our absence

Sorry we haven't posted lately. Not that anybody has noticed. My taco partner in crime is occupied. I've been lazy.

suck it Jim Wilson

9-9-9 sign of the devil

9/9/09 is DAY WITHOUT CATS! BLASPHEMY! THE INTERNET IS NOTHING WITHOUT LOLCATS!

Vietnamese sammiches

Back in a day my family would trek north on da 110 every Sunday morning for dim sum and shopping in Chinatown. Back then it was mostly Chinese businesses then Vietnamese merchants started moving in.

Today as smoke billowed off the mountains, I decided to check out Chinatown. Haven't been there in years and I usually prefer San Francisco Chinatown cuz it's more bustlin and pedestrian friendly.

Cruised on Broadway the main drag and like SF there were alotta tourists and tacky stores. Further up Broadway I noticed the new Chinatown train station and sprawling Spring Street park. Drove back on Spring Street and Alpine and spotted the Vietnamese catering truck. Parked, stopped at the stand selling fresh squeezed OJ then went to the Vietnamese truck. One of the lady merchants was conversating with George, who is apparently mute. George detailed his life through hand motions and the lady chatted back.

George took a bite of his sammich grinned and gave thumbs up.

The lady asked me if I'm Chinese and I asked how she knew, she said it was the shape of my eyes. George pointed to my Quan Yin jade pendant then showed me cell phone pics of his Quan Yin shrine. Then he showed me a pic of a pretty Asian woman followed by a photo of the same woman w/ him. The lady explained that was his wife. George made the signal for sleeping and the lady added the wife passed away.

George wrote on a piece of paper that he saw Asian Pacific Museum in Pasadena today. He made his fingers walk to show how much he browsed that day. The lady said George is always visiting the truck.

I could see why. For $2.25 I got a sammich about two feet long. Beat that Subway. The French bread crust was crisp and crumbs cascaded down my shirt. The fillings were savory, spicy and a tiny bit sweet. For an extra $1 I got a bottle of tea. Gotta bring my boy Imran here.

Taco Truckin is like Pimpin...

It ain't easy. Like in West Covina. The fancy trucks have it hard too. Guess it sucks in the OC and the South Bay. But the masses are taking a stand. Get up, stand up for ur rights. Much props to Bandini at www.dailytaco.org LAist OCWeekly and Daily Sleeze.

tacos and heart break

I have been in L.A. for about 2 months now. I came out here for a few reasons. I was facing a lot of problems back home and I needed to start over some where new. Its been a ruff ride I got ripped off  by my cuz and uncle shortly after I got here they screwed me out of some money then kicked me out of the house. Its funny how the love of money out weights the love for people. Its been such a heart breaking experience for me. Ill never understand it. I guess that has something to do with it. My taco truck obsession that is. When your broke and need some cheep food that's not from some fast food chain that puts chemicals in there meat. you can always hit up the taco truck. Its not just about cheep food its also about the social experience . its such a sub culture in so-cal and its so fucking flavor full. you just don't get that kind of food any where else. when ever I feel like things are getting to me I can go eat with the locals. most of them Mexicans who probably got it worse than me and its like all the sudden your in the mix. Your part of the streets. I feel more and more like this city is my home every time I visit a new taco spot. every one should eat at a taco truck at least once. I don't think you can truly under stand the L.A. culture if you haven't ate at a taco truck. So don't be a such a gringo and put your self out there in the taco mix. I recommend finding one that's always has a crowd around it you can usually tell the good ones when the locals are abound there are some that are more obvious than others. 

Kogi surprise

At first I thought the crowd on Gramercy Way by the Toyota HQ was waiting for a bus. But I noticed they were all ages, one woman with a stroller and another with a lawn chair.

I got out and heard a dude talk about finding this location on Twitter and I thought he meant the shave ice truck. I stood in line as I saw the frozen confection truck pull up but no one got excited about that. No one was going to drive out to an industrial park on a Fri. eve for sno-cones. I realized what they came out for when the KogiBBQ truck pulled up.

Just my luck. Ever since moving here I heard of the fabled Kogi truck and my quest for it kinda inspired this blog along with everyone else's taco truck blog. But I didn't think I'd ever find it because of the fabled long lines and the fact it almost always in Venice or some far-flung place I wouldn't drive to for a taco.

It took awhile for the stoves to fire up so I got a shave ice with 3 flavors, red bean and cream. The ice was like powder snow, it was almost as smooth as the cream and the two paired perfectly together. Red beans and condensed milk rock too. Leave it to Asians to make an awesome desert out of beans.

Other people in line got cold desserts to pass the time while they waited for to order Korean/Mexican food. Customers also talked about how they found out about the truck and other mobile food fads. Jody said she got a Twitter account just to follow the food trucks. That's what I use my Twitter account primarily for.

Jody also suggested getting the short-rib burrito which was excellent. I got the chef's special which was jalapeno-pineapple French toast. The bread was spicy and savory mixed with the sweetness of the syrup and pineapples. The perfect brunch food. It was filling but I couldn't resist the burrito and chowed down on that even though I was full.

Customers either hurried away when they got their food or made a picnic of it. Some spread out blankets and sat on the grass. One group huddled around their car for about an hour eating burritos and shave ice.

I can see why Kogi has such a following.