Friday, March 19, 2010
By Leo Shaw
Entertainment Editor
The institution of mobile food vending is especially robust in Los Angeles, given the myriad taco trucks that populate street corners from Venice Beach to Eagle Rock.
Kogi Barbeque, a vendor that uses Korean barbecue ingredients in Mexican-style dishes, is leading a pack of new vendors using the food truck model to deliver new types of cuisine.
Kogi was one of the first of the more upscale trucks that have spread across the West side, to the point where Angelenos seem to live in a new street food renaissance. Despite worthy peers like the India Jones Chow Truck and the Border Grill taco truck, Kogi has built a following based on quality rather than novelty.
Kogi is also one of the top dogs in the street food market because of its pioneering use of Twitter to broadcast its locations to a loyal fan base. One can look up the schedules of its four color-coded trucks online at kogibbq.com and follow updates from its Twitter account, @kogibbq online or through mobile updates.
The trucks sell their signature spicy pork and short ribs in the form of tacos and burritos, accompanied by kimchi, fried egg and cheese. The combination packs a significant flavor punch—the sweet and savory meat is balanced by the tartness of the kimchi, an unobtrusive sesame flavor, and just enough spice.
Among Kogi’s specialties are the “black jack quesadilla,” a quesadilla of cheese and barbecue pork doused in a subtly spiced green chile sauce. Also available by request only is the fabled “pregnant burrito.” For the hungriest of patrons, it is said to consist of two regular tacos rolled into a burrito-sized tortilla and filled with more fixings.
Kogi eschews the “fusion” label it often receives because the term connotes the artificial mixing of totally foreign flavors, which usually signifies bad food in the cheap food market. They prefer “Angeleno,” attributing the unique taste of their food to the natural coexistence of Mexican and Korean flavors and ingredients in Los Angeles’ ethnic neighborhoods.
Whether you’re after the pregnant burrito or the short rib dumplings (think pork buns), Kogi is worth the trek to wherever in the Los Angeles area they happen to be parked, but the “Verde” truck is parked most Friday and Saturday nights at 1515 Abbot Kinney Blvd in Venice Beach. The full schedule can be seen online at kogibbq.com.
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