The Mighty Boba

Recent new favorite food truck of mine, The Mighty Boba Truck. Their menu is about different tea drinks with boba (which I have to admit, I haven't tried yet, but I plan to) and some different types of Taiwanese snack meals.

I've been hooked on their popcorn basil fried chicken which you can get as spicy or mild as you want. Really makes a great quick lunch and a good value as well, a lot of chicken for $4. Served to you in a paper bag with little bamboo skewers to eat them with which is pretty fun. I tend to get mine at a spice level of 4 and its still pretty damn spicy. They have a few other items which sounded interesting and good as well, like the island pork chops, Taiwanese sausage or the toast bread snacks. Definitely recommend checking them out. Service is always great and usually pretty fast. Find more info about them on their website here and you can follow them on Twitter here.

Summer in November @Willoughby Road

The last couple of days it's been summer in November here in L.A. Heard it hit/almost hit a 100 degrees on Wednesday....in November! Needed to escape the heat and grab some lunch, so Miss Absinthe and I promptly went down to Wilshire near LACMA to find a food truck for lunch, in the heat (yah I know). Found a convenient metered parking spot and then realized it had a nice big flashing FAIL on it and wasn't sure if it's still legal or not to park at a failed meter. As we were discussing it, a bicycle officer, who noticed our confusion, rode over and told us, "You're ok to park there for 2 hours, no worries". Thought that was pretty cool and nice to let us know like that, especially considering last time I got pinched for not paying attention to the signs. This seemed to make up for it, well kinda sorta. Barely out of the car, hot, but off to a good start.



Lots of trucks parked out on Wilshire has become the norm, plenty of options. Came across the Willoughby Road Food Truck, "classic southern cuisine re-defined." What's great to eat on a hot summer like day in the fall? Fried chicken! Twice fried chicken and grilled watermelon with a generous side of mac n cheese.



First off, generous sized portions of chicken (we took one piece home and finished it off a couple of hours later). The chicken is twice fried, with one layer of coating being a tempura type of batter. There's a lot of crunch and flavor going on, a good savory coating. The meat was really tender and juicy. They pour a Harrisa glaze (North African spice) on the chicken which adds this spicy, but sweet quality. I didn't know that when I ordered, even though I enjoyed the extra level of flavor it added, I would have preferred it on the side to add as needed or maybe just a little less. That being said, it was still really great. The cut of the chicken is a little odd, kind of block like, but easy to handle. Not your regular cuts of leg, breast, thigh etc. The grilled watermelon, wow, these were great, almost steals the show. The grilling process seemed to have tenderized the watermelon and with a bit of that grill flavor and a touch of salt, mmmm, just a great way to finish off the meal. The mac n cheese was good, but not necessarily a stand out in comparison to the flavor/seasoning of the fried chicken or the watermelon.



It really was a sweltering day out and I know the chefs were definitely cooking themselves in the process. So a big thanks for making a great meal on such a hot day. Definitely recommend checking them out and I know I'll hit them up again as well. You can follow them on Twitter here and find more info about them on their site here.

Ludo Truck!

"Look for the big red coq"

Finally, after many months, the Ludo Truck has arrived, or at least in a soft roll out schedule. Don't think they're doing a regular schedule just yet. For those who have had Ludo's cooking know why its a big deal for the truck to be out and about now. I found them parked on Melrose on a recent Saturday afternoon where a few other trucks have parked recently. I hope more trucks will continue to do so since its very convenient to me a lot of people, plus the city needs some new truck hot spots.

The menu consisted of 3 different chicken styles, slaw, fries, lavender biscuits and crème brûlée and a few other items. Plus they do specials, like a chicken sandwich on Breadbar bread, which I hear is really good. 

  

They have the menu set up in orders of two or three pieces of chicken, your choice, mix or match. I got a three piece order, with two of the Provencal Pepittes, infused with rosemary and herbs de provence and one piece chicken strip style which was buttermilk based and all white meat. Also got a side of the slaw and the honey lavender biscuits. You also get a choice of sauces for dipping. I got the chipotle ketchup bbq type of sauce.

The chicken was fantastic. Just like I remembered, but smaller of course. Super moist and flavorful, with a nice crunch. The seasoning is great, nice and savory. They looked like they are formed from dark meat, not ground, but molded. The chicken strip was terrific as well, great coating and crunch. Well seasoned and almost fluffy like. The slaw was good, but didn't seem that different then other spicy slaws. Not bad by any means, just a good slaw. The lavender biscuits with honey (bathed in it) were quite good. They had more of smell of lavender then taste or just a hint of it perhaps. With the honey though, they were really tasty regardless. More dense then flakey. Good way to finish of with something sweet after a nice savory, fried meal. Plan to try the crème brûlée next time though and there will be other times.

Its great, a food truck with the quality and unique styling of Chef Ludo at prices that are quite affordable. Another truck that raises the bar. I think its hard not to become a fan of him after you've tried his cooking. You can find more about the truck on their website here and follow them on twitter here.