Roy Choi Previews His Korean Barbecue at Life Is Beautiful

Life Is Beautiful took over Fremont East in Downtown Las Vegas last weekend with a lineup of music, art, comedy, and most importantly, food. Fans who descended on the event over three days found local restaurateurs and chefs, as well as future stars dishing out their fare all over the event.

Food trucks drew long lines of fans looking for at Eighth Street and Ogden Avenue. White Rabbit with Filipino fare, Coolhaus with ice cream, Boqueria Street with Barcelona-inspired sandwiches, and Omings Kitchen with Filipino barbecue huddled around a square with lines galore.

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In the corner, Kogi BBQ, the Korean food truck from Roy Choi out of Los Angeles, showcasing possible dishes that might make an appearance at Best Friend, his restaurant opening at the Park MGM in December. The pared down menu featured short rib tacos, spicy pork burritos, quesadillas, and more as fans stopped by between music sets.

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Masso Osteria from Scott Conant hosted a popup restaurant near the Downtown stage, only opening for a short time until the

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sold out. Sam Marvin of Echo & Rig featured his lamb chops on Saturday night. He says his new restaurant in Sacramento has really taken off. He was flying out of Vegas to Sacramento to put together a brunch for 800 people the next morning.

A roster of local chefs including Mike Minor at Border Grill, Khai Vu at District Kitchen & Bar, Roy Ellamar at Harvest, Brian Howard at Sparrow & Wolf, and Justin Kingsley Hall at the Kitchen at Atomic cooked limited edition food over an open fire at the Cookout until the dishes such as burnt end burritos, golden hen and field green salad, and roasted squash salad sold out.

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Another preview of what’s to come came from La Strega, showcasing seafood spiedini with burnt lemon bagna cauda.

• Sample Eataly, NoMad, and Roy Choi at Life Is Beautiful [ELV]