Kogi Taco, Calbi BBQ, Green Truck, Let’s Be Frank, Nom Nom, Sprinkles Cupcakes… the world of Food Trucks is going to hell in a hand basket around Los Angeles! Try walking through downtown LA at night and you’ll spot a plethora of uniquely themed Food Trucks ranging from Korean BBQ to Indian Cuisine.

The craze started a little over a year ago when a Food Truck serving Korean themed Mexican food parked outside a popular night club and the craze took off faster than a Pink Berry like yogurt stand on your corner. Since these are mobile restaurants, you’ll have to track them down using the Twitter feeds or sites like findlafoodtrucks.com.

By far, the most popular Taco Truck right now is the Kogi taco truck, which has spawned several smaller imitators. I first attempted to grab a quick bite during lunch at Kogi, but seeing as the line was about 40 people long, we opted for the next best thing. Calbi BBQ!

Nothing snazy here. Just a food truck parked on the side of the street with sodas, waters and Korean beverages. Try ordering the Sac Sac orange juice without giggling.

I ordered the beef burrito with a side of Sriracha for $5. Upon the first bite, only one thought came to mind. An Anthony Bourdain TV promo where he’s biting into an egg sandwich and says “I’m a total egg slut!”. The eggs in this burrito make such a nice complement to the Korean bbq beef that I couldn’t believe how good this thing was. Top it off with Sriracha and I was in heaven!

19117 Pioneer Boulevard
Artesia, CA 90701

http://www.yelp.com/biz/pho-tasty-artesia

Pho, Fo, Fah, Phoh..

Fuh? Say it like you’re asking a question. For those who don’t know, that’s how you phonetically pronounced this staple of Vietnamese cuisine. Not only is it quick and tasty, Pho is CHEAP! Ranging from $4 – $7, one can usually rely on heading out to a local Pho restaurant for a tasty meal of sliced beef, tripe, beef balls and rice noodles.

Pulling up my trusty Yelp application on my iPhone, I quickly honed in on this restaurant in my neighborhood with 4.5/5 from 140+ reviews.

For the most part, my favorite Vietnamese restaurants consists of a small hole in the wall type restaurant with a short Asian mom manning the cashier. Pho Tasty is anything, but small shanty hole in the wall. It is a modestly sized Vietnamese restaurants with seating for roughtly 40 people.

Ordering is pretty simple here. Find the “Special Combination” or “Special Bowl” and order it. I’m not finicky when ordering my food, so just order the combo and remove anything that doesn’t float your boat.  If you’re feeling extra hungry, there’s always the spring roll or eggroll to order as an appetizer.

Pictured above is the Special Combination Super Bowl with a side of rare beef. Only $0.50 more for a larger bowl and $2.00 for extra meat! I’m starting to feel fatter as I’m writing this.

Also accompanying the meal are mint leaves, lime, chilis and bean sprouts. Once they bring these over, feel free to ask the servers to steam the bean sprouts. They taste much better that way since I don’t like how the raw beansprouts make my meal extra crunchy.

Remember the rare beef? Hold off on it next time. There’s a TON of meat in this Pho! The meat served here is pretty high quality with the noodles cooked just right. Sometimes restaurants serve their Pho still clinging on to each other, but these fell apart nicely.

Lastly, it would be a sin to have a Pho entry without listing the two staples of southeast Asian cuisine. Sriracha and Hoisin Sauce! Sriracha is a world renounce hot sauce that can practically be found at any Asian restaurant. Add it on top of anything and you’re set. I use this combo of Sriracha and Hoisin as dipping sauce to my meats. Yum!