No, you did not read that wrong. I intentionally waited for what normally is termed a roach coach, a gut truck, and a rat meat express. In this case, it was none of these things. It was, however, truly inspired.
The moniker that this truck’s company goes by? Kogi. Its contents? Divine.
What makes something that normally caters to blue-collar workers into a icon of culinary trendiness that self-admitted smartphone toting, twitter (twatter?) updating, food snob douchebags slobber after like a rabid dog chasing a fat kid on a bike? Two things that seems ridiculously obvious in So Cal put together in something that is truly a fusion of cultures: Korean BBQ and Mexican food.
What’s really amazing is that Kogi thrives with no advertising and no fliers. It works by leveraging the current paragon of the internets, social networking. When it was first started, word of mouth and twitter updates of the truck’s scheduled location was all that was needed to get a crowd of people waiting in trendy locations and the occasional ghetto parking lots. Failing that, the trucks blare Japanese reggae (!?), which seem to get people’s attention. Failing even that, they now have a stationary location for dinner at Alibi, a restaurant that I have pledged to visit.
In my case, the truck made a appearance at the parking lot of The Brig in Venice Beach. We were waiting alone only a few minutes to 12 when suddenly, the trendy mob appeared:
It was indeed a strange and amusing sight to have people appear with no prior communication other than a place and time, but let’s talk about the most important thing, the fooooooooooooood.
I ordered a Korean short rib and spicy pork taco. I also ordered a "Kogi Dog" which, coming from a Korean truck (hurrrrrr), elicited a few nervous laughs.
Now, I’ve eaten a quite a few tacos on this planet, from your hole in the walls to authentic restaurants and I’ve never eaten anything as good as this.
I can’t describe the taste accurately, but the first thing you’ll notice is that it is sour, because Kimchi has been cooked with the meat as well as being placed on as a topping. This leads to a flavor not unlike sauerkraut, but with the salty and crunchy texture replaced by a salad like moistness mixed with a slightly sweet n’ sour tang. The meat melts in your mouth and the juices are just right to get your mouth wanting more.
The Kogi Dog is engineered similarly, but with the obvious addition of hot dog and bun. Like its Mexican cousin, it has been cooked with Kimchi, but it is also wrapped with Kimichi like a bacon wrapped hotdog. While slightly dryer due to the absorption of moisture from the bun, it is equally juicy and flavorful.
After being sated with the fine meal, I will say this to anyone reading this: If you are in LA (or the occasions that it appears in your area), you owe it to yourself to try this. Trust me, this is not hype, it is, without doubt, as good as it sounds.