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Los Angeles is, if nothing, a hipster paradise. Every trend you can think of, however miniscule probably got its start in the Southland. From fashion to music to clubs to food, there’s always a shred of originality underneath the layers upon layers of hipster influence. One such trend is the current fascination with street food and more specifically food trucks.
Food trucks have always been a staple of many cultures and subcultures in the Greater Los Angeles area. From the “roach coaches” that frequent construction sites and film stages to the Breed Street Food scenes in Boyle Heights, it was a representation of what the Los Angeles food scene was about. An abundance of Latino flavors that’s massed produced at an affordable price. This all changed in 2009 when a former Valedictorian of the Culinary Institute of America named Roy Choi was brought on as head Chef of the Kogi Korean BBQ truck. After a rocky start, what transpired has been nothing short of a revolution in culinary world of not only Los Angeles, but also the entire country.
What Kogi Korean BBQ Truck did was the fusion of traditional Korean flavors, like short ribs and kimchi with traditional food truck fares such as tacos, burritos and quesadillas. The results were so unique that once it caught on with the club scene, it started to spread like wildfire. Since then we’ve seen the arrival of many different fusion food trucks at such an expedited pace that the market has been flooded with everything from the bad to the terrible. Newbie Angelinos and existing Angelinos wanting to
There are many different food trucks roaming the Southland streets. However, there are only a few that true Angelinos really partake in, so if you want to impress your friends only search for the following food trucks. (By search I mean, social media). Most food trucks will advertise via Facebook and/or Twitter and some will have their own websites. Either way this is the best way to keep track of where your favorite food trucks will be popping up on a daily basis. Avoid the trap of a terrible food trucks should take the following to heart.
THE STARS:
NOM NOM TRUCK – Dedicated to the Vietnamese baguette sandwich called the “banh mi,” the brainchild of Jennifer Green and Misa Chien has been gathering a strong following ever since their feature showing on the Food Networks “The Great Food Truck Race.”
THE GRILLED CHEESE TRUCK – It’s a truck dedicated to all of our favorite childhood delight, the grilled cheese. The owners formed this truck after they realized how much people enjoyed their creation at the annual Grilled Cheese Invitational, so they decided to bring their product to the people. They offer the traditional to the unique so definitely check out their menu before heading out.
THE LUDO FRIED CHICKEN TRUCK – Los Angeles is the only city that has a five-star chef and Top Chef Master serving out of a food truck. The Ludo Truck is the brainchild of Chef Ludo Lefebvre, a classically trained French Chef who has cooked in some of the most prestigious kitchens around the world. The Ludo truck is an extension of his LudoBites franchise, a series of pop-up restaurants (another unique culinary food event) that serves his famous fried chicken and award winning biscuits and unlike the Kogi Truck, you can and will find Chef Ludo behind the stove cooking away in the truck at any given time. Just be aware that Chef Ludo does have a camera crew following him around the majority of the time for the filming of his Sundance Channel series “Ludo Bites America.”
Take it from someone that’s tried a lot of food trucks in this city. The consensus is these are the top 4 food trucks in the Southland and if you want to impress your visiting friends, take them to one of these and they’ll think you’re in with it like no one else.
@wewititla
