LAist: Eat This: Korean BBQ With the Edge of a Street Taco

msmerymac

Thu, 11 Dec 2008 15:37:04 -0800

I actually did try them last weekend. I thought they'd be in Hollywood on Saturday, but they were in Westwood and Venice. So my boyfriend and I hopped in the car, drove out to UCLA, bought 6 tacos and a bottle of water, and ate them right there in the car. The guys were so nice. When I went to throw away the plates they asked me if it was worth the trek. It was! I had tofu tacos, but my boyfriend's favorite was the short rib. I'll definitely hit them up again, when they're closer to my house.

Maestro

Thu, 11 Dec 2008 15:02:07 -0800

Looks amazing--can the truck make it out to DC?

hybridinc914

Thu, 04 Dec 2008 20:55:21 -0800

Henry D. I was there also last night and had a similar experience to chwangton. When you only have 8 things on the menu and half of them overlap with the same contents, it shouldn't be hard to churn out warm food. That's just a requirement. Also, i see that you are a UCLA student. Believe me when i say college students shouldn't be food critics. I bet you eat at Jose Bernsteins and think they make the best mexican food. Please refer to my Yelp posting about hypebeasters. You would fall under this category. Click Here for My Yelp Posting

chwangton

Thu, 04 Dec 2008 19:28:16 -0800

i will disagree, when you only have 2 cooks there, and the other workers are just "managing" the line, that's retarded. its a taco, and any one can assemble one and they should have been back there assembling. and being that busy, food should not have come out cold, and coming out cold coagulates the lard they were using thereby making the meat taste pasty and fatty. part of having the truck there was is to have hot food coming out as soon as its done. i have worked the hot line at 3 star restaurants, if that sh*t is sitting out too long and gets cold, you don't serve it, you re-fire.

Henry D

Thu, 04 Dec 2008 18:04:48 -0800

@chwangton I all fairness, I don't think I've ever seen a taco truck try to meet the demands of such a massive crowd, and considering the fact that they manned up, got more supplies and managed to feed everyone was quite spectacular to me. They obviously are gauging the following and still adapting to the exponentially growing demand. Perhaps the taco itself didn't appeal to your taste but it's odd to me that you are staunchly turned off by it. I thought the execution and flavors were truly superb and I got the same vibe from everyone else in my building who tried it. I don't want to say that your judgment is quite bitter on the food but I am puzzled as to why it was not to your taste specifically.

chwangton

Thu, 04 Dec 2008 17:14:59 -0800

I was there last night, food was wack... shit came out cold and extra lardy. you can't eat a cold taco no matter what. plus they were not prepared for the long line. they didn't have easily accessible drinks, side dishes or condiments. any real mexican truck would have had all these things. I don't need to goto CIA or work with Eric Ripert to learn how to make a proper taco... and that's the truth.

chwangton

Thu, 04 Dec 2008 17:12:38 -0800

msmerymac

Thu, 04 Dec 2008 15:57:29 -0800

Damn, I'm considering stalking the truck this weekend!

babamoto

Thu, 04 Dec 2008 13:34:24 -0800

Maybe Kogi's success will encourage other young Korean entrepreneurs to widen their demographics. Korean food is so L.A.

tp4free

Thu, 04 Dec 2008 12:59:01 -0800

seriously this is where its at -- cheap good food. why cant most places get it right in the westside? though ive never had kogi, i salute them.

b3rti3

Thu, 04 Dec 2008 12:28:11 -0800

i have been following them on twitter but waiting for them to come out to the Valley, there's definitely an absence of good authentic Korean food out there.

Andy Sternberg

Thu, 04 Dec 2008 12:22:24 -0800

THIS is awesome. Just added @kogibbq on twitter. starving.

andrewseely

Thu, 04 Dec 2008 11:54:36 -0800

Kogi is simply some of the best food I've had. I dream about Kogi and wake up in a pool of drool. Make sure you find this truck. www.kogibbq.com