I Am a Foodie - Food Trucks!

The latest thing on the Los Angeles dining radar is Food Trucks!  Not the little hot dog vendors associated with the corners of New York City, but rather gourmet dining with full-fledged chefs taking their food on the road and capturing the niche of hungry "foodies" during their lunch hour.  In fact, the latest reality show on the Food Network is "The Great Food Truck Race" hosted by Chef Tyler Florence, where seven celebrity food trucks compete in cities across the US for a grand prize of $50,000.  One of our favorite local restaurants, "Rajin' Cajun" in Hermosa Beach is one of the contestants.

There has also been much noise in the local political arenas about the legality of food trucks parking for extended periods of time on specific streets without permission of the city, so truck owners are being fined and are looking for other locations to park.  Their avid customers follow them on Twitter to be sure to know where they can find them each day.

So amidst all this fervor, Jay and I decided we were up for a new adventure and that we needed to try a Food Truck.  We read about the LA Gateway-To-Go Food Truck Lot located near-by on the rear premises of the Crown Plaza Hotel on Century Blvd. every Tuesday from 11 am to 2 pm.  Each week a different set of about 7 trucks gather there, complete with outdoor tables and chairs and even some mood music.  Yesterday was Tuesday...we were hungry...so we checked their website to see what trucks were going to be there.  We arrived after the lunch crowd so had no lines to contend with.  Jay opted to try the Mediterranean Food Truck and ordered a Pita Plate with a variety of kabob meats, basmati rice, vegetables, hummus and pita bread.  I tried the Komodo Truck and had two gourmet tacos: one fish with grape sauce and one spicy shrimp.  Everything we had was delicious.  The food was not cheap, each plate costing about $10, but we reminded ourselves that this was fine dining on the run.  It was fun.  We will do it again?  Maybe...we heard there is a wonderful Vietnamese truck that people clamor over!

Komodo Tacos

Kabob N'Roll