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Some of the biggest names in the Los Angeles food game are coming together for a free meal on September 12. Howlin’ Ray’s, the Nashville-style spicy chicken specialists from Chinatown, is teaming up with Keith Garrett of the famed Watts food truck All Flavor No Grease as well as South LA legend Taco Mell and Melrose water ice shop Happy Ice for an event they’re titling Not 4 $ale.
The plan is to release 500 no-cost general admission tickets to the one-off event starting at 11:59 p.m. tonight. Each person lucky enough to snag the first-come tickets will receive a box set to be picked up at a designated location in Pasadena this Saturday, starting at 11 a.m. As for the food, the Howlin’ team won’t say specifically what’s in each box, only noting that “all box sets will include one surprise signature item from each featured restaurant.” Not a bad deal for scoring some of LA’s most popular meals all in one easy package — assuming you can snag a ticket, that is.
This is not the first time that Howlin’ Ray’s has done large-scale fan giveaways. The restaurant, owned and run by Johnny Ray and Amanda Zone, has a devoted fanbase that (before the pandemic at least) would line up for hours just to buy their hot chicken, and is now among the nation’s most popular delivery options via Postmates. Keith Garrett and the All Flavor No Grease team are similarly popular, playing to long lines of fans across the city wherever the truck stops.
The free Saturday pick-ups for those who snag a ticket tonight will happen at an undisclosed location in Pasadena, and obviously can’t be sold or transferred to anyone else. The Zones say that, if they can managed to successfully stagger everyone’s pick-up times and keep the crew and customers safe during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, they’ll likely do more free future drops like this in other neighborhoods around greater Los Angeles.
