Tragic Sandwich

Tag: Calbi BBQ

  • Food Truck Follies

    Once upon a time, there was an empty lot in Santa Monica. Then, the owner of the lot thought, “Hey, what if–instead of selling the lot–I let food trucks park here and sell food?”

    People loved it. All day.

    Then, Santa Monica shut it down.

    So what is a food truck to do? They scattered to the winds. Fortunately for me, two of them landed just a few bus stops away from my office. And also fortunately for me, one of them was posting on Twitter.

    First up, Calbi BBQ. This truck serves Korean-style BBQ. I ordered two tacos: one beef, one shrimp. I got two tacos: one beef, one chicken (I think). Get the chicken–it was excellent, and I didn’t even get the spicy sauce. The shrimp might be great, but I don ‘t know. The beef was fine, but I liked the offerings at Kogi BBQ better.

    A half block away was the truck I’d found via Twitter: Frysmith. As you might guess, they sell fries, topped with a range of multicultural offerings. I chose the Rajas fries, which come with shawarma-marinated steak, poblano peppers, caramelized onions, and jack cheese. This combination is delicious. It’s also a meal, which means that I would have been able to have more of it if I hadn’t eaten two tacos from the Calbi truck just moments before.

    Between the two trucks, though, I’d had a fair amount of spice. What to do? Why, walk across the street to Baskin Robbins and have a scoop of New York Cheesecake, of course.

    So what did this feast set me back? If you add in the water and don’t count the $2 in bus fare, about $13 for more food than I could (and probably should) eat.

    Later, I thought, “Hmm. I probably didn’t need that mid-morning protein shake.”

  • Tweet, Tweet, Tweet

    You can follow me on Twitter. But you knew that, because there’s a link in the right-hand column.

    Who do I follow? A variety of people and organizations, naturally. After all, it is Twitter. Included in that variety is a growing number of food trucks. While I have yet to patronize any of them (although, as you recall, I tried to last week), that’s only because they haven’t been near an area I’m in at a time that I’m in that area. If you follow my meaning.

    At any rate, here are some L.A.-area food trucks that I follow on Twitter and hope to eat at soon:

    Grilled Cheese Truck: this is a new entry, but what’s not to love? I mean, it’s grilled cheese!

    Don Chow Tacos: Chinese food. In a taco. Will I love it or hate it? The only way to know is to try it.

    Nom Nom Truck: This is the truck that didn’t show up as expected last week. The sandwiches sound great. I hope they’ll be back soon!

    Get Shaved: I found this thanks to Nom Nom Truck’s Tweets. Frankly, I’m surprised that Hawaiian shaved ice hasn’t made a bigger splash on the mainland. Sno-cones just can’t compare.

    Sprinklesmobile: Cupcakes. From Sprinkles. On a truck. I’m a bigger fan of Susiecakes, but they don’t have a truck.

    Kogibbq: The granddaddy of them all, the food truck that made food trucks famous. If you don’t count all of the actual taco trucks and lunch wagons that came before it. But how many of them specialized in Korean BBQ?

    Calbi BBQ: Following in the footsteps of Kogi. Or not. I won’t know until I’ve tried them both. And even if I know, will I care? That’s why I need to try both. No need to set up a specious Star Trek/Babylon 5 feud when both offerings may be delightful.

    Coolhaus: Looking for a dessert that isn’t a cupcake? I hear their ice cream sandwiches are fantastic. And I do love a good ice cream sandwich.

    So have you tried any of these? Share your thoughts–and let me know if there are other trucks I should be following.