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LA's Gourmet Food Trucks
- by gillians
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- August 27, 2009
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- 3 discussions
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- 5 comments
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Food from trucks gets a bad rap. Insults like "Roach Coach" are thrown around and sometimes you feel like a construction worked on his lunch break when you wait in line at that silver awning. But in recent months, Los Angeles has seen a 180 turn in the image of food trucks. Seemingly overnight, we have become a haven of GOURMET food trucks. I know it seems like an oxymoron, but one bite of the food from these trucks and your closed mind will do a U-Turn.
THE APPEAL
The appeal of the LA food truck is multifaceted. First, it’s fun because it’s different. How many times have you been to a restaurant, sat down, perused a menu, given your order, oh god, I’m getting bored just thinking about it. You have to sit facing your companion, make small talk and complain about the service. At a food truck, you don’t have to do any of that! Especially these gourmet BUZZ trucks. All I’ve heard people talk about is how excited they are to be eating at the truck! You don’t have to open an unruly menu or wait for a server who wishes he were anywhere but doing his job. It’s just fun.
Kogi BBQ
I’m not sure if the Kogi BBQ truck started the gourmet food truck revolution, but since its inception earlier this year it has become nothing short of a phenomenon. What started as one truck that served up Korean BBQ fusion tacos — that’s right, Korean BBQ tacos — has become three trucks and a weekly residency at the Alibi room. At first I was just intrigued by the fact that you could follow their location status on Twitter (@kogibbq ), then of course I was intrigued by the fact that they serve KOREAN BBQ TACOS. Sure, sometimes you have to wait in a line that is a little bit too long with a crowd that is a little bit too hip, but at the end you can get a Korean Tofu Taco and it’s usually worth it.
Mmm…tofu tacos…
Alibi Room
2236 Washington Blvd, Culver City, CA
Monday through Saturday from 6PM to Midnight you can get your Kogi fix minus the truck.
Kogi in the New York Times
Yeah, they’re a pretty big deal
Coolhaus
Last year, two young Los Angeles women had nothing but an old mail delivery truck and a dream. Today, they have Coolhaus. In their truck, painted shiny silver with pink accouterments, they serve up gourmet, homemade ice cream sandwiches. Their frozen flavors have cutesy intellectual names like Vanihilist and Frank Behry (like Frank Gehry — get it?) and they travel all over the city making foodies happy. Follow their location on twitter @coolhaus
Barnsdall Park
4800 Hollywood Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90027
Every Friday during the summer you can find the Coolhaus truck at Barnsdall Art Park, along with wine tasting and art viewing. Ooh la la.
Every Friday during the summer you can find the Coolhaus truck at Barnsdall Art Park, along with wine tasting and art viewing. Ooh la la.
Green Truck on the Go
This organic food truck is franchised (you can run one yourself) and you can even request one to show up at your locations. With healthy, organic options, it’s not quite as much fun as a taco truck, but it’s still pretty neat.
They’re not on Twitter (I know, gasp!) but they do have a GPS tracker
Border Grill
Despite already having brick & mortar locations, Border Grill has decided to jump on the food truck bandwagon by creating their own taco truck. It’s not fusion, it’s not quirky, it’s just tacos.
On twitter @bordergrill
This Food is On the Move
THE APPEAL, PART II
So waiting in line and eating standing up is more fun than waiting for a table and sitting down like you’re 50, getting the Early Bird Special at Denny’s. The second part of the Gourmet Food Truck Appeal certainly has something to do with the crowds these trucks attract. More often than not, the line is populated with 20 or 30 somethings who are obviously savvy to what’s hip in L.A. Since it’s L.A., they are also, on average, well dressed and above national average attractive. How much better is waiting in line when you can check out all the other hot people waiting in line with you? Plus, in my experience, it is sooo easy to start a conversation with someone in one of these lines. People are so happy to be in line for the hippest of tacos or the coolest of ice cream sandwiches that they are giddy and friendly. “Hey, what are you going to order? Have you been to this truck before? How did you hear about it?” Go ahead, try any of them.
These are NOT on Twitter
Oh bacon wrapped hot dog — how does anyone ever resist your delicious preservativey overprocessedy scent especially after 5 or 6 vodka sodas? I’m drooling.
photo by juan23 via flickr
Let's Be Frank
In all honesty, I don’t think this gourmet hot dog truck really needs to exist because for me, hot dogs just don’t get any better than the bacon wrapped monstrosities that they sell outside of bars starting at 1AM. I’m salivating just thinking about it. But, Let’s Be Frank does exist and the dogs they serve I’m sure are much healthier than my preference. Their hot dogs are made from grass fed beef, free from hormones, antibiotics and nitrates. I just worry that those things are what make hot dogs taste good, you know?
They’re on Twitter @letsbefrank and you can even buy their products for enjoyment in your own home on their website
Silverlake Wine Company
2395 Glendale Blvd Ste A, Los Angeles, CA 90039
Every Thursday, Let’s Be Frank parks outside of Silverlake Wine and customers are encouraged to pair a Cabernet with a weiner. Tres magnifique!
Every Thursday, Let’s Be Frank parks outside of Silverlake Wine and customers are encouraged to pair a Cabernet with a weiner. Tres magnifique!
Get Shaved
Aside from the name (um, ew) this one just makes sense. I can’t think of much that would be more exciting to spy on a steamy beach day than a van serving shaved ice. But in the spirit of this “gourmet” guide, this isn’t the same stuff you would get from your Snoopy Sno Cone Maker. No, this is authentic Hawaiian-style shaved ice that you can get served over Vanilla Ice Cream in flavors like Tiger’s Blood and spritzed with sour spray. If that doesn’t sound refreshing, I don’t know what does.
On Twitter @GetShaved
Ooh, fruity.
Calbi BBQ
It’s no secret that the Calbi BBQ truck, which also serves Korean fusion tacos, is a flat out copy of the Kogi truck. Still, it’s not as much of a scene and you know you can always find them in Little Tokyo.
Or on Twitter @CalbiBBQ
Ok, Calbi, I’m willing to try it.
Japanese Village Llc
111 S Central Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90012
You’ll usually find Calbi right around the corner from the Japanese Village.
You’ll usually find Calbi right around the corner from the Japanese Village.
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.jpg "aliciak")
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But do you have The Big Gay Ice Cream Truck? I didn’t think so! http://www.biggayicecreamtruck.com/
.jpg "Elisa")
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Love this guide! I’ve recently become obsessed with food trucks.
.jpg "Chelsea")
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Yum….I’m missing l.a. BAD right now.
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