Tasty Balls @ Great Balls On Tires

Tried a fairly new truck recently over at the T-Lofts on the west side, Great Balls On Tires or G-BOT for short. Everything is ball based in both food and pun. They cover the range of quality meats and styles like, kobe beef, Korean beef, garam masala chicken, Vietnamese pork and Middle Eastern vegetarian. I've heard that the Incrediball is well incredible. I decided to try the Ballywood Balls for lunch.



These were really really good. Like lick the plate clean when no one is looking kinda good (come on you know you do). A lot of flavors going on. Made with garam masala chicken, coconut madras curry, over saffron rice, topped with crispy fried onions and both a tomato chutney and cilantro mint aioli on the side. Yah, all that for $5.50. Found it to be very satisfying on many levels. Wonderful rich masala flavors with the sauces and the crispy onions, really excellent. The rice was well done as well and complimented it all nicely. It was just enough to fill me up, yet wanting just a little more.



I'm definitely looking forward to trying them again and I could see them becoming a fast favorite. Hope they hit the west side more often. Definitely want to try out the Ball Mi Vietnamese pork balls. There is the Oddball and Guestball menu options for suggestions and guest chefs as well, which is a pretty cool idea.

You can find out more info about them on their website here and follow them on Twitter here.

Flying Pig Revisited

Just a quick post, trying to get caught up. Have several more posts coming.

Hadn't been to the Flying Pig in a little while. Looked like they had updated some of the items on the menu. I went with the Smoked Chicken Taco and the Crunchy Tofu Bun this time. Last time I had the Duck Taco and Pork Taco, both of which I liked.



The smoked chicken is hickory-smoked chicken thigh with mango slaw, honey-roasted peanuts,
and green curry aioli. Found this to be pretty good, not overly smokey in flavor, nice light pairing of taste and crunchy textures over all. The portions are on the smaller side, but satisfying.


The Crunchy Tofu Bun is deep-fried, marinated tofu with ‘quick’ kimchi, honey-roasted peanuts, and death sauce on a steamed bao bun. This was pretty tasty, although I should have eaten it first since parts of the tofu went a little soft by the time I got to it. Good amount of heat in the kimchi, not a lot of crunch per se. Didn't really get a sense that there were peanuts in it. Since there was a lot of bun, definitely filled me up.

You can find more info about Flying Pig here and you can follow them on Twitter here.

The Manila Machine

Hit up the latest food truck recently, The Manila Machine, Filipino style food. Started by a couple of local food bloggers (and I believe the first food truck started by food bloggers as well as the first Filipino food truck), one of which I've been following for a little while now, Nastassia of Let Me Eat Cake. I've  had little experience with Filipino food, so wasn't completely sure what to expect, but I was definitely curious. Had to make it a two part visit. The first time I got to them during their first week, they were pretty much out of food and starting to close, but I managed to try the lumpia and on the second visit I got to try a couple of sliders just before they sold out.



The lumpia shanghai was quite good, similar to an egg roll, normally comes in a order of two, but since it was the one of the only items they had left, they gave me three. Nice and crispy roll with a well seasoned, but not over done pork filling with carrots and spicy ginger. The zing of ginger with pork and crispy egg roll skins was nice. These were pretty tasty and satisfying.



The sliders, these were really great. A lot of flavors and textures packed into these little guys. They're kind of like mini versions of their main dishes. The first one is the Longganisa, sweet pork and garlic sausage, caramelized onions, arugula, and mango jam on a pan de sal roll. All that sweet and savory just melded together in such a great way. The mango jam was a really nice touch and balanced it perfectly. I would definitely get it again.

The Original Manila Dip, shredded chicken adobo and caramelized onions on a pan de sal roll. Served with an adobo dipping sauce. This slider had a wonderful flavor and texture to it. The chicken was lightly seasoned with soy/vinegar/garlic, but with grilled onions and the adobo dipping sauce, wow, definitely stepped up things. The dipping sauce seemed to be of the vinegar, soy, ginger, garlic variety, and the sauce is a must, adds another layer of flavor. I used the sauce for both of the sliders.

I thoroughly enjoyed my first couple of eats with The Manila Machine and have been wanting to catch up with them again, but haven't had the chance just yet. Nastassia was great and accommodating even though they were running out of food and closing up and was helpful in explaining the different items. The service is fast and friendly and the prices are great. I know I'm becoming a fan of Filipino food and I am looking forward to trying the main dishes. I would highly recommend checking them out. You can find more info on their web site here and follow them on twitter here.

India Jones

Just a quick post today. I had somehow managed to not eat at India Jones Chow Truck over the past few months considering Chef Sumat has got some of the best curry in town, and absolutely the best on wheels. End of last year thru the beginning of this year I was hitting him up almost once a week for awhile there. Its that tasty.



On this particular day I tried one of his specials, Goa Pork Curry. This was incredibly good with wonderful spices and enough heat to make the back of my neck sweat. Really tender pork and just all around satisfying and filling. Something about his curries just leave me feeling great afterwards, must have something to with the combination of spices/heat. A definite must goto of the ever expanding L.A. food truck nation. Web site info here.

Chinatown Goodness at Via Cafe

Spent a wonderful afternoon wandering and taking photos around Chinatown in Los Angeles with my friend Julia recently. Found it to be rather inspiring. Between all the people and street vendors in the area and all the unique store fronts and different smells and sights, it really did feel like we were transported from the usual L.A. scenes. You can see some more on my flickr page and soon on my film blog as well.



Julia had recommended that we stop off at the Via Cafe afterwards for dinner which is mostly Vietnamese Pho style, but some dishes were a bit more fusion from other countries/regions. I wish I had snapped a shot of the menu, because I can't remember what the specific dishes were other then lemongrass grilled chicken with cold rice vermicelli noodles and the sauce to add to it.



It was really really good and tasty. Just right after a afternoon of walking and shooting. All the flavors blended so nicely. It was almost refreshing do to the lightness of it with the veggies, yet had enough proteins and lots of different textures. Really enjoyed it. This is the second time Julia has taken me for Pho and there is something addictive about it. Served in a large bowl, it almost looks like more then I could eat, but I finished it off practically slurping the bits left over. Didn't leave me feeling overly full or heavy either. Everything was served and prepared rather quickly. Nice little place with funky art and friendly service. I think my dish was under $8, which seemed like a good deal to me considering the quality of the meal. Next time you're in Chinatown, I highly recommend checking them out. They're located in the Chinatown square.

Crepes Bonaparte

Caught up with one of the other crepe trucks recently. Crepes Bonaparte. They definitely have a theme of sorts. The girls working the truck all had little hats and scarves and such. Its cute. The way the truck is set up, you can watch them make your crepe which is kinda cool. I decided that I wanted to try a simpler crepe, and went with the Plain Jane, ham and cheese with egg. I didn't specify the doneness of the egg, I assumed it was a light scramble of sorts, don't know why. Well, it was more like an over easy egg, which I do happen to like, just wasn't expecting it in a crepe like that.







Over all, I enjoyed it. It was a good size and filling, the crepe itself was thicker then I normally expect, which was good for sopping up egg, but felt a little bit to much for the amount of ham and mozzarella. That said, still enjoyed it. It was a good all around, kinda traditional style crepe. I would definitely eat from their truck again, I find myself more interested in their basic traditional style offerings.

Follow them on twitter here and check out their site here.

Komodo

Finally got a chance try out Komodo for lunch. I had heard some good things about their menu, especially the shrimp. I got the fish taco and the blazin' shrimp taco.



The fish and grapes taco was really good, fried cod tossed with grapes and pickled onions. Had a bit of that sweet tart/tangy quality to it.



The blazin' shrimp with Indonesian spices and a sour cream sauce on the greens was quite good and pretty damn spicy. The sour cream sauce helped cool and balance the heat of the shrimp.



There was plenty of flavor in items that I had. Would definitely eat from their truck again. Food was done quickly, service was friendly. My only real grumble would be the tortillas, a grilled or even a crunchy option would be very welcome. These were cold and uncooked. Will have to see if I can request that next time. You can follow them on Twitter here or get more info from their site.