Coachella 2014: What You'll Eat

Mexicali Taco & Co., Crossroads, and Stumptown will all cameo in the desert.

Do you remember your first music festival or daylong concert? 

Did you chow down on a semi-cold frankfurter and personality-less bun, with a flat soda to follow? Or was your only sustenance the baggie of trail mix you shoved in your the front pocket of your jeans as you left the house, the trail mix that made you thirsty for the whole darn show?

Concert concessions have come a long way over the last few decades, but perhaps nowhere as much as a particular desert enclave over a bright and warm week in April. The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival may have to add "Food" to its name one of these years, given that so many headliners of the gourmet sort make for the Empire Polo Field, spatulas and fry pans in hand.

So who's on tap in the toque-o-sphere for Coachella 2014? The Terrace, that go-to hub for high-end snackery and full-on meals between sets, will spotlight a bevy of local -- local to the Valley -- and Los Angeles restaurants.

Crossroads, Strippedback UK, Night + Market, and Mexicali Taco & Co. will be among the pop-ups, and in the 21+ area? Echo Park's own Mohawk Bend and Burbank's own Tony's Darts Away and Koreatown's own Beer Belly will be fulfilling the gastro-pub end of things.

The Rose Garden'll be doing VIP honors, with some Cedd Moses bar action and eats from Semisweet Bakery and the Joseph Centeno Group. Look also for tasty bites from The Church Key and Sugarfish.

And for your morning Stumptown Coffee? Head to the Camping Counter, which, as the name suggests, shall be lower-key than the Terrace scene, but, of course, high quality.

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Lastly, will you stop by the Artisanal LA yurts? Yes, you absolutely will.

Yep, we've come along way from the sack of soggy fries and sad, sad burger patties, the stuff of music festivals of yore. And that's a good thing, especially when you've got a half day ahead of you of pure entertainment consumption, and need your protein, kick, hydration, and go.

And you need it in a stylish and tasty package, from an au courant food-making powerhouse. You'll find plenty of those dining moments, out in the desert, cuisine-loving music mavens.

Coachella shines on April 11 to April 13, and again April 18 to April 20.

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