When I originally conceived of taking a self-led tour of the LA food
trucks with some friends it was to see who was trying to capitalize on
the success of Kogi BBQ, the crossover Mexican-Korean taco truck, and
their use of Twitter to let people know their current
location. Supposedly Kogi is the originator of the hip and cool LA
food truck and, as some have told me, has the best food of all the taco
trucks. My plan was to find trucks that had just rolled out, are newly
popular, or ones that I know nothing about and see if Kogi would hold
up against the rest.
My food truck team consisted of seven diverse and discerning palettes including a maitre fromager, a chef, a pastry chef, a hungry stoner and a guy who makes the biggest sandwiches I’ve ever seen, but seems to gain no weight. We started our glutton-fest at Barbie’s Q who was parked at T-Lofts in Santa Monica (11500 Tennessee) where food trucks hang out every day. The big green truck has a pin-up girl and the slogan “A Rollin’ BBQ Joint” on the side and is a clear representation of the owner. John, who insists that the pin-up on the side is not his daughter, takes everyone’s order while standing in front of his truck so he can shake hands and show off his fluffy white mustache. The St. Louis ribs were sweet, juicy, and did the fall-off-the-bone thing that grosses out my vegetarian girlfriend. It was my favorite dish of the day (out of the two dozen things I tried). We also tried three kinds of deliciously simple sliders (chicken, pork, or beef, sauce, and a bun), potato salad that was thankfully dill heavy and mayo light, and some baked beans that were best consumed when poured over a slider.
Living in Southern California, we enjoy rich ethnic diversity. Those of
us who explore culture through cuisine are very happy about that.
Located in West Los Angeles, Yabu, which has a devoted following and is a
good example of a neighborhood Japanese restaurant. Because Yabu has a
much larger, sister restaurant in West Hollywood, when you call to make a
reservation, you will be asked to confirm that you want to eat at the
Pico restaurant.
Not only were we celebrating our nation’s birthday this past weekend,
but the birthdays of two of our closest friends as well, one born on
the 4th, one on the 5th. Since nothing says summer like burgers and hot
dogs, we all rendezvous'd to "The Stand" in Encino to get our grilling
fix with no preparation or clean-up necessary on our part.
Three weeks into all night shoots in Chatsworth on a low-budget indie
movie with the same caterer twice a day serving us burgers for
“breakfast” every single day (not even I can eat a burger every day, 4
times a week is my limit) and the least I can say is crew morale was
low. Hence my excitement that the upcoming Thursday we would go a few
hours early (and by early I mean late but time gets completely backwards
on a night shoot), and we needed to bring in a second meal, not only to
avoid paying meal penalties but, more importantly, to keep everybody
happy.
The blue door, shuttered for more than a year and a half, is open once again, and the stage is set for Act 3. Step in, and you're welcomed with the offer of an aperitif in the enchanting garden where a pair of gnarly olive trees cast lacy shadows on the wall, water falls into a basin, and the air is scented with lavender.