THE FIELD TRIP

Today was a glorious day for foodies in West La, but even more so for me. I managed to gather up a group of friends to stroll from our office over to my favorite intersection, Olympic and Butler. 10 of us had Kogi today, the Genesis, the Alpha, the alleged king of korean bbq tacos. The result, an overall success.

Now I've been to this truck over a dozen times to eat burritos late night after drinking and partaking in typical weekend decompression. Lucky for me, stiff competition was parked just across the street- Bool Bbq who claim to be, "the perfect marriage of asian flavors with staples of central and south american culinary history." I did some minimal research before leaving and learned that Bool is comparable if not preferred by other lunch truck enthusiasts. I'm somewhat of a skeptic of things I've never witnessed with my own senses, so I snuck off from my willing troupe to gather my materials for an inevitable taste test. 

There was NO line at Bool. The menu was simple and easy to read. The service wasn't beyond amazing, but the fella working the counter was friendly enough. I ordered a beef taco and a pastel- which can normally be found in Brazil- a pastry stuffed with savory or sweet ingredients much like a fried dumpling. It could even be mistaken for an oblong empanada. I ordered one filled with chicken and cheese. 

I unwrapped my taco. I tried the meat first and it was delicious! Unlike Kogi it wasn't over marinated. As a true carnivore I enjoy the taste of meat and don't care for it to be completely muddled by strong Korean flavors. No knock on Kogi, as it was the best FIRST Korean bbq taco I've ever had, but it's no longer the best ever. I could taste every element of this taco- the kimchi, the sesame, and my favorite part, the Siracha hot sauce! 

As for the pastel, it was so delicate and flaky. It was like an empanada made love to a chimichanga and gave birth to a chicken and cheese Korean flauta love child. I REALLY enjoyed this. At $4 and not very filling, it may have been slightly overpriced but I don't have a problem paying for good food so I was okay with it. Overall, I'd say this place was pretty damn good. Tacos were typically $2.50, pastels were $4, and burritos were $6. 

Back at the Kogi truck, I reunited with my comrades. The line was pretty long but all 9 of them seemed to have their food within about 10 minutes from ordering. Good for Kogi! They're known for having some of the worst lines in lunch truck history. Between the 9 of them, the entire menu seemed to be covered. With our lunches in tow we headed back to eat in our cushy office kitchen. "Mmmmms, wow's, and Oh man's"were of no shortage at this lunch table. The sliders and spicy pork taco seemed to be the overall crowd pleaser. One brave burrito eater said, "It's almost too much of a good thing." I'd say that's a complement! 

The biggest kudos of the day must've come from my brave vegetarian friend. Just to provide you with a little background, she is a critics' critic and knows what she likes. The good thing is if she likes it, it's exceptional! Her sensitive palette attempted the quesadilla. This isn't just any quesadilla, it's the coveted Black Jack Quesadilla.  This thing was loaded with jack and cheddar cheeses, caramelized onions, a spicy verde sauce (which i'm sure was red on her plate) topped with sesame seeds. Again, I wouldn't dare characterize my friend as an adventurous foodie, but more of a discerning skeptic on what we may consider popular food. To her credit, she's perfectly fine with eating what she eats and liking what she likes and she described her first Korean dining experience as, "edible." To you and I, that means good! She enjoyed it and ate half of it! I knew that this was a pretty good take on a quesadilla when she wrapped it up to take the other half home for dinner. For $7, she got what essentially will be 2 meals for her today. Their tacos are just $2 and burritos $5, making it more affordable than Bool Bbq. 

I also had a taco from Kogi to complete my comparison to Bool Bbq. I found the flavors to be way more pungent and even overbearing in some bites. The kimchi was heavy and masked the awesome flavor of the meat. 

The verdict? My vote for truck of the day and winner of the Korean Bbq taco taste off would have to go to Bool Bbq. The marriage of Korean bbq to Latin flavors and the Brazilian influence just really made this food stand out just a bit more. There was also a certain subtle confidence in the Bool truck. They parked across the street from the Genesis! You can't get much more confident than that. They also weren't afraid to let you taste the individual ingredients, paying homage to the complexity of each element on the plate. As an advanced novice foodie, I'd say they're the winners! 

I'd like to thank my readers and my awesome pals at work for participating in today's excursion. For some, it was a first and others enjoyed it again. For me, it was gathering over a meal with people who's company I enjoy, providing me with material to write about, therefore feeding my soul. Many thanks. I'll see you all for tomorrows' Foodie Frontier.

Snack-O