Kogi trucks are the brainchild of a Korean restauranteur in LA's trendy Westside. His fusion "Korexican" cuisine can be found at Alibi, a cozy bar in Mar Vista. Taking it to the streets is the Kogi mission. It is a blending of two cultures and capitalizes on something yummy from each: LA's love of taco trucks and their cheap, but good eats meets Korean spiciness. The combination, previously unconsidered is magic to the tastebuds. The Kogi truck has a limited menu...4 types of tacos and an equal number of burritos, plus the chef's special of the day. The taco meat choices are: beef short rib (minus the bones), spicy pork, spicy chicken and tofu. Covering the taco is a type of cabbage-based slaw. It is best described as chopped cabbage marinated in kimchee juice. Garlicky, fiery spicy with a little vinegar tang. The combination of a griddled corn tortilla, the flavorful meat and the spicy cabbage is amazing. The same meat goes into the burrito choices, along with eggs, cheese and hash browns. Yes, I know it sounds weird, but trust me on this one...it works.
The lines at the Kogi truck are crazy long. Average wait is over an hour. Kogi has leveraged the "supply and demand" curve to its benefit. The Kogi truck is only at its designated spot for a couple of hours, and getting to that spot early enough for lunch or dinner is the key. Prepare for a wait...comfortable shoes and good company. The line can be a social networking opportunity as well because you have a built in conversation starter...the food, the line, and the location.
Here's the marketing genius of the Kogi trucks...you can only find their location through Twitter. Sign up on Twitter, find the Kogi truck site, and they will then "twitter" you with the latest locations of their two roving trucks. Businesses looking to generate some foot traffic to their locations are begging the Kogi trucks to make a stop. I think they could charge to show up and make bank.
Here are the signs that the Kogi phenomenon is becoming a cultural trend...it is developing its own community of followers and has some unspoken rules to participate: Don't take too much foil for take-out. Don't order too much food because it seems selfish. Clean up after yourself and don't make a mess at the site. Let the cops to the front of the line so they don't hassle Kogi.
My first order at the Kogi truck included one each of all four tacos. I couldn't decide which I liked better. My expectation was that the short ribs would be my favorite, followed closely by the spicy pork. Nope...I LOVED the spicy chicken the best. The flavor of that griddled dark meat chicken melding with the garlicky spicy marinade was delicious. The tofu was slightly fried to give it some flavor, and it absorbed the juice from the slaw fairly well. The short ribs and spicy pork didn't disappoint, but the chicken just outperformed it all. The special of the day was a Kimchee Quesadilla...which I heard was delicious from a fellow Kogi fan, but I am not that big of a Kimchee fan anyway.
The prices are reasonable...$2 per taco and $5 for a burrito. Not bad for LA. But give yourself lots of time. We got to the location half an hour too late and waited 90 minutes just to give our order and another 25 for the order to appear. There were a couple of huge orders ahead of ours, and the crowd gave those food hogs a hard time for ordering way too much food. Two people had each ordered 6-8 peoples worth of food. Boo! How inconsiderate, and the folks in line let them know that they had crossed the line of impropriety.
Go Kogi!
Chow!
