Meals On Wheels | gas•tron•o•my

Archive for the 'Meals on Wheels' Category

Dim Sum Truck - Los Angeles

Published

on February 22, 2010

in Chinese, Dim Sum, Los Angeles, Meals on Wheels, Media Event and Restaurant Review

. 27 Comments

Fellow street food lovers: Meet the Dim Sum Truck. It’s the newest (and steamiest) meals-on-wheels venture to grace our fair city. The truck’s official debut is still a few days away, but The Astronomer I were fortunate enough to attend a sneak peek at the T-Lofts in West Los Angeles this weekend. I have a feeling that this truck is going to be mobbed once it hits the street, so it was quite a treat to scope it out before the hoards queued up.

The guy behind the wheel is Alex Chu, a USC grad (’09) with an entrepreneurial spirit, chill demeanor, and megawatt smile (his dad’s a dentist). Prior to joining the pack of Twittering trucks, Mr. Chu interned at BLT Steak and worked as a server at Sino Restaurant in San Jose.

The Dim Sum Truck was the vision of one man, but it took a village to launch it successfully. To assist with recipe development and vendor contacts, Mr. Chu enlisted the help of family friends working in the restaurant business. To create the truck’s distinctive logo and modern style, he recruited his tech and design-savvy high school mates. The team effort resulted in a truck that’s not only pleasing to the eye, but pleasing to the palate as well.

We started the tasting with a trio of parcels—shu mai, har gow, and a chive and shrimp dumpling. Served straight from the steamers, each one was hot, fresh, and packed with the good stuff. What made this dim sum experience different from others was Mr. Chu’s secret sauce. Salty, garlicky, and even a little spicy, this condiment made the dumplings shine and the flavors pop. I didn’t miss the lack of soy sauce or chili oil one bit.

Next, we dug into some sticky rice with sausage and mushrooms. The fist-sized package was wrapped in fragrant lotus leaves. Similar to the dumplings, the flavors and textures were totally spot on.

The final savory sample was a traditional turnip cake. The sides were seared and golden, while the innards were slightly creamy. The Astronomer thought that this was one of the better versions of the dish that he has eaten.

For dessert, Mr. Chu busted out the blow torch! Who doesn’t love dinner and a show?

The bad ass blowtorch-action resulted in an egg tart/crème brulée hybrid that was out of sight. The crust was properly flaky, while the filling was sweet and rich. The sesame ball had a lovely glutinous texture and was filled with smooth lotus paste.

All of the offerings that we tasted this afternoon wouldn’t be out of place served in the dim sum halls of the San Gabriel Valley. I really appreciated that there wasn’t any skimping on ingredients or watering down of flavors on board the truck. Nothing beats an authentic dim sum experience with squeaky carts and the bossy ladies driving them, but when a craving hits and you’re west of downtown, the Dim Sum Truck will surely do.

Follow the Dim Sum Truck on Twitter @DimSumTruck.

POWER RANKINGS

India Jones Chow Truck > Dim Sum Truck > Border Grill Truck > Cool Haus > Lomo Arigato > Don Chow > Kogi > Marked 5 > Dosa Truck > Phamish

LA Street Food Fest

Published

Gastronomer

on February 15, 2010

in Banh Mi, Brazilian, Cha Gio, Food Event, Japanese, Los Angeles, Meals on Wheels, Mexican, Nem Nuong, Street Food and Vietnamese

. 21 Comments

Even though I was warned by the Twitterverse of hour-long lines and have experienced firsthand the utter chaos of large-scale food events (See: Grilled Cheese Invitational and Great American Food and Music Fest), missing out on the first annual LA Street Food Fest was completely out of the question—I live for meals on wheels!

I am not alone in my passion for street eats. Fifteen-thousand Angelenos descended upon LA Center Studios in downtown this past Saturday to stuff their pie holes with Brazilian acaraje, Japanese hot dogs, Mexican huarache, and so much more. The thirty-five trucks at the festival were armed and mostly ready to feed the masses. Even though lines seemed to snake on forever, nearly all of the vendors managed to bring enough food to last the entire day. Those who endured the lengthy waits were rewarded for their efforts.

Hands-down the most popular truck of the day was Chef Ludo Lefebvre’s pop-up fried chicken mobile. In true Ludo Bites fashion, Krissy ran the front of the “house,” while Ludo and his brigade churned out fresh bites in the back. Hungry folks hankering for a piece of LFC waited upwards of two hours for a taste.

Luckily, we were able to finagle a piece from our friend Mattatouille, who was helping out on the truck. Cutting in line is admittedly bad form, but Ludo’s fried chicken elicits bad behavior. The fried chicken was comprised of various pieces of boneless dark meat held together by a crisp batter. The meat was juicy as heck, while the crust was superbly seasoned. The side of sweet and spicy piquillos sauce was a nice touch—everyone loves to dip their nuggets.

The Astronomer took one for the team and waited forty-five minutes at the Phamish truck (@eatphamish), which specializes in Vietnamese home cooking. While my boy was diligently waiting in line, I met up with my pals Sook and Sarah, and we kicked it with Jonathan Gold. Woot woot! We talked about good food, Pasadena, and good food in Pasadena (not!).

When The Astronomer finally arrived on the scene, we dug into one very mushy cha gio, one sad nem nuong skewer, and two stale banh mi sandwiches. All of the food tasted like it was made the day before and with indifference. Mr. Gold quipped that the nem nuong had a Kibbles ‘n Bits-like quality to it. Hilarious. I’d like to give Phamish another go when the crowds have simmered down.

Next, we moved onto Dogzilla’s Japanese-style hot dogs.

Served on lightly toasted King’s Hawaiian Bread, the spicy sausage was topped with bacon, avocado, caramelized onions, furikake, Japanese mayo, and teriyaki sauce. The wiener was interesting, well-balanced, and quite tasty.

Following wiener time, we met up with my friend Bill for Brazilian street food at Sabor da Bahia. I indulged in a warm acaraje, a traditional Bahian street food made of black eyed peas fried in dendê (palm) oil. The fritters were served with a hotter than hot malagueta pepper sauce. We also shared some coxinha de galinha, drumstick-shaped bites filled with savory shredded chicken and cream cheese.

Our last stop of the day was at Antojitos de la Abuelita, a cart specializing in Mexico City-style street food.

Mr. Gold procured a huge spread for our group to share. It included huarache with cecina (dried beef); clayuda (Mexican “pizza”) with chorizo, tasajo (thinly sliced and seared beef), and cecina; mole verde (green) with chicken; pambazo (Mexican “French dip” in chile guajillo sauce filled with potatoes and chorizo); and Oaxacan mole.

I love this city. Check out the complete set of photos via Flickr.

Marked5 - Los Angeles

Published

Gastronomer

on November 28, 2009

in Japanese, Los Angeles, Meals on Wheels and Restaurant Review

. 8 Comments

With our bellies stuffed UN-style with Peruvian-Japanese, Chinese-Mexican, and straight-up Indian street food, The Astronomer and I probably should have thrown in the towel and called it a night. However, dwelling on the East Side, we had no idea when another opportunity would arise for us to come face-to-face with this many gourmet food trucks again. A combination of fear, gluttony, and scarcity inspired one last stop at Marked5, a truck specializing in “old school Japanese and new school American.” Say what?

According to Marked5’s website, its name is derived from the number of partners behind the truck, the price of the food sold on the truck, the number of senses the food will open up, and the number of fingers it takes to hold said food. Five.

Heeding the advice of the Marked5 customers served before us, The Astronomer and I avoided the Torakku Beef Burger and ordered the Katsu Pork Burger, which was described as “tender, boneless pork fried to golden perfection served with Marked5 special Katsu sauce, along with fresh cabbage, and our signature handmade rice buns” on the menu.

The highlight of the burger was the thin slab of pork that was properly crunchy and fried to “golden perfection.” The Katsu sauce wasn’t exactly horrible, just a little sour tasting and overly liquored up. The least effective component of the Marked5 burger was the “bun.” It is of utmost importance that street food be transportable and neat enough to be consumed on one’s feet. Marked5’s prized rice buns disintegrated at first bite, leaving my hands glazed with sauce. I would have been willing to deal with the annoyance had the bun actually been tasty, but such a mediocre product did not merit that much of an effort.

Follow Marked5 on Twitter @Marked5.

POWER RANKINGS

India Jones Chow Truck > Dim Sum Truck > Border Grill Truck > Cool Haus > Lomo Arigato > Don Chow > Kogi > Marked 5 > Dosa Truck > Phamish