Lobster Roll Goodness

A new lobster food truck rolled out this year, Cousin's Main Lobster, fresh from Maine. While I've only had one opportunity to try them, it was pretty damn good. They offer traditional chilled with mayo (Maine style) and warm with butter and a touch of lemon (Connecticut style). I always go for butter only when it comes to lobster. Presented in an authentic New England toasted roll, filled with lobster claw meat, butter and a slightly savory seasoning. Quite tasty. They have quite a few other items on the menu like bisque, tacos and crab rolls to name a few. Plus they just opened a brick and mortar in Pasadena.

You can find more info about Cousin's Maine Lobster here on their site and you can follow them on Twitter here. 

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.

The Ahn Joo Stew

Had some Ahn Joo for lunch recently, a Korean pub grub inspired food truck. The menu is similar to when chef/owner Debbie Lee did a pop up restaurant at Bread Bar on West Third last year, you can see my blog post about it here. The food/menu seems well suited in truck form, both in terms of portion and price.

I decided to try something new and got the special, hangover stew with spicy pork, egg fried rice and crispy potatoes. Even though its called a stew, it wasn't really that stew like. I think I was expecting something on the soupy side, which this wasn't. Bowl of fried rice with a good portion of pork on top and potatoes on the side. It was still really great, just not quite what I thought it would be. The pork was fairly tender and pulled apart easily, the sauce was pretty spicy and flavorful, definitely broke a sweat. There was enough rice and crispy potatoes (which were both great btw) to balance it out. Very much enjoyed the meal and it really filled me up, great on a cold day.

I definitely recommend checking them out. You can find out more info on their website here and you can follow them on Twitter here.

Yummy!

Lunch at The Yummy One food truck, specializing in mostly Korean cuisine and black angus beef. I do not eat beef, so I do miss out on quite a few things at times, but thankfully most trucks have a chicken or vegetarian option on the menu. I gave the fried chicken tacos a go.



These turned out to be some really good tacos. The chicken was light and tender with a very thin fried crust to it, definitely not the heavy battered crunchy coating style, but it made for a nice lighter meal. The tacos are pretty straight forward, lettuce mix plus the chicken in corn tortillas and they pour a little siracha sauce on them. They also give you some peppers on the side and a small side of a spicy tomatillo sauce and a side of a spicy smokey chipotle type of sauce.



I'll definitely be eating there again, they have a rice bowl version with the chicken I want to try. Check em' out. The service was really great, good prices and food was prepared quickly. You can find out more about them on their site here and you can follow them on Twitter here.

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.

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.

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.

Gourmet Genie To Go

Recently tried a new food truck for lunch, Gourmet Genie To Go. Everything is Mediterranean style, kabobs, pita wraps and some taco fusions. Also, its all organic and comes from local sources or farmer's markets, which is always a plus in my book. Spent a little time talking with the owner/chef Max. Really nice and friendly guy. I always like it when chefs take a little time to chat with their customers.

I tried three different tacos, chicken, fish and lamb. I quite enjoyed all three of them.

The fish, which is mahi mahi, was dense and firm in texture, but still flakey. Grilled with sweet onions, topped with pine nuts and instead of white sauce, he used tahini sauce. Nice twist on the classic fish taco. 

The lamb was terrific. The lamb was grilled and lightly seasoned with hints of savory and sweet with Italian parsley, red onions some jalapenos and juicy grilled cherry tomatoes. Very satisfying.

The chicken taco was really good. Lightly seasoned and grilled and served with a cabbage salad on it, gave it a refreshing crunchy texture. In fact all of the tacos had a nice balance between taste and texture.

  

For dessert I had the date rolls and the birds nest. The date rolls had a thick buttery exterior with a date paste which had a very light sweet taste. The birds nest is similar to baklava with the layers of phyllo dough, but with toasted pistachios on top and a light honey type of glazing to it. Nice textures.

I definitely recommend checking the Gourmet Genie out, terrific food, great prices and service. They tend to make the regular stops on the West side, T-Lofts, MTV and 31st and Ocean Park, plus lots of others. You can follow them on Twitter here and check out their website here.

Tasty Meat!

Tasty Meat, originally uploaded by LeandroF.

A little bit late in posting this, been a bit behind the past few weeks.

Tried the Tasty Meat! Food Truck. They do a Turkish twist on the wraps. I had wanted to try the Cuban sandwich, but it was sold out (wasn't the first time either). Appears to be popular. I tried the Chickwich, which is very gyro like. Pita wrapped marinated dark chicken, lettuce, tomato but with feta, tahini and tzatziki sauce. Wound up being a bit sauce heavy for my liking, but that's normal for me. Next time I would ask them to go light on the sauces. Chicken itself was, well, tasty. And it was filling. A little hard to eat due to the sauciness though.



They had said they were going to be getting a new wrap design for the truck, not sure if thats
happened yet.

Will definitely try them again, really want to try that Cuban sandwich.

Kabob n'Roll Food Truck

Got try one of the newest trucks to hit L.A., the Kabob n'Roll mediterranean food truck. Even though it was pouring rain they were serving food with a smile. Really nice and friendly crew. They step out to take your order, which I always find pretty cool. Really good food and a good value. Lots of healthy options for meat eaters and vegans.





I tried the mediterranean plate which comes with three kabobs over basmati rice, some pita and hummus, with a side salad with pickled radishes. I got mine with chicken breast and two falafel patties (the falafel equals one kabob), they had run out of the ground chicken, they have a shrimp option that I will probably try next time. Nice and savory chicken, with a little bit of spicy heat. The veggies were very lightly seasoned, which was nice since you could actually taste the vegetable itself. Still firm, but soft enough that they've absorbed some of the flavor. I don't recall having falafel in patty form quite like this. They were good, plenty of crunch and still have that soft warm texture. I was very much full and satisfied when I was done, lots of food for sure. I'm looking forward to trying them again. You can
follow them on twitter here or find their website here.



Mediterranean plate. Chicken kabob, veggies, falafel patties, pita, hummus, rice 
and a side salad with pickled radishes.

Frysmith Truck

Frysmith fry truck for lunch. Had the Sweet Po fries, jidori chicken with a tomatillo-tamarind sauce over fresh cut sweet potato fries, topped with cheese and cashews. This was really good. Nice combination of flavors, little bit of the latin influence with the tomatillo, but a little south east Asia (hopefully my compass is pointing correctly ; )) with the tamarind and cashews. Savory, a little spicy in heat, the tamarind adds that nice citrus, a little tart, undertone and the sweet potato fries balanced it all. Sauce gets soaked up by some of the fries which tasted great. It was quite filling and just really good and satisfying.

thefrysmith.com/

Gastrobus

Tried the Gastrobus for lunch. Been wanting to try them out for a while now, but they don't get over to the West side much. They get all of their produce from the Los Feliz farmers market, which is all organic. Had the pulled pork sandwich with pickled onions, lettuce, and a little cilantro that I had to pick off, all on a Cuban roll. Very tasty sandwich. The pork was nice and tender, but not smokey or bbq like. Just good pork. The pickled onions were really great, added a little tanginess without overpowering the sandwich, but preserved some of that onion taste. Great bread as well. Really enjoyed it.

Cheesy Mac Grilled Cheese • Grilled Cheese Truck

Cheesy Mac Grilled Cheese, originally uploaded by LeandroF.

Grilled Cheese Truck. One of the newer trucks to hit L.A.

Really enjoyed it, I tried the cheesy mac grilled cheese with bbq pulled pork. Mac and cheese with sharp chedder and bbq pulled pork. Bread was nicely grilled and the portioning was pretty good as well, the pork didn't overwhelm. Damn good grilled cheese! Tried some of their homemade pickles as well, spicy bread and butter style. Can't go wrong with a good grilled cheese.