Korean cuisine goes south of the border

 Photo courtesy of Google

When I hear taco truck, I think of mobile health code violations and food that will give me the worst stomachache imaginable.

Thankfully, the Kogi Korean Barbecue truck is neither of those things. The truck’s kitchen is clean and efficient, and the food combines aspects from Korean and Mexican cuisine to give your taste buds the best sensation imaginable.

I was fortunate to dine at one of the four taco trucks recently when it made a stop in the Huntington Beach area. Thankfully, a friend of mine was able to get a spot for us at the front of the line because by the time I got there the line numbered around 30 to 40 people.

The menu, for the most part, is the standard fare when it comes to taco trucks. You have your choice of different tacos and burritos.

But, unlike your average taco truck, you also have the choice of ordering hot dogs, burger sliders, quesadillas or dessert.

There are a variety of tacos ranging from short-rib to calamari tacos and each one of them – with the exception of the calamari – is made with Kogi’s house salsa, onion-cilantro relish and a salad with chili-soy vinaigrette.

The spicy-pork taco was my least favorite taco. While the pork was cooked perfectly – not too dry and not too moist – I was disappointed to find out that it wasn’t as spicy as the named implied.

The calamari taco, on the other hand, was a step-up in a flavor. Unlike the other tacos, the calamari taco is made with a citrus, soy and ginger marinade and topped with onions and Salsa Naranja – made with bird’s eye chili, orange juice and Thai basil. The calamari thankfully wasn’t chewy and instead had a soft texture to it and the salsa gave the taco a nice sweet flavor.

But by far, my favorite taco out of the others was the short-rib. The beef – which is marinated in a sweet, soy based marinade – was incredibly tender and it just had that melt-in-your-mouth quality to it.

However, the standout item of the evening was the short-rib burrito. Each burrito is made with hash browns, scrambled eggs, shredded cheddar and jack cheese, chopped onions, cilantro, romaine and cabbage lettuce that’s tossed in a Korean chili-soy vinaigrette.

Words fail to describe the taste that the combination of these different ingredients made. But, if I must describe my experience after having a burrito I have to quote Keanu Reeves of “Babes in Toyland” fame, “Whoa.”

One of the main draws of Kogi – besides the great food – is that they don’t have a set location that they serve out of.

Instead, they use the micro-blogging site Twitter as well as their website to inform their customers of the location that they’re going to set-up shop at for the day.

Prices range from $2 for tacos – with the exception of the calamari, which is $3 – to $5 for burritos while quesadillas and chef special’s are around $7.

Currently, there are three trucks servicing the Los Angeles area while there is only one for Orange County. To find out where they’re going to be for the week you can check their main site www.kogibbq.com or their Twitter account www.twitter.com/kogibbq.