One Saturday afternoon, my food blogger group was invited to sample the newest Taco truck in town, Kogi. Don't expect the typical carne asada or carnitas. No, this is Korean BBQ, taco truck style. As someone with a love of Korean food, I was all over this idea.
(l to r: Eric Shin, web administrator.photographer, Chef Roy Choi, Mark Manguera, and Caroline Shin-Manguera)Kogi was the brainchild of Mark Manguera and his wife, Caroline. It is the fulfillment of an idea Mark threw out after leaving a club at 2am one morning. Mark, who worked many years in the hotel business, decided to team up with Chef Roy Choi (of Rocksugar in Century City) to bring his idea to fruition. After many taste testing sessions, including Mark, his family, and Chef Roy, they arrived at the menu we were presented with.
Their main menu consists of tacos and burritos. You have the choice of four proteins: short rib, spicy pork, chicken, and tofu. The burritos are a breakfast burrito consisting of eggs, hash browns, and your choice of protein. According to Mark and the others, the burrito is a big hit with the late night crowds. However, we sampled the four tacos, along with a special treat.
We were told that each protein has it’s own distinctive marinade and special sauce accompaniment. The tacos came in a small taco shell, along with a little lettuce and sesame seeds as garnish. My first sample was the spicy pork taco. It was served with an orange wedge. I squeezed a liberal amount on the spicy pork and had my first taste. The pork was simply delicious. The pork was tender and flavorful. The orange partnered beautifully with the sweetness of the pork. It added a little something extra that was surprising and very delicious. Next, I tried the short rib taco. It was served with a lemon wedge. Unlike the spicy pork, the short rib did not particularly benefit from the addition of the acid. While, not my favorite, it was very good.
(l to r: short rib taco and spicy pork taco)Next up, was the chicken. It was just ok. I found the chicken a little over-cooked and there was nothing special about it. I finished up my taco sampling with the tofu taco. I love tofu, so I was really looking forward to tasting it. However, while the sauce was flavorful, I found the tofu itself lacking in flavor. Also, the actual pieces of tofu were a little large for my taste. I would have preferred if it were similar in texture/look of tofu scramble. In short, it wasn’t my favorite. Of all of the tacos, I could have eaten the spicy pork all day long. It was outstanding.
As we were preparing to finish up, Chef Roy presented us with a Korean BBQ Slider. WHAT??!? Ok, I was excited at the prospect. The slider consisted of the short rib, lettuce, sesame seeds, and mayo served on a King’s Hawaiian bun. One bite, and I was in heaven. It was incredibly tasty and I enjoyed every single bite.
All in all, it was very good. Many noted that the dishes would benefit from the addition of more Asian elements. Some suggestions included rice based wrapper instead of tortillas. Or, possibly the addition of crunchy cabbage, kimchee, or a little pickled daikon. Still, the Korean taco is an intriguing concept. Again, it was all quite tasty and I anticipate that it will only get better with time. Mark and Chef Roy are really open to feedback and invested in bringing the best food to the hungry late night masses.
Since, it is a taco truck, they are on the move. You can track them down via Twitter http://twitter.com/kogibbq. Also, don't forget to check out their website http://kogibbq.com to see more great pictures and learn about Kogi. After a recent visit to the website, I noticed that they are spicing things up with various specials, like the recent Kimchee Quesadilla. Sounds interesting. They are in Venice tonight, so I might have to make a special trip over there.
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