a pesky eater's guide to LA food trucks, part 3

i was never a picky eater. i'd eat almost anything served to me, whether it be comfort food cooked at home, fried mystery meat served at fast food joints, aromatic concoctions doled out by street vendors, or gourmet meals presented at 5-star restaurants. as long as it tasted good to someone, i was willing to give it a shot.

but that was before i decided to give up eating meat altogether. now all i can do is reminisce about the taste and feel of the food i no longer eat -- well-aged steaks, perfectly-sauced chicken, tender juicy pork chops. thank god i still eat fish and seafood, otherwise i'd go nuts!

because the items listed at the top of most menus feature meat from animals who used to roam the earth -- or their cages, in some cases -- most vegetarians and pescetarians will usually walk right past the brightly-painted trucks parked curbside during the lunch break... and head straight for nearby salad bars where they can load up on the familiar (read: ho-hum) assortment of veggies and dressings.

if they only knew what they were missing!

i've been checking out the food truck scene for many months now and have already posted two guides covering the pescetarian options on the trucks i'd visited -- all 27 of them:

~ a pescetarian's guide to the LA food truck scene, part 1
~ veg-head LA food truck guide, part 2

since then, i've stopped at seven more trucks. so once again, i'm going to merge the list of truck names included in those two earlier entries with these new ones so that you have all of them in one convenient place, with a link to the appropriate review. i've also included their websites as well as the names they tweet under (because that's the only way you'll ever find out where they're parked!)

asian-latin fusion cuisine trucks:

kogi BBQ (kogibbq.com @kogibbq) - korean-mexican (part 1)
calbi BBQ (calbibbq.com @calbiBBQ) - korean-mexican (part 1)
bool BBQ (boolbbq.com @boolBBQ) - korean-mexican (part 1)
bull kogi (kimchibulkogi.com @bullkogi) - korean-mexican (part 1)
don chow tacos (donchowtacos.com @donchowtacos) - chinese-mexican (part 1)
LA fuxion (lafuxion.com @LA_FuXion) - asian-latin (part 1)
lomo arigato (lomoarigato.com @lomoarigato) - japanese-peruvian (part 2)


ethnic street food trucks:

marked5 (marked5.com @Marked5) - japanese burgers (part 1)
fishlips sushi (fishlips-sushi.com @fishlips_sushi) - sushi (part 1)
skewers on wheels (skewersonwheels.com @SKEWERSONWHEELS) - ** no longer around **
india jones chow truck (indiajoneschowtruck.com @indiajonesct) - indian frankies and curries (part 1)
dosa truck (dosatruck.com @dosatruck) - indian dosas (part 1)
nom nom (nomnomtruck.com @nomnomtruck) - vietnamese banh mi sandwiches (part 1)
border grill (bordergrill.com/bg_t/bg_twel.htm @BorderGrill) - gourmet mexican (part 1)
panini on wheels (paninionwheels.com @paninionwheels) - italian paninis (part 2)

flying pig truck (flyingpigtruck.com @FlyingPigTruck) - asian and pacific rim; i liked the tofu buns with crushed honey-roasted peanuts and the crab balls with cilantro-lime chimichurri, but what grabbed my attention were the plantain fries, which reminded me of the saging na saba of my childhood in the philippines :) i have to confess that i also tried the tamarind duck taco that people have been raving about (yup, i'm not perfect) and i can see why they love it... it was fabulous!


good-old american grub trucks:

green truck (greentruckonthego.com @Green_Truck) - organic dishes (part 1)
let's be frank (letsbefrankdogs.com @letsbefrank) - hotdogs (part 1)
south philly experience (southphillyexperience.com @SouthPhillyExp) - philly cheesesteak sandwiches (part 1)
barbie's Q (barbiesq.com @BarbiesQ) - BBQ (part 1)
LA BBQ guy (labbqguy.com @labbqguy) - BBQ (part 1)
chef on wheels BBQ (chefonwheelscatering.com @chefonwheelsBBQ) - hawaiian-influenced food (part 1)
baby's badass burgers (babysbadassburgers.com @babysbbs) - burgers (part 2)
gastrobus (thegastrobus.com @thegastrobus) - soups and sandwiches (part 2)
grilled cheese truck (thegrilledcheesetruck.com @grlldcheesetruk) - grilled cheese sandwiches (part 2)

dogtown dogs (dogtowndog.com @dogtowndog) - hotdogs; for a dollar more, you can sub a soy dog instead of the all-beef dog in their signature dog (topped with fennel slaw, dijon mustard, and roasted red peppers) or in the california dog (loaded with avocado, arugula, fried onions, and more). or you can order the portobello mushroom, roasted pepper, grilled onion, and melted cheese "dog". all that veggie goodness will fill your belly quite nicely; it did mine :)

mattie's kitchen (mattiessouthernkitchen.blogspot.com @mattieskitchen - southern cooking; if you're looking for chicken fried steak and smothered pork chops, you won't find it here. but then again, as pescetarians, we really don't eat that stuff anyway (at least i keep telling myself that). i've wolfed down the vegetable gumbo, shrimp and grits, even the hoppin' john (black-eyed peas and rice)... and i can't wait to track down chris and this truck again (and again) so i can try the shrimp and catfish po boys, mac and cheese, red beans and rice... there's so much to choose from!

frysmith (eatfrysmith.com @frysmith) - french fries; while i love french fries as much as the next person, i'm really not into the chili cheese fries scene. if you are, ask for the soy chorizo with beans alternative that can be put on top of either regular or sweet potato fries. shredded cheese is optional. as for me, i'll just have to wait until they come up with something that keeps the fries crisp until i eat them. like with a simple dipping sauce. or two.


and lastly, my personal favorite, the dessert trucks (which are totally vegetarian!):

get shaved (getshavedice.com @getshaved) - shaved ice (part 1)
coolhaus (eatcoolhaus.com @COOLHAUS) - ice cream sandwiches (part 1)
king kone (kingkone.net @kingkonela) - soft serve cones, sundaes, floats, and shakes (part 1)

sprinkles (sprinkles.com @sprinklesmobile) - cupcakes; this is a roving branch of their popular brick-and-mortar store. while the selection of cupcake flavors offered on the truck is limited and the cost per cupcake is higher ($4 on the truck vs. $3.25 at the store), you might be willing to pay the "convenience charge" just so you don't have to drive all the way to beverly hills for a cupcake or two. AND find a nearby place to park :(

dainty cakes (daintycakesla.com @daintycakesla) - cupcakes; talk about fresh -- the cupcakes are actually baked on the truck! besides the usual sugar-laden variety, they have vegan, gluten-free, and sugar-free options, too. they have a slew of cake/frosting combinations in the display case to drool over while you decide what to get. that one time i found them, i passed on the red velvet and the chocolate cupcakes (i know, it was hard) and picked the banana with strawberry frosting. after i ate it all up, i felt like goldilocks, thinking that it wasn't too sweet nor too big; it was just right.

sweets truck (thesweetstruck.com @thesweetstruck) - pastries and coffee; unlike the other two cupcake trucks, molly does NOT bake her own stuff. instead, she sources her treats from various bakeries and candy shops around the city. the one thing she DOES make on the truck is steaming hot coffee and espresso (yes, there's an espresso machine on the truck!). the truck is equipped to make anything from lattes to cappuccinos, so there's no need for a starbucks run if the sweets truck is anywhere nearby!

there are a few more twittering food trucks that are slated to start rolling this month; i'll keep you posted on what's on them as soon as i find them. in the meantime, here's a little slideshow on what these trucks actually look like: food truck frenzy!