Kogi, Anywhere in Southern Cali

It started with a mere rumor that became an interest that became a goal then finally a chase. I didn’t really chase the Kogi truck everywhere but I did follow it on twitter, if only to put a notch on my belt and say…”yah foos, I just did kogi”. I was actually more annoyed at the fact that for a proud foodie, I was last in Southern Cali to have one. UGH. Fudge that.

4374 Eagle Rock blvd., YES, it was in my neighborhood. As we pass the “Roja” Kogi truck, all that was running around my tiny brain space was PARKING SPACE!!! But luckily we parked near Rambo’s (another famous late night taco truck), got out, and went in line. Surprisingly it was not as bad as I expected. It was slightly a family affair, even mothers taking pictures of their kids in line and in front of the Roja truck that just parked. We had a conversation going with a former Korean local that has a Mexican restaurant in Vegas (how ironic, huh). We were both in line to try the hype, to test the popularity, and to taste the fad. So here we go.

“Azul” (the truck-in-training) pulls up, parks, and the prep time begins. Roja did start taking orders first and the menu was simple enough. If you have twitter, they do post the specials of the day including dessert. Yum. I was surprised that parking to prep to order and service was not a wait at all, in fact we did wait longer in line than to order and get our food. Short rib tacos, spicy pork tacos, kimchi quesadillas, and tofu burrito. I will come back in line for the Kogi sliders (short rib burgers with a spicy sauce) and the Kogi dog (hotdog, mexi-korean style). Those made my mouth salivate and my tummy rumble a little bit. But I wanted to try their popular and more interesting dishes first.The food comes unpacked, if you want it to-go (as we did) pull a couple of pieces of foil, get a bag, take your utensils, which are all available at the front of the truck and bag the food yourself. I didn’t really mind. They were nice enough to give us extra radish, lime, and orange wedges. So off we went.

The short rib tacos were tender, a little spicy with a little bit of tang. It was a little too much on a tiny piece of tortilla but I didn’t mind. I picked up fallen pieces of short rib on my plate and enjoyed the moment. The spicy pork taco was not spicy at all, given the mexi-korean style I was expecting explosion and an immediate need for a diet coke extinguisher, but was disappointed. The pork was tender and mild at best. Both tacos came with the same veggie slaw and sauce, which were alright. Slightly different from the original Mexican flavor but did work well with the meat. The kimchi quesadilla was a nice surprise. Interesting but in a very, very good, delicious way. The tortilla was perfectly cooked, the kimchi was excellent, the sauce was a little spicy but not to complain about. But my best bite so far was the tofu burrito. Silky tofu, melted cheese, a sweet yet somewhat spicy sauce inside a huge tortilla, definitely worth more than the 5bucks I paid for it. I can’t wait to go to Costco one day to find these in the frozen section, ready for my microwave otherwise I would like to petition for Kogi to follow me everyday just in case the craving hits.

The tacos did under deliver, probably because the hype made me expect so much that the disappointment was very much expected. I would order the short rib again, but only because of the “I waited in line for Kogi so I better get a taste of it anyway”. But the highlights were the quesadilla and the burrito. So next time I wait, I know what my purpose would be. Not for the rumor, the interest, the chase, or the hype but more of the food. I mean, really now, isn’t that what we should be after in the first place?

Rambos Tacos, Eagle Rock

Yesterday was not a good day to cook. Plenty to do and so little time. We had cash and while we were driving back home we passed by 2 taco trucks and decided to go to Rambos.  Yes, we passed two (Leo’s and a new one) but Rambos will always be a personal favorite. It seems that Rambos brought many weird, painful, embarrassing, and drunken memories. But tonight was just dinner.

I love their cabeza (beef cheeks) so I went ahead with my cabeza torta (sandwich), carne asada and lengua (cow tongue) taco. We also ordered a BRC (bean, rice, and cheese burrito) with plenty of hot sauce plus a cheese quesadilla. The smell of grilled meat filled the car as we drove excitedly back to the house. I was a happy little kid. My beef cheek sandwich was a heart attack waiting to happen. It was soft, tender pieces of chopped meat that melts in your mouth with just the right amount of salsa verde dripping down the slightly grilled, oily bread. I was ready for some serious licking. My lengua taco was just okay with some salsa roja, this time it was slightly chewy, not like I am used to.  The carne asada was a little salty for me but the salsa did cut some of that taste. The quesadilla was really good. Laid on a bed of lettuce, it was warm and gooey inside, and the tortilla was perfectly cooked. Ugh, I would’ve been satisfied with that alone. Sadly,  I was too full to try the BRC but by the sound of it, it was promisingly good. I will have totake my friend’s word for it as another morsel would have pushed me to burst in the seams. Ayayayayay Rambo’s.

If you hate waiting an hour for a taco at Kogi’s or Leo’s is not as spicy as you hope it to be, try Rambos. They have not failed me so far. Quick, cheap, and good and you didn’t have to go to Sunset/Hollywood to get it (ooopppss).