Santa Monica's Barker Hangar transforms into a two-night culinary marathon this weekend as the L.A. Times Food Bowl returns Friday and Saturday, pairing unlimited tastings from dozens of restaurants with a live, on-stage reveal of the newspaper's ranked list of L.A.'s best places to eat. The annual festival, previewed ahead of its opening by L.A. Times senior food editor Danielle Dorsey and Alta Adams executive chef and owner Keith Corbin, brings together chefs, cookbook authors and a charity partner for a weekend built around the city's dining scene.
According to CBS News Los Angeles, Food Bowl is an annual two-day culinary festival that takes place in Santa Monica, and this year's edition is being previewed by Dorsey alongside Corbin, who runs the West Adams restaurant Alta Adams. The festival itself is set for the historic Barker Hangar at 3021 Airport Ave. on Friday and Saturday, according to a Los Angeles Times press release, which also lists Alta Adams among the participating restaurants.
Two Nights, Two Very Different Vibes
Friday's event runs from 7 to 10 p.m., with VIP early entry starting at 6 p.m., the newspaper's release states. That opening night centers on the Times' 101 Best Restaurants in L.A. guide, curated and ranked by Times restaurant critics Bill Addison and Jenn Harris, building toward a live countdown to the No. 1 spot. The same evening will include the reveal of this year's Hall of Fame inductee and the presentation of the 2026 Gold Award, per the release.
Saturday shifts the focus to live cooking, running from 6 to 9 p.m. with VIP early entry at 5 p.m. The release notes that Saturday's demonstrations will feature comedic duo and culinary entrepreneurs Anthony Anderson and Cedric the Entertainer of AC Barbeque, alongside James Beard Award-winning chef Roy Choi. Both nights are described as all-inclusive ticketed events offering unlimited tastings, craft drinks, cookbook signings and music from DJ Danny Stern.
How Many Restaurants, Exactly?
Just how many kitchens show up is a bit of a moving target depending on which Times materials you check. The press release says the festival will offer unlimited tastings from over 40 of the region's top restaurants, while the newspaper's own events page separately describes unlimited bites and sips from 30-plus top restaurants. A listing on TodayTix cites a much larger figure of more than 120 restaurants, though that page appears to describe a different event, at a different venue on Melrose Avenue.
A Festival That Keeps Changing Shape
Food Bowl didn't start out as a weekend affair. Per the Food Journal Magazine, the festival began in 2017 as a month-long, citywide celebration of Los Angeles food, a far broader format than what's happening at Barker Hangar this weekend. Last year's edition ran downtown at City Market Social House, the outlet notes, before the festival relocated to Santa Monica for 2026. This year also marks the first time in the festival's history that the Times is revealing its 101 Best Restaurants countdown live, according to the same report.
The L.A. Regional Food Bank is returning as Food Bowl's charity partner this year, the Times release states, continuing the festival's tie to the organization. On social media, the festival's account posted that the first wave of the 2026 lineup had arrived, pointing fans toward two nights of unlimited bites and sips at Barker Hangar, while noting the lineup remained subject to change.
