Sunday, August 23, 2009

Food trucks face troubles, but how good is the food?

While I was hanging with the goats and gourmets of Northern California, I missed the beginnings of the Wilshire food truck wars, as reported by LAist. I knew trouble was brewing, though, when the owner of Barbie's Q told me he had been asked to move by the restaurants on the Baja Fresh/Johnnie's/O to Go strip. I find it hard to believe that these chain businesses have actually had to lay people off because of food trucks. Many of the customers of the food trucks, like me, are people who burned out on all those restaurants long ago and and were holding out for something new. Meanwhile, the concierge of our building at 5900 Wilshire is sending out a handy schedule of trucks.
Fishlips Sushi is joining the rotating lineup which includes Baby's Badass Burgers, Green Truck on the Go, Kogi, Skewers on Wheels and Dosa Truck.
Update: Things are getting tougher for the trucks, says the L.A. Times, with police citing them for minor issues. Mid-Wilshire area restaurants are the first to strike back at the trucks for supposedly infringing on their business, but I agree with the Baja Fresh manager -- I don't buy it.
So far, the food from these trucks is leaving me kinda lukewarm. Here's where I stand so far:
My Kogi meal back in December was probably the best yet -- 3 1/2 out of 4 tires, because the tacos are reasonably priced and have actual flavor.
GreenTruckLA: Both the veggie burgers and beef burgers are good, and I love the fresh salad and perky dressing. Prices are high though, and a whole wheat bun would be even better.
3 out of 4 tires.
Barbie's Q: So far I've only tried the pulled BBQ chicken sandwich. The price was fair at $6.95, but the chicken was chunked, not pulled, the sauce was boring, the sandwich was small and there was barely a spoonful of coleslaw on the side.
1 1/2 out of 4 tires.
Dosa Truck: Interesting idea, but the execution was lacking. The flavor of the spinach and cheese dosa was ok, but the flat, floppy concoction was more like a crepe, and the pancake's flavor was too tangy. At $6, it's just too much for what you get.
1 1/2 out of 4 tires.

9 comments:

SundayGirLA said...

thanks for the review! people are so excited about having the option (which they should natch) but no one ever speaks about the taste/quality/price etc. of the food.

DOSAtruck said...

We'd LOVE U 2 come back
If the DOSA was not thin and crispy I cant say why
It is not our standard
I was not on the truck
Peeps LUV the spinach-mushroom-cheese
Lets give U a sampler platter and see if we can get enuf tires to get on the road!

shebop said...

You need to try indiajonesct - amazing food!!!!

SinoSoul said...

bwahahahahahaha. 1 1/2 tires out of 4. AWESOME.

You made a funny!

mattatouille said...

The dosa I had last week was pretty good - I had the one with potato and lentil. But for $6 bucks..come on...that's a bit much for street food (especially with those ingredients.

Anonymous said...

You got to try PaniniOnWheels!!!
Italian Panini!! made from real Italians!!!!
New Truck!!!

Unknown said...

Hey nice reviews.
I heard of a new truck coming soon different from the rest I've seen!
Gourmet Food-like! Can't wait!!
Komodo Food. Frysmith just came out too. Specializing in loaded fries!

Hino Trucks said...

I read that you get taco trucks in America, now that's amazing!

TacoLover said...

If you like Taco Trucks and have an iPhone check out the new Taco Loco app, its been reviewed at several blogs.