A Seriously Sweet Saturday in Venice

A couple of Saturdays ago (yeah yeah I'm behind on this post) Babs, Jordan and I hit Abbot Kinney Blvd. in Venice for a late brunch/lunch at Gjelina, so we could take advantage of the patio and the sunny, 72 degree November weather. Our plans changed, however, when we passed the impossible-to-resist duo of the Kogi BBQ and Flying Pig food trucks during our search for parking. All thoughts of a civilized, seated meal went out the window, and after a quick trip to the ATM and a run in with one of the best (albiet confusing) t-shirts ever seen, we got in line for some grub.

If you don't know about the Kogi BBQ truck by now, then you've been living in a convent or under a rock. The Kogi truck started roaming Los Angeles about a year ago, and its following is now so huge it can't be called cult anymore. Serving Korean-Mexican fare, such as tacos and burritos made with spicy pork, short ribs, or BBQ chicken and kimchee quesadillas, lines at the Kogi truck can run 45 minutes to an hour. Luckily for us, there wasn't too much of a crowd at 2:30 on a Saturday afternoon, and we had our food in about 15 minutes.

The Flying Pig truck is a relatively new addition to the ever-growing gourmet food truck scene in LA, and features what I call "Asian Fusion Street Food" -- Asian and Pacific Rim flavors and classic French techniques used to create a menu of creative street food. Choices include tamarind duck tacos with almonds and beet salad, smoked chicken tacos with green curry and napa slaw, grilled beef short rib tacos with oyster mushrooms and spicy "death sauce", and pork belly sliders with red onion escabeche and sesame cucumber.

Both trucks delivered some seriously delicious vittles. Using the indiscriminate sampling approach, we ordered short rib tacos, a spicy pork "blackjack" quesadilla with caramelized onions and jack and cheddar cheese, and the "Kogi dog" (a Kobe beef hot dog with kimchee) from the Kogi truck,

and duck, short rib and spicy pork tacos and pork belly sliders from the Flying Pig truck.

The two standouts were Kogi's short rib tacos and the Flying Pig's duck tacos, followed closely by the quesadilla and the sliders. The Kogi dog was excellent, but felt a tad mundane in comparison to the adventurous tacos. All of our food was flavorful, delicious, and pleasingly portable. For less than $10 per person, we ate like royalty (at least as close to royalty as you can get on a concrete bench in parking lot) and got to check a food truck meal off our LA to-do list.

We finished the afternoon off with a few cocktails (Makers & Ginger Ale) at the Brig, a once-divey bar whose metrosexual makeover is surprisingly pleasing.

That night, I went to a beer and cheese party in Silverlake. And that is about as much good food, drink and exposure to seriously hip people as any gal should have in one day.

I love LA.