dishes in the expansive brewery.
Food vendors and pairing suggestions include:
- Tanota: Based out of Osaka and garnering a cult-like following, Tanota specializes in one of Japan’s most revered street foods, takoyaki, a ball of minced octopus, tempura scraps, pickled ginger and green onion. It’s a wondrous food, one which Tanota offers a ton of variety, from classic and jalapeno to wasabi and parmesan truffle. They are suggested to be paired with Ten Mile’s Oktoberfest.
- Shin-Sen-Gumi: The ramen powerhouse with locations throughout SoCal will be serving up not their famed bowl of noodles but rather sets of their yakitori, or grilled chicken skewers. Each set features tsukune (chicken meatballs) and negima (chicken thighs grilled with green onion). The set is to be paired with Ten Mile’s Munich lager.
- Tsujita: Speaking of ramen, Tsujita specializes in tsukemen, a ramen dish where the broth and noodles are in separate bowls and the eater dips the noodles into the broth as they are consuming it. This Japanese classic is being paired with Ten Mile’s German pilsner.
- Sushi Tsujita: The West Los Angeles extension of the ramen shop focuses on sushi and will be offering a traditional Japanese sushi-style called “oshi sushi,” or pressed sushi. It is a plate of salmon, horse mackerel (aji), eel (unagi), and shrimp (ebi). Their sushi will be paired with Ten Mile’s blond ale
- Kagura: With five locations, Kagura is known for one thing, their katsu sandwiches. While the steak katsu, made with a chateaubriand beef cut, will be paired with their double IPA and the chicken katsu will be paired with their hazy double IPA.
- Drinking Buddy: This Japanese snack maker focuses on one thing: Rayu Senbei, chili oil rice crackers that are paired with Ten Mile’s Kentucky common.