The little truck that could....

One of these days I'll learn not to make assumptions.
Today's mobile culinary visit was from The Dosa Truck.
Every time I see that truck my mind goes to "Oh the vegetarian truck!" and I keep going.
Even though both times I've tried this truck in the past I've been pleasantly surprised by how good it is.
And of course today was no exception.
Plus now my stereotyping of this truck as a vegetarian truck has now been dispelled.
Their special of the day was a Tandoori Chicken Dosa.
They generally describe a Dosa as being much like a tortilla but I would say it's more like a crepe.
Anyway, the Tandoori chicken filling was scrumptious with a slight lime citrus undertone and a note of paneer (Indian cheese).
I was very satisfied and pleasantly surprised as I consumed it with an order of their masala fries.
Bottom Line, never underestimate the Dosa.
You might miss out on something good....

An Italian Deli on Wheels

Who doesn't love a good Italian deli sandwich?
Nobody with any taste that's who!
Rosa's Bella Cuccina came to our workplace.
What I really liked about this truck is that I could smell it before I even got out of the building.
Our entire lobby was filled with that awesome aroma of fresh pasta sauces and italian herbs being prepared.

I tried their #1 sandwich in slider form. My partner got the bigger version. She couldn't finish it.
This sandwich is a wonderful combination of Proscuitto, Buffalo Mozzarella and, marinated sun dried tomatoes on ciabatta bread. Simple but awesome!
I also tried their special of the day which was an Italian sausage and peppers sandwich. Not quite the masterpiece that the #1 is but worth eating just the same.
I can't wait for this one to come back. Just wish I would have tried them sooner!

An Unexpected Burger...

Burgers!
So many different ones available.
So many different ways to create one.
Many trucks have them.
So coming across something new and unique is well, special!
Especially coming from a truck not known for it's burgers.
Enter Ta Bom! The truck touting it's "Brazillian Taste"
They have a burger, (Brazillian style I imagine), they call the Hamburgao.
This is a very imaginative Brazillian treatment of what has become an American classic.
First of all this burger is big. Although it doesn't say it anywhere, the patty looks to be about 1/4 to 1/3 of a pound. It's topped with scrambled eggs, bacon, potato stix, corn, mayo, lettuce, tomato and thousand island. I know that sounds like a lot of ingredients but it totally works. Those ingredients come together to create a new and unique taste. unexpected on a burger. The bun is soft and fluffy and the meat is perfectly cooked medium rare.
The comb comes with nicely seasoned fries and a drink for 10 bucks.
This is a food coma waiting to happen, absolutely one of the better burgers I have ever tasted.
So next time you come across Ta Bom, Give the Hamburgao a try. That is if you can get past the pastels, tacos, burritos, the Giselle wrap and the coxinhas!
This truck certainly will get a "Stalker Approved" sticker if we ever get around to having some made!!
Ta Bom is truly the bom!

3 New Favorites

Your food truck stalkers in our efforts quest to try them all are always coming up with new favorites.
We seem to keep finding things that totally rock!
So rather than continually modifying our list, (that's just too much work) we'll feature our "Stalk of the Month"
Since this is our first one we're featuring 3 new, (to us), trucks.
We actually have the luxury of doing truck lunches 5 days a week if we choose to. So you can imagine we try a lot!

Our fist purveyor of culinary orgasmic bliss is Curb A Peel. We've now tried most of their menu and will keep coming back. To pinpoint down what these people serve is difficult. There are 4 tacos, a burrito, a sandwich and a quesadilla on their menu. But to call this Mexican food is doing it a disservice.
One of their tacos, if you could call it that, is the tacodilla. They take a quesadilla, fold it in half and fill it with taco fillings. What hasn't someone thought of this sooner!!??! This thing rocks!
Their red sorrel quesadilla is a quesadilla with red sorrel flowers in it and a gastrique on the outside I can't quite identify but boy is it good. The tacos, especially the drunken sailor are also set to this high standard. The top all that off with their awesome electronic menu and display window kitchen and you just want to make a pig of yourself. So on the 1 to 10 oink meter this one surely gets 10 oinks!

Next on our stalk of the month we find "Clean Street Food". This is a sandwich truck that just goes the extra mile. Chef/Owner Jack Harding clearly has a relationship with food. You can get any entree as a sandwich or naked, (no bread). This works because these fillings work on a bed of greens or between slices of bread. I tried the grilled pork and my partner tried the steak. We opted for bread. When we told him we were trying his truck for the first time he went out of his way to explain each thing and you could tell how much this man loves his food. He definitely showed pride in his food and well he should  Every thing was perfectly balaced and well executed. This food rivals the cafes and bistro in Paris in my opinion. Kudos Mr. Harding for raising the bar for everyone else!

Finally, the farm gets loaded into the truck for Flatiron. This farm to street themed truck is quirky in a lot of ways except one. The food. Put simple, it rocks! The superstar here is the pork burger. A wonderful concoction of chorizo and ground pork, bacon, (it just keeps getting better), pickled onions, arugula and Manchego cheese on a bun. This thing is habit forming and yes, we would go out of our way for one. This thing is so good that I've never even tried their signature flat iron steak. I did however sample one of his dome made donut holes. Of course it melted in my mouth. One of the quirky things about this truck is that only a small part of their menu is set. There are usually daily specials that keep things interesting. And you never know what they'll be until you get there.

So there you have it, our Stalk of the month for July and August. If  you get a chance to try any of these 3 by all means do so! They are all Stalker Approved

Good Day At Work

Some of us are lucky enough to work for a cool place and like what we do.
I, for one, don't mind going to work every day because I like my job and I work for a good company.
How good?
This picture is behind the building I work in during lunch this past Friday.

We get the truck 3 days a week but 3 of them is unusual.
And amazingly, I avoided a food coma by only eating from 2 of them instead of all 3.
In case you cant make them out that's Nom Nom on the left, Crepe 'N Around in the center and Ragin Cajun on the right.
I do love my job!

Food trucks in Granada Hills.. My thoughts here

Your Food Truck Stalkers are not ones to take sides in political debate.
Particularly when it involves local politics and regulation of business.

But when it concerns the Food Trucks we have to speak up. Nobody wants to see what happened in Venice happen again. Thankfully, they got past it.
But it seems that controversy abounds with regards to Friday nights in Granada Hills.
Now it's not surprising that there will be some people who will take exception to this gathering. Local residents who live in and around this quaint area may not want to see their quiet neighborhood give way the throngs of people this gathering attracts. I get that. Anything that draws the press is usually not a good thing.
But that's not always the case. I've been a Valley resident for all of my 50 plus years. I've seen vast amounts of West and North Valley open land give way to urban sprawl.
And as much as people say "Things were so much simpler then" the mind has a tendency to forget the things we didn't like back than and focus on the nostalgic things we did like.
Chatsworth Street in that neighborhood has always been a quaint little street in a quiet neighborhood. But that went away long before the food trucks came along. Granada Hills High School and the 2 huge shopping centers to the west of Zelzah pretty much did that in. What it didn't do was revitalize the area. Instead it pulled shoppers away from the small mom and pop businesses to the east. That area was well on it's way to becoming as depressed as multitudes of strip malls in LA have become since the financial meltdown of the last 10 years.
Then the food trucks happened.
Now there are no vacancies in the shops along this strip of Chatsworth St. The food trucks have actually created demand for retail space here. What other neighborhood is this happening in?
Now of course I'm going to be on the pro food truck side of this debate.
But many have pointed out that the business owners along here might be looking a gift horse in the mouth. This phenomenon brings people to the area. Until the food trucks came I can't remember the last time I was in this area and I live about 3 miles from there.
Now if the trucks are creating a litter problem, I'm sure that they would be glad to police up the area after the doors come down. I've talked to a lot of owners of these trucks. The ones I've met are the nicest people you'd ever want to meet and most are very civic minded.
It's my opinion that instead of fighting with the Business owners of the stores along this strip that they should be working with them to do cross promotions and the like.
I've noticed that the few tines I've been there, that the restaurants and shops that are open are doing good business. And their businesses are being exposed to folks who otherwise wouldn't even know they were there. And this opportunity comes up every week.... for free!
It's my hope that this gathering survives and flourishes so that other jurisdictions see this and follow suit. The food trucks have become a signature of the L.A. landscape. Embrace it is what I say. There are great rewards here.

Iron Chef Truck Edition???? Battle Banh Mi

We have been blessed with the creation of a days old eastern tradition in our own back yard. The creation of Food Truck Kitchen Stadium!
Here, Iron Food Truck chefs compete for glory and to answer the question "Who's food truck cuisine reins supreme?"
Today in Battle Banh Mi we have 3 competitors.
Team one's combination of business sense, speed, top quality ingredients and a cute logo make them the team to beat. The Nom Nom Truck
Our second team is one woman's vision of a fusion between the Vietnamese tastes and Hawaiian tastes combined with recipes learned from her family. The Mandoline Grill
Our third team is a family owned truck that serves a more complete Vietnamese home cooked menu and offers some variety. Now entering Food Truck Kitchen Stadium, Eat Phamish
The Nom Nom truck is probably the most well known of the 3. Started by two college girls after graduating they adhere to the sound philosophy of doing one thing and doing it well. Their truck is always clean, service is very fast and the food is very good. I've stood in line at the Nom Nom truck on a couple of occasions and was very surprised how fast they are able to move that line. On one occasion I was actually first in line and my sandwich was ready before I was even done paying for it. The quality is good and reliable. Nom Nom definitely doesn't disappoint.
Next up we have Mandoline Grill. Here we have the vision of one woman inspired by her family's fusion of Vietnamese and Hawaiian flavors. She spent years researching and perfecting these recipes to the point where they could be reproduced with constancy. All that research paid off in spades. These are some of the best quality sandwiches I've ever had. And there are some other very imaginative uses of the ingredients here as well. The Vietnamese Nachos are wort trying as well for something a little different.
Finally we have the family owned Eat Phamish truck. This is more of a restaurant on wheels in the sense that their offerings go beyond the Banh Mi's to spring rolls, Pho and Vermicelli/Rice dishes. This was also the first Banh Mi I ever tried. Clearly it hooked me in. The Banh Mi was meaty, big and delicious. The spring roll is also very good here.
So who's cuisine reins supreme?
That's the decision of our judges.
Who are our judges?
Why, you of course!
Here's the way I see it. The flat out best one in my opinion is Mandoline Grill. For me, the flavor is best and the sandwich satisfies me.
Only a very short distance behind is Nom Nom. Technically well executed, these girls know what the sandwich should taste like and hit it consistently. Great truck if you're in a hurry. Very fast service.
And almost in a dead heat with Nom Nom is Eat Phamish.The food here tastes as if it came from somebody's kitchen. The Banh Mi itself, large and meaty with great flavor. The spring rolls here are worth a try as well, but beware, they're bigger in person than the pictures on the truck make you think they are.
So try all 3 and you be the judge.
Make it an adventure. Then it's obvious who the winner will be, why you of course!
FTS