UCSB Foodchella Finds | The Daily Nexus

UCSB Foodchella Finds

February 29, 2016 at 5:00 am by Rae Ann Varona

Rae Ann Varona / Daily Nexus

This Sunday, hungry UCSB students and Isla Vista residents hit the Associated Students Pardall Center for a lineup of food from local vendors and UCSB student organizations.

Rae Ann Verona/Daily Nexus

“Foodchella” is run by the new Spoon University chapter at UCSB, a national online food publication that creates food related content specifically for college students by college students, to celebrate its inaugural year here on the UCSB campus and community.

Rae Ann Verona/Daily Nexus

Name-playing on the famous music festival Coachella, Foodchella’s edible lineup came from vendors from Kona Ice, Spoon University, Oxfam, the Vietnamese Student Association, the Taiwanese Student Association, the Lebanese Social Club, the Greek system’s Kappa Alpha Theta and Pi Alpha Phi and Isla Vista’s famous Elote Man. Organizations such as the A.S. Food Band, Fairview Gardens and A.S. Cab were also tabling at the festival.

Rae Ann Varona / Daily Nexus

For its first year, the festival was rather successful at attracting a large number of people excited to try new delicious food. Accompanied by music from The Inflatables and UCSB’s 2016 Battle of the Bands winner Savage Henry, attendees were able to decorate their own free cupcakes courtesy of Spoon University, as well as mix their own shaved ice flavors from the Kona Ice truck. Baked goods such as Oxfam’s Slutty Brownies and Kappa Alpha Theta’s rice krispies were also available. For those wanting to keep things light, Spoon University also gave out large slices of watermelon. Festival-goers also got to try international foods like Vietnamese che thai from VSA, scallion pancakes and grass jelly drinks from TASA and homemade hummus from the Lebanese Social Club. Pi Alpha Phi brought a grill and cooked up saucy chicken legs. The main attraction, though, was The Elote Man’s food cart, which had a line of about thirty minutes to an hour. The food? Mango with chili, lime and salt, chicharrones de harina, raspados and the fan favorite, elote, which was so popular the corny favorite ran out halfway through the festival. When attendees weren’t eating, they were able to help themselves to a photobooth and a game of flip cup with instant ramen noodle cups.