Kogi Truck: Interesting Mix of Mexican and Korean Foods

I find living in Los Angeles to be interesting. I can find all types of food within "short" driving distance. Yes, driving around for 30+ minutes for dinner is part of my daily routine. Somehow food in the other end of LA always taste better! For the past few weeks, I've wanted to try out the infamous Kogi Truck, despite the HUGE OBJECTION from my boyfriend and family.

Kogi Truck is a mobile fast food that serves a mix of Mexican and Korean foods. It announces it's location through Twitter daily. I'm not sure as to how Twitter works, lol, between facebook, friendster, PuristSPro and thePuristS, I have enough websites to browse . I went to Little Tokyo for shabu shabu dinner tonight and I was in luck... I spotted Kogi Truck in the corner. There was a huge crowd and I ended up joining the crowd for pre-dinner

The menu selection wasn't vast. It mainly serves only taco, slider, quesadillas and burittos with Korean flavors of fillings: short ribs, spicy pork, chicken or tofu, mix with kimchi. I had taco with short rib. The taco was corn taco, which I didn't quite care for. The filling was quite tasty, but it was nothing close as compared to real Korean bbq short rib and kimchi.

(Sorry for the blurry pictures, they were taken using blackberry)

Front of Kogi Truck:

Crowd waiting to order patiently, while listening to rock music blasting in the background:

The menu... THAT'S IT?? I WAITED 30 MINUTES FOR THIS??

My pre-dinner: Taco Short Rib

Has anyone tried Kogi Truck or "Other" Truck (such as Calbi Truck)? If yes, would you go out of your way to track the locations of these trucks through Twitter & drive around the city trying to locate them?

As for me, I guess my boyfriend & family would be relieved when they find out that I won't make them go with me to "chase" around Kogi Truck in the future... for now, I'll continue going to korean bbq restaurant bi-weekly, to enjoy real short rib bbq with kimchi.

Regards,

ATM

:-) LA is a great town for foodies, isn't it?

By: dxboon : June 12th, 2009-00:09

There is always something new for us to try! ATM, what's the topping on the taco? Is it grilled onions and scallions? I haven't tried the Kogi truck because I'm too lazy to figure out where it will be. Why chase it on Twitter (which I don't know how to us...

LA = yummy foods

By: ATM : June 12th, 2009-00:19

Hi Daos, Yes, we're lucky to be living in LA where we can get various yummy foods. The toppings are raw onion, scallion and kimchi. It has a good spicy, citrus taste to it. It's definitely not worth chasing for this truck all over LA... I'll "focus" on tr...

Hey Daos, I highly recommend...

By: ED209 : June 12th, 2009-16:59

Hi Daos, The next time you're in K-Town searching for Korean BBQ, I highly recommend Chosun Galbee. It's on the pricey side but definitely worth it. Regards, ED-209

Hi, Ed!

By: dxboon : June 13th, 2009-00:40

Chosun is definitely delicious! We had our office holiday lunch there last year. I used to go to business dinners there more often, but now Chosun is the occasional treat -- when I need to be reminded what really good quality Korean BBQ is like! Thanks fo...

Here's a review in WFED forum about...

By: DRMW : June 13th, 2009-06:52

Hello Daos! Here's ED209's review on Chosun Galbi Korean BBQ in the WFED forum: www.network54.com .. -MW

Thanks, MW!

By: dxboon : June 13th, 2009-11:32

Ed took some great photos! The only two cuisines I could eat everyday are Korean (BBQ short ribs and pork belly, spicy tofu soups, and hot pot rice dishes are my faves) and Japanese (sushi, udon/ramen, and homestyle favorites like katsu-don). Cheers, Daos

Interesting!

By: patrick_y : June 12th, 2009-02:45

L.A. is a foodie's paradise supposedly. Unfortunately for me, because everyone likes to eat so much, this means I have to go to Ding Tai Fun (Taiwanese Dumpling house) at 4:30PM to avoid the dinner crowd. This is a novel new concept. After looking at the ...

One trip to try out Kogi hype is more than enough...

By: ATM : June 12th, 2009-10:07

Hi Patrick, I'm definitely not going to be part of the next crowd lining up in front of Kogi truck. Yes, my boyfriend will have a kick in knowing that he's right, AGAIN! With regards to Din Dai Fung, dumpling house located in Arcadia, it opened up another...

Superica in SB, Patrick? If so, one of the best Mexican restaurants . . .

By: Dr No : June 12th, 2009-10:11

. . . north of the border, or so they say ;-) . . . cordially, Art

Art, you do get around!

By: patrick_y : June 12th, 2009-10:24

I didn't remember the name of the restaurant, but I did remember the outside appearance; therefore I googled "Superica" and I found "La Super-Rica" Restaurant to be the restaurant I was referring to, with photos to confirm it. I think this will become a r...

;-) . . .

By: Dr No : June 12th, 2009-10:46

. . . yeah, you can say that again! I've been to a lot of dives worth mentioning in So Cal . . . cordially, Art

Yes, but not what it used to be

By: mrsnak : June 12th, 2009-18:20

Sad to say. Mrssnak frequented the place heavily in the 70s. We have visited together since, but she swears it pales to its former self. It was okay for me.

Thanks ATM!

By: DRMW : June 12th, 2009-09:41

Hello ATM! Thanks for taking one for the team and trying it out! LOL! Where are you going to try next? -MW

Ho dduk Cart will be next...

By: ATM : June 12th, 2009-10:15

Hi DRMW, Ho dduck (I called it Hot Dog and been driving my Korean buddies nuts!) Cart for Korean sweet pancake will be my next "chase-the-cart" journey. Just the thought of having brown sugar wrapped in soft sticky dough that is slightly crunchy on the ou...

We'll look forward to it! [nt]

By: DRMW : June 12th, 2009-16:19

No message body

My roach coach tale goes back decades . . .

By: Dr No : June 12th, 2009-10:44

. . . when Chema's Taco truck used to serve up six varieties of tacos Friday and Saturday nights on the south-east corner of Whittier Blvd and Gretna in Whittier. Their tacos were so indescribably delicious that there would be a line extending around the ...

i used to be a Donor kebab addict many years ago

By: G99 : June 12th, 2009-12:25

a large Pitta bread filled with half cooked compressed minced lamb and fat still dripping in hot fat covered in hot chilli sauce salad and pickled green chilli's was pure bliss. it really is as bad as it sounds, but after a few beers its now the staple di...

Let us know when you find...

By: ATM : June 12th, 2009-12:53

Hi Art, Let us know when you find another to-die-for carne asada place! Hi Graham, Sounds tasty! I had my share of Pitta bread filled with compressed minced lamb during my trip to New York. It was served from a truck, came highly recommended from my New Y...

ATM, i think you were...

By: G99 : June 12th, 2009-13:20

ATM, i think you were probably drunk if you enjoyed it :) best Graham

:-) After an hour wait, I was just starving...

By: ATM : June 12th, 2009-13:35

Hi Graham, Everything taste better when I'm hungry, lol. Have a great weekend! ATM

Recovering now.....

By: glickman : June 12th, 2009-14:44

I went downstairs to look for today's lunch, and there it was! After a 40-minute wait, I walked away with a short rib burrito, pork sliders and a chicken taco. Regrettably, I didn't love any of it. The meats weren't hot, and the veggies weren't cold or cr...

After the experience I had last night...

By: ATM : June 12th, 2009-15:23

Hi Glickman, After a taste of taco short rib last night, I'm going to appreciate tonight's dinner at authentic Korean bbq much more! For now, i'll keep my "truck-food-adventure" to grilled hot-dog wrapped in bacon outside my office. The joy of lunch in do...

cool post on the Kogi truck

By: ED209 : June 12th, 2009-16:57

Hi ATM, Cool post regarding the Kogi truck. Sorry to hear that it didn't live up to the hype, but IMO I kinda expected that. I also agree with you regarding K-town, nothing beats grilled beef versus Mexican/Korean fusion soft tacos. But you never know unl...

Especially when it's charcoal grill vs...

By: ATM : June 12th, 2009-18:25

Hi ED-209, Thanks for checking out the post! IMO, charcoal grill bbq taste better than flame grilled Korean bbq. Hmm... I should look for a new Korean bbq place to try out this weekend .

Hi ATM, how are you?

By: masterspiece : June 13th, 2009-02:49

As you may very well know, we have a lot of "Lunch Wagons" in Hawaii. Even before them, there used to be what we called, Manapua Man. There were several, old Chinese men, walking the neighborhoods with a broomstick-like bar across their shoulders, and on ...

Yummy shrimp shack in north shore...

By: ATM : June 13th, 2009-09:49

Hi Bob, I'm doing well. How are you and Patty? I sure miss Honolulu, especially the food there are awesome! I'll fly out there just to drive out to North Shore for Romy's shrimp shack. Thinking about the good time I had during March visit, I guess I shoul...

Ahh, kimchi...

By: mrsnak : June 13th, 2009-09:48

Who could not love fermented vegetables that have been sitting outdoors in semi-open jars for 6 months? ;-) Love the stuff and Korean BBQ. Live too far away to chase the truck, but it's got quite the hipster quotient in L.A. these days.

IMO, not missing much...

By: ATM : June 13th, 2009-10:01

Hi Mrsnak, IMO, you won't be missing much for not chasing the truck. Don't you just love living in LA and having Korea Town located centrally in LA? . Regards, ATM