When my brother and I loitered around abandoned parking lots in our youth stoned and listless we dreamt up a fantasy of owning our very own roach-coach. One rivaling all roach-coaches that came before it. Years later, stoners all over L.A. brought to life OUR dream of the reinvented Lonchera. Popping up all over the city; in the valley, the westside, the eastside, the inland empire EVERYWHERE, food trucks were the newest and latest craze. One notable trailblazing venture was the Kogi Truck. As a lover of anything short-rib, I dutifully followed the twitter thread identifying when the truck would be in my hood. Apparently everyone else and their american apparelled best friend had done so too.
The first time I went to catch up with the truck I circled the street several times, parked blocks away to wait in line just to be told that the line ended with the person right in front of me. OKAY, that happens; I guess. The second attempt was at the failed Los Angeles Art Walk @ the LACMA where the line was an exhibit all its own (pictured above, look closely; it goes on and on) RI-GOD-DAMN-DICULOUS!!! Third time around (with a high level of trepidation) I drove past the truck saw the line and kept on truckin'. From that moment on I vowed not only to boycott KOGI, but to talk mad shit about it. Vilifying it in a cartoon hatred kind of way.
Then one Wednesday a year later while driving through Glendale, there it was. No line, plenty of parking and with hunger pangs directing the vehicle, I found myself in line to try the infamous Kogi. It was like waiting to meet the Beatles. The anticipation was palpable. (roll eyes here)
(not an original picture. Taken from http://kogibbq.com/category/menu/)
Lets be clear, My BREAKFAST burrito looked nothing like the one pictured on their website(above). AND nothing on the menu identified that it would be a breakfast burrito. Wet eggs, green onions, some soy sauce, cheap cheese, limp kimchi and some miserable pieces of short rib comprised my 'Food Fusion" burrito experience. It was not grilled and while it was slightly larger than I expected, it was $5 of filler, not meat.
The Belle of the Ball was the KIMCHI Quesadilla!!!
One large tortilla folded in half covered in sriracha and sesame seeds. Filled with Monterrey jack cheese and with what the white girl in front of me called "ki-mi-chi" with a hint of ginger. It was exceptional. Spicy and cheesy and perfectly priced at 3 bucks. Except it actually cost $5 and is therefore too beau-coup for moi.
I'm glad I got to finally try it, but Kogi left this reviewer ice cold. Which begs the question, is anything "fusion" ever good?
Check the website: http://kogibbq.com/ for a location near you.
