Burger Wars
The burger wars are heating up in the food truck world.
I've written about this before but there are so many entries into this category that I thought I would editorialize it a bit.
In the LA Food Truck World there seems to be 3 categories of burgers.
They are

1. Gourmet
2. Ghetto
3. Internationally inspired

The gourmet burgers are the unusual ones. There were the first ones to appear on the truck scene. With Grill "Em All as the standard-bear in this category the others have a lot to live up to. And some of them do pretty well. Others no so much. Nonetheless trucks like Rounds, Da Burger Boss, Twist Burgers, The Patty Wagon, Red Robin and Baby's Badass Burgers will keep the rockers from Grill 'Em All on their toes.

Now I use the term "ghetto" to describe the next category because some of these are actually trucks attached to some of the great burger joints of South Central. Trucks like Fresh And Meaty, B&R, El Burger Luchador and Caridad Cuisine fall into this category. These trucks keep it simple, hearty and use the best ingredients. Nothing fancy here, just great burgers.

The Internationally inspired ones are the ones that push the boundaries of the burger paradigm. Here you'll find unusual ingredients and new flavors.
Some examples here would be

1. Ta Bom's Hamburgao, features scrambled eggs, bacon, potato stix, corn, mayo, lettuce, tomato and thousand island.
2. Chasing Paradise's Paradise Burger features Filipino cured pork burger, served on a kings Hawaiian bun, with an egg, mango papaya slaw, green onion and cilantro with a garlic aioli 
3. Flatiron's Pork Burger contains 5oz triple pork, bacon tomato jam, pickled red onions arugala & manchego cheese on a brioche bun.
4.  Vizzi's Venison Burger, is a deer meat patty with Maple-Dijon Sriracha Aioli, Charred Sweet Onion, Queso Panela, Bacon
5. Curbside Cravings Tapa Burger,contains Grilled marinated beef patty, topped with cilantro, tomato and egg,on a bed of a special mango-bell pepper slaw with garlic aioli spread
6. Kogi Bbq's Pacman Burger has both of their salsas all three of their meats Sesame mayo  Salad   Chicharrones  Jack and cheddar cheeses.

I've even heard rumors of an Umami Burger food truck. I've never actually seen or come across this truck before so it's existence is questionable but there it is.
There are a lot more examples in this category but you get the idea. 

Whatever you like, you can find on a burger on the LA truck scene. 
So who wins the burger wars.....????

Well it goes without saying, but I'll say it anyway.
You do!

Food Truck Mosh Up!!!!!!

With the number of food trucks in the LA area numbering in the hundreds one might think that the number of ways you could combine things would be almost endless. And you would be right. But the possibilities become even wider when you think in terms of putting two trucks together in a kind of a mosh up.
Today at work I did one of the best mosh ups I've ever tried.
The two trucks in this one were Barbie's Q, (already one of our favorites), and Brats Berlin. The mosh up starts with a bbq beef sandwich from Barbie's Q. We ordered the sandwich with just the beef and cole slaw. Then I walked over to Brats Berlin and got a kielbasa sandwich without the roll. Just the kielbasa and some sauteed sweet peppers and onions. I split the sausage length wise and put it on top of the sandwich and then put the onions and peppers on top of that.
All in all I think I just consumed about 10,000 calories worth of food coma inducing, messy deliciousness.
Probably one of the best sandwiches I've ever tasted.
It's awesome what a little imagination can come up with.
Now if you'll excuse me it's nappy time........!

OK, so I'm gushing!

Every once in a while a truck comes along that your Stalkers look forward to in anticipation.
Anyone who has tried Global Soul before would agree, this is one of L.A.'s best.
We've tried several different things they make and have never been disappointed.
So the only way to make a good thing better is when it comes to us!
Yes, today the ladies from Global Soul came to our workplace to serve lunch.
Nice thing about working for a large company, we support 2 or 3 trucks every day.

And where that may be rough on our wallets and wastelines, it makes us happy at lunch!
 
 Here's your stalkers with the crew from Global Soul.
Great food, great lunch.... now it's sleepy time!
So when you see that green truck L.A., show them the love! and have a Toastie!

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