NoHo Food Truck Cook-Off Invites Amateur Taco Slingers

Guzzle and Nosh

"Nothing ever happens in North Hollywood"? The NoHo Taco Cook-Off is the third in a series of events -- the NoHo Food Truck festivals in March and June being the first and second -- that brings together local music, dance performances and food in an effort to show off this part of town.

On September 24th at Sears North Hollywood, 20 amateur cooks will create their own signature tacos, and local food truck chefs will choose the winner, who receives a new Kenmore range.

Half of the contestants will cook from noon to 1:30 p.m., the other half from 2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. "It could be my neighbor. It could be your neighbor," said Mary Ann Cioffi, one of the three organizers for the event. "Just 20 regular folk in the area who want to come and win some great prizes."

Eating the competitors' tacos isn't part of the price of admission ($4 if bought in advance online, $5 the day of), but there will be 25 food trucks selling their wares. Seven to nine truck owners from this group, including Leena Denero from the Dosa Truck, Kim Billingsley from the No Tomatoes Truck and Jae Cho from the OG Tempura Truck, will judge the entries.

For entertainment, live music will play throughout the day, and acts such as Rock Nation and the Debbie Reynolds Studio will be performing. Airborne acrobat group The Aerial Classroom will be offering classes for a fee.

A portion of the proceeds from the food truck and raffle sales will be donated to the Forgotten Dog Foundation, which rescues dogs from shelters before they're euthanized. In case you want to adopt, they'll also be bringing some dogs with them to the event in the hopes of finding them new owners.