I've tasted the KOGI

OMGWTFKOGIBBQ is what you want to look for on Twitter. Everybody I know is buzzing about these rolling purveyors of cheap fusion eats. These are not your traditional taco trucks.

I've been reading the buzz and hearing friends rave on about the cult following these guys have. I've seen the cryptic postings on Twitter.  A sample, "OMGWTFKOGIBBQ is at Terminal 6 LAX you'll luv our Venice Alley Kimchi Quesadilla"

When this pops up on the iPhone, fans jump in the car and race to the location, where the crowd gathers before the truck even arrives. Hungry hipsters mill around talking spicy BBQ pork and how the truck ran out of food right before he was up last time. That's right, they dish up the goods until they run out. Then it's all over.

I was on my way to bellydance class in Eagle Rock when I spotted the truck outside of The Colorado Wine Co. on Colorado Bl. I thought about my food budget for the day and hoped it would still be there when class let out. As soon as I got to class, Linda said, "Did you see the KOGI barbecue truck?!!!" (I had to put in the three exclamation points, because she was so excited.) So, after pre-burning our calories by shimmying and thrusting we raced down there to see that the truck was indeed there and yes, there was a crowd.

Linda got the James Bond parking spot right across the street, while I had to hoof it a block, so by the time I got there, she had already secured a place in the growing line up and got the scoop on what was going on. The Colorado Wine Co, bless their hearts had worked up a wine pairing to go with Korean barbecue tacos! Folks paid some 25 or 30 bucks (depending on who you asked) for a wristband, which got you four glasses of wine and loads of tacos. All this madness started at 4PM, and then at 8:30 the rest of us were allowed to step up and order ours.

So there were two lines, one for the folks participating in the wine pairing deal, and one for the rest of us who were hoping the truck wouldn't run out of food before our turn. The crowd was friendly and happy to relate their past exploits in the KOGI truck chasing. I'm always afraid to piss off hungry people waiting in a line, so I don't ask any favors, but Linda, upon hearing it would be at least a half hour before we even got to step up to the truck window, suggested we go inside the store and get a glass of wine. She looked at the tall gentleman standing next to her and said, "He'll hold our place, won't you?" To my amazement he said he would. Even more amazing the group in line behind us seemed OK with it as well! We had a glass of Pinot Noir, and I don't recall what it was beyond that as it was a pretty crowded scene in there with really happy people smacking away on tacos with paper plates and wine glasses piling up everywhere.

We noticed some action outside so off we went to reclaim our place in line. There is no menu painted on the side of the truck, so every so often one of the guys comes out to verbally tell the line what they are serving and how much it costs. Think Korean BBQ, grilled and served up in warm tortillas with a really tasty sauce made with garlic, chili, green onions and probably some other things I couldn't distinguish, kimchi and all the things you associate with the normal taco trucks, Tepatio sauce, jalapenos and radishes.

I got a beef burrito ($4.), a tofu burrito and a beef taco ($2.). I love Korean marinated bbq beef. It's sliced really thin so it is  tender and it has crispy bits from the grilling. The burrito has meat, onions, cilantro, not too much sauce and maybe a bit of cheese. I thought I tasted cheese, but it wasn’t heavy handed on the cheese. It was all about the meat. The tofu, which I got because I wanted to see how that would translate to a burrito, and because I have been experimenting myself with marinating some tofu. The tofu burrito was pretty much the same as with the meat,dressed with the spicy salsa & wrapped in a nicely griddled flour burrito. I opened the burrito and put the kimchi I had got on the side inside, re-wrapped and munched away. The kimchi gave a nice crunchy contrast to the silky tofu.

There are lots of photos you can see if you go to the KOGI website. There you will also find links so that you too can track down one of these phenomenal local rolling wonders. I contributed a couple of bucks toward the people behind us in line's food for being so cool about Linda & I ducking into the wine store and then going back to our spot in line. I recommend you checking out KOGI BBQ when they roll through your neighborhood. If you can, take Linda with you, I promise it'll be fun.