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APA LA PRESENTS: A Taste of Thai Town
November 22, 2014 from to
Thai Town 90027
APA LA PRESENTS:
A Food Tour for Planners with SixTaste and the Thai CDC
Where: Thai Town 90027
$35/$45, purchase tickets here
Most planners and Angelenos know that to get in a car and zip from one tourist destination to another is to miss some of the greatest joys of Los Angeles. APA LA’s “Planning Local in a Global City” series will guide planners to the cultural diversity and culinary treasures that exist within our backyard. These tours are not just for foodies, but are designed to delve into issues of economic and community development in neighborhoods rich with tradition, history, art and delicious cuisine.
The first in this series will begin with a Taste of Thai Town, a section of East Hollywood that has served as the historic port of entry for Thai immigrants since the 1970s. The neighborhood was designated by the City of Los Angeles as the world’s only ThaiTown in 1999. The designation was an economic strategy to revitalize an otherwise depressed neighborhood through cultural-based tourism. Today, Thai Town is home to 60 plus Thai businesses, including silk shops, bookstores, and restaurants.
To kick off our tour, Chancee Martorell, Executive Director of the Thai Community Development Center, will provide an overview on the history of Thai Town and of the role that theThai Town CDC has played. The presentation will be followed by a walking tour to a Thai market, a Brahmin alter, and a boutique full of colorful handmade wares.
The tour will culminate with a lunchtime sampling led by SixTaste tours of the diverse regional cooking found in restaurants and street markets throughout Thailand. There are estimates that there are 350 Thai restaurants in the greater LA area, more than in any place in the world except Bangkok. ThaiTown is a center for some of the most delicious and authentic international cuisine that the City has to offer.
