Get a taste of all that Bixby Knolls has to offer with the Taste of Bixby Knolls event, a new food sampling celebration by the Bixby Knolls Business Improvement Association (BKBIA) on Sunday, Oct. 16.

A total of 29 restaurants will be participating, offering sample-sized plates of popular items on their menu. Those familiar with the BKBIA’s monthly block party-esque event First Fridays will already know a great deal about what to expect as far as the atmosphere, which is family-friendly, and surrounding restaurants to check out.

“It will kind of be like First Friday on steroids,” BKBIA Executive Director Blair Cohn said in a statement.

But for newcomers, the tasting event will include a variety of cuisines, with Mexican food from Lola’s Mexican Cuisine and Patricia’s restaurant to Japanese food and sushi from Mitaki Poke & Sushi.

Various poke dishes from Mitaki Poke & Sushi. Photo courtesy BKBIA.

Gastropubs such as Knolls Restaurant will be cooking classic American comfort foods and popular pizza joints like Thunderbolt Pizza and Angelenos’ Wood Fired Pizza will be serving up slices of their finest. The Bixby Knolls area is a popular destination for beer and several breweries will be participating, including Ambitious Ales, Dutch’s Brewhouse and the most recent addition to the area, Beachwood Brewing. Click here to see the complete lineup of participating businesses.

Taste of Bixby Knolls is a walkable event as many of the participating businesses are clustered along Atlantic Avenue between Bixby Road and San Antonio Drive, however a Big Red Bus will be offering free transport for guests during the event from noon to 4 p.m. which will also easily shuttle diners to participating businesses farther away, such as those at the outdoor urban eatery, Steelcraft Long Beach.

A beer flight from Smog City Brewing at Steelcraft Long Beach. Photo courtesy the BKBIA.

Music and other entertainment will be happening throughout the event, with live music going on inside and outside various restaurant locations. There will also be activities for kids, such as face painting, and a vintage car show at George’s 50’s Diner.

The event is free to attend, however, to enjoy the food guests will need to purchase “tasting tickets” to use at the local businesses. The tickets cost $1 each and most plates cost between 2-6 tickets. Click here to purchase tickets, and tickets will also be available for purchase at the event site.

A portion of the proceeds from the Taste of Bixby Knolls event will go toward funding its core programs like the Clean Team, private security patrols, and promotional events like First Fridays.