EggSlut

Egg enthusiasts, meet EggSlut, a food truck dedicated to the humble huevo. The truck is the brainchild of chef Alvin Cailan, who gained his eggs-perience as entremetier at chef David LeFevre’s M.B. Post. Unlike roaming food trucks that announce their changing locations on Twitter, EggSlut regularly stations itself in one of two spots–The Hart and the Hunter and Handsome Coffee Roasters– for scheduled service. My friend Cathy of Gastronomy Blog and I are both suckers for a cheeky name and recently headed downtown with our dudes to have our way with EggSlut.

The menu at EggSlut is short and sweet, consisting mainly of breakfast sandwiches. Despite having only a handful of options, choosing my breakfast proved to be a formidable task. Did I want the Fairfax sandwich with scrambled eggs, chives, caramelized onions, Tillamook cheddar and sriracha mayo? Or the Avo Burger with caramelized onions, cheddar cheese, honey mustard aioli and an over medium egg? Everything just sounded so good. My boyfriend and I generally order different dishes to allow for sharing, but the call of the Bacon, Egg and Cheese ($6.00, or $7 with an organic egg) was too strong, and we both ordered EggSlut’s take on the classic breakfast sandwich.

While we waited for our sandwiches, we sipped on lattes from Handsome Coffee Roasters.

Our sandwiches were neatly tucked into brown paper bag wrappers, but that’s where the tidiness ended and messy goodness began.

Thick-cut hickory smoked bacon, Tillamook cheddar cheese and the star, an over medium egg, spilled out of a pillowy brioche bun slathered with chipotle ketchup. The sandwich was so hefty that I needed to give it a squeeze before taking a bite, which helped to coat everything with the bright, silky yolk. There’s a reason that bacon, eggs and cheese are a timeless breakfast combo, and this well-executed version with top notch ingredients took things to the next level. Given the sandwich’s yum factor and size, I wasn’t bothered by the $7 price tag and, in fact, intend to work my way through the rest of the menu as soon as possible.

Eggslut
www.eggslut.com
Monday-Friday: 7:00AM-11:00AM: The Hart & the Hunter (7950 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles, 90046)
Monday-Thursday: 12:00PM-4:00PM and Saturday-Sunday: 9:00AM-1:00PM: Handsome Coffee Roasters (582 Mateo St., Los Angeles, 90013)

Seoul Sausage

After slinging Korean-inspired sausage on the streets of LA and winning season 3 of “The Great Food Truck Race” (and $50,000, to boot), Seoul Sausage founders Chris Oh, Ted Kim and Yong Kim have opened a brick-and-mortar outpost in the Little Osaka/Sawtelle area of LA.

The freshly-opened shop, which sits next to Blockheads Shavery on Mississippi Avenue, still feels a bit naked but has all the necessary elements to get grubbing: food and counter space to eat.

When Justin and I arrived at Seoul Sausage around 7:30PM on a Saturday night, we learned the the hard way that arriving early is key. They were already sold out of a few items and, as we learned while chatting with the staff, have been selling out every night. In fact, for Seoul Sausage’s grand opening, the team prepped enough food for several days but sold out in a matter of hours. LA is serious about its sausage, I suppose.

Seoul Sausage keeps things short ‘n sweet with its menu– two types of sausages, three rice balls and two specials. Chef Chris shared that he plans to experiment with special sausages and rice balls (keep an eye out for a Thanksgiving-themed sausage in the near future) but that the core menu would remain focused on a few items.

After shaking my fists over my poutine-less future and the “Coming Soon” note affixed to the Spam Musubi rice ball, Justin and I placed our order and snagged some counter space with a view of the grilling action. 

We first dug into the Galbi Sausage ($7.00), made with Korean-style short ribs–the KBBQ staple–and topped with kimchi relish and garlic jalapeno aioli. The hearty sausage delivered exactly the distinct galbi flavor I craved, and the flavorful toppings deliciously accented and rounded out each bite.

While it was the galbi sausage that drew me to Seoul Sausage, it was the Spicy Pork Sausage ($7.00) that won my heart. Each snappy bite provided such pure, spicy, porky goodness that it was hard to believe that I was eating a sausage and not seated around a smoking grill in Koreatown. The apple cabbage slaw added a dash of unexpected sweetness that took the dish from good to awesome.

We also ordered a L’il Osaka rice ball ($3.00), a tasty, crunchy homage to Japanese curry, which nailed the hearty flavors of the dish that inspired it.

After Chef Chris heard that this Hawaiian girl was desperate to try the still in-the-works Spam Musubi rice ball, he generously offered to whip me up a taste.

For their Spam Musubi ball, Seoul Sausage combines rice, macaroni, corn, cilantro, garlic, jalapeno, nori, sesame seeds, and Japanese mayo, fries the rice ball and then tops it with a lime Tabasco ketchup. The ball cleverly combined many ingredients of a traditional Hawaiian plate lunch (right down to the macaroni), and the amped up ketchup added a delightful heat. When Chris came back around to ask how it was, I had only one recommendation: more Spam!

And so, he made me another rice ball with MOAR SPAM (yes, I love Spam so much that it makes me go into meme-speak). With the additional Spam, each bite proved more savory and salty and, ultimately, even more satisfying. In short, was ono.

Even while sold out of dishes we wanted, Seoul Sausage delivered the goods both in terms of the food and incredibly friendly service. The shop serves up authentic taste in unique, interesting incarnations but doesn’t rely on the novelty of their dishes for success. Rather, it feels like they’re breathing new life into familar flavors while maintaining the heart and soul of the dish.

Next time, though, I’m getting my poutine…

Seoul Sausage
www.seoulsausage.com
www.twitter.com/seoulsausage
11313 Mississippi Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90025

LA Street Food Fest

The 3rd LA Street Food Fest, held on Saturday, July 16th, brought to life the adage “third time’s the charm.” While the festival’s first incarnation was a food-trucking disaster, the second showed major improvements, and this third street food fest was the best yet. With easy parking, short (or no) wait times and incredibly diverse bites, the LA Street Food Fest impressed on all fronts.

Upon arrival, J and I prioritized our grubbing and headed straight for the Baja section of the festival, which featured several chefs from the region selected by my good friend Bill of Street Gourmet LA.

Pacific oyster asada with chicharron shortrib, Serrano ponzu and lemongrass foam by Javier Plascencia/Mision 19– winner of Best in Show and the People’s Choice Award.

Mini beef cheek tacos from Javier Plascencia/Casa Plascencia

Uni (sea urchin) tostada from Sabina Bandera/ La Guerrerense– winner of Best Original Showmanship

With some prodding from Bill and J, this non-adventurous, seafood-fearing gal even sampled oysters and beef cheek! (Didn’t like either of them, even with a shot of tequila…)

Other dishes we sampled:

Hawaiian burgers with Grandma’s sauce from Waiola Burger

Venison chorizo verde with Serrano relish and goat cheese crema on jicama tortilla from Cacao Mexicatessen

Bibimbap from Moo Dae Po II

Sonoma Lamb Shoulder from Tione’s Quality Meats

Cochinita Pibil Taco from La Flor de Yucatan

Moqueca Teste (Brazilian fish stew) from Sabor de Bahia

Taco from Tacos Cuernavaca

Okonomiyaki from Glowfish

Some of my favorites of the fest included:

Vampiro (garlic-infused quesadilla) from Mexicali Taco Company

Quinoa fritters from Border Grill Truck

Tacos dorado de camaron (crunchy shrimp taco) from Mariscos Jalisco

Peruvian Cau Cau (tripe stew) from Picca/Chef Ricardo Zarate– winner of Best Noveau Street Food

Artisanal shaved ice from Ice Ice Shavie

Everything (alambre taco, mini pambaso and potato taco) from Antojitos Carmen

Julian Cox is, hands down, one of my favorite people in LA because of the incredible drinks he creates. The mixologist was on-hand, serving up two different drinks.

I slurped down the first without snapping a photo and returned for seconds– the Gin Y Hendricks, a combination of Hendrick’s, lime juice, sugar and mint topped with a cucumber espuma.

Congratulations to all of the winners and to those who hosted and worked the event. Smooth sailing and delicious eats!

Giovanni’s Shrimp Truck (Oahu, Hawaii)

Salinas Churro Truck

With the continued popularity of gourmet food trucks, many OG food trucks have been lost in the shuffle. Salinas Churro Truck is not one of them.

Located in Echo Park, the truck advertising funnel cake and “churros y chocolate” continually draws a diverse crowd including area locals and dessert fanatics who gladly make the drive for a bagful of the sugary sweets. After hearing numerous positive reviews (OK, ecstatically positive reviews), I decided to investigate Salinas Churro Truck for myself.

Upon arriving, my curiosity was piqued by the various desserts pictured on the side of the truck. The Salinas Churro Truck offers more than its name might suggest, including platano frito (fried plantains) and bionico (fresh fruit topped with condensed milk, dried fruit and granola) as well as savory snacks such as nachos. After watching several patrons happily dig into their bags of churros, however, I opted to try the truck’s namesake.

A large window provides an up-close view of your churros being prepared–first squeezed out of a large metal tube as dough, then cut by hand and fried and, finally, rolled in a mix of cinnamon and sugar.

I ordered the churros con fresa (churros topped with strawberry jam and drizzled with condensed milk, $3.00). My friend Nguyen of Starry Kitchen once said, “Condensed milk is the bacon of the dessert world; everything is better with it,” a sentiment which was certainly applicable here (and is particularly fitting since he is the Mayor of Salinas Churro Truck on FourSquare). Although it was the mention of strawberry that hooked me, it was the sweet, rich condensed milk that kept me munching and desperately dipping my churros in any little pools of it at the bottom of my container.

Honoring the original, we also purchased an order of five regular churros ($2.00). Yes, I said $2.00. Having previously only sampled stale, overpriced churros at Disneyland, my expectations were low. How good could these really be? The answer: very, very good. Salinas Churro Truck churros exemplify the potential of simple dishes made well. Served piping hot, the churros presented a delightful mix of textures–crunchy on the outside and chewy on the inside. I also enjoyed the coating of sugar and cinnamon, which was sweet but not overpoweringly so. As scrumptious as my churros con fresa were, these original versions beat them by a mile.

If you’ve only ever eaten Disneyland churros, do yourself a favor: try these. And get the OG style.

Salinas Churro Truck

Echo Park and Sunset Boulevard

The Great Food Truck Race: How Do the Trucks Stack Up?

Tonight, the Food Network launched “The Great Food Truck Race,” a reality competition in which seven gourmet food trucks travel cross-country, cooking in competition for a grand prize of $50,000. Since the food truck craze began in earnest in Los Angeles, it is fitting that four of the seven trucks are LA-based…and that I have visited all of them.

Here are the four Los Angeles food trucks featured on “The Great Food Truck Race”:

Crepes Bonaparte: Although I previously avoided crepes both sweet and savory, Crepes Bonapartes’ HazelBerryAna, featuring strawberries, banana and Nutella, made me a believer!

Click here for the full post.

Grill ‘Em All: The toppings on Grill ‘Em All’s “Waste ‘Em All” burger were satisfying, but the lean beef lacked any juiciness, and the bun was too thick for my taste.

Click here for the full post.

Nana Queen’s: Although the store-bought wings were a disappointment, Nana Queen’s multiple variations of banana pudding were all delightfully simple and sweet.

Click here for the full post

Nom Nom Truck: Although I had yet to start Noms, Not Bombs when I first visited the Nom Nom Truck (no relation), in true Asian fashion, I still took a picture of my banh mi. The sandwich’s ingredients were fresh and tasty, but the hard baguette tore the roof of my mouth apart. Phamish and Mandoline Grill have since launched and serve superior Vietnamese fare.

If you missed tonight’s episode, I won’t spoil the secret of which truck was asked to hit the road first. Tune in on Sundays at 10pm/9c to the Food Network to see which truck reigns supreme!

ESPN Match Truck

One of the great perils of switching purses (or for the gentlemen, bags, in general) is the inevitable failure to transfer at least one important item–usually in the vein of one’s wallet, sunglasses or chapstick– to the new carryall. This oversight is how I found myself at the ESPN Match Truck with an iPhone as my only means of taking photos. Woops.

In any case, in celebration of the World Cup, ESPN and Chef Roy Choi of Kogi BBQ have teamed to create the ESPN Match Truck to meet all your soccer needs. The truck not only serves street food inspired by teams competing in the World Cup but also broadcasts the games on hi-def flatscreens.

Here’s the mini-TV that sends the feed of the game to the huge flatscreen sitting atop the truck.

Chef Roy has created a menu divided into breakfast and lunch. After all, who wants sliders at an early morning game?

After ordering our dishes, J and I rushed home so that I could snap some non-iPhone pictures of our dinner.

We began with the Italy-inspired seared rice balls served with a mixed greens and bean salad ($4.00) as an appetizer. Although the pan-sear endowed the rice balls with a nice crunch, their too-mild flavor left something to be desired. The cheeses and beans in the salad were fresh and enjoyable, but I ended up picking them out, as the scarce amount of dressing left the salad as a whole unappetizingly dry.

We also ordered the carne asada burrito ($5.00), which celebrates the Mexican soccer team. Although the skirt and flank steak marinated in lime, garlic, cilantro and beer was wonderfully tender and flavorful, the overall dish again suffered from poor construction. The burrito’s cheese was placed in a solid sheet instead of being spread throughout, rendering each bite overpoweringly cheesy.

Finally, we ordered the lamb gyro (go Greece!) ($6.00). In a Roy Choi twist, the gyro featured candy-sweet pickled onions and a spicy, lemony “gutter-style” tzaziki, which made the dish both surprising and delightfully flavorful. Again, however, the dish’s potential was limited by poor construction; our gyro was positively drenched in the tzaziki.

The ESPN Match Truck has finished its run in Los Angeles but can still be found roaming the streets of New York until June 29th.

ESPN World Cup Match Truck

www.espnwctrucks.com

www.twitter.com/ESPNwctruckNYC

Ahn-Joo

Although Korean cuisine has played a key role in the LA food truck scene from the outset, it has always been part of a hyphenate–for example, the Mexican-Korean fusion of Kogi BBQ. With the rollout of Ahn-Joo at the LA Film Festival, however, mobile Korean food is taking center stage.

Helmed by Chef Debbie Lee, one of the finalists of season 1 of The Next Food Network Star, Ahn-Joo serves modern versions of Korean pub food both savory and sweet. After attending a screening at LAFF last week, I visited Chef Debbie at LA Live to taste some Korean pub grub.

Photo courtesy of Giana Mucci

Restraining myself from ordering the whole menu because of the late hour, I settled on sampling two dishes.

We began with the Seoultown Spuds (garlic fried potato wedges, chile sauce drizzle, $5.00) because potato dishes are inevitably my favorite part of banchan, the small side dishes served alongside Korean food. Each bite of the chunky wedges was delightfully crunchy, and the chile sauce drizzle added the perfect kick to the otherwise sweet potatoes. This dish was everything I love about Korean-style potatoes but kicked up a notch.

Our second savory dish was an order of Korean Nachos (fried rice cakes, smoky chile queso, soy braised pork, kimchi salsa, $7.00), which was a perfect fusion of Korean cuisine and snack nachos. While the tender, shredded soy-flavored pork and kimchi were decidedly Asian-inspired, the smoky chile queso did, in fact, remind one of nacho cheese. I only wished that the noodle-shaped rice cakes which formed the base were more like actual tortilla chips to tie the dish together.

Ahn-Joo also serves spicy pickled cucumbers and a housemade kimchi of the day which, on this day, was daikon. Both snack-sized sides had a wonderful spice and crunch in each bite.

Upon finishing our dishes, J and I were asked if we would like to try a dessert. Of course, we would! Shortly thereafter, we received a paper sleeve containing a Grilled Nutella Bhang ($5.00) cut into mini-triangles. The dessert features nutella and seasonal mixed berries sandwiched between pieces of buttery, grilled bread and is finished with a dusting of powdered sugar. This decadent dessert was one of the best sweets I’ve eaten in some time and struck me as an amalgamation of everything I love about dessert grilled cheese sandwiches and French toast.

Although I loved my first trip to Ahn-Joo, there are so many more things to try that I can’t be fully satisfied until I return!

Ahn-Joo will be parked at the LA Film Fest Village at LA Live from 4PM-1AM on weekdays and 2PM-1AM on weekends.

Ahn-Joo

www.twitter.com/AhnJooLA

www.ahnjoo.com

The Manila Machine

Food bloggers are often ridiculed for eating and critiquing but not creating anything of their own. Nastassia Johnson of Let Me Eat Cake and Marvin Gapultos of Burnt Lumpia, however, are changing the equation with the launch of The Manila Machine, a food truck specializing in Filipino fare, which debuted at last night’s Art Walk in downtown LA.

After being spoiled as a girl by the cooking of my Filipino neighbors in Hawai’i, I have often pined for tasty pansit or banana lumpia only to be disappointed by the lack of homestyle Filipino food in Los Angeles. As such, out of a love for the underrepresented food and in blogger solidarity, I headed downtown for The Manila Machine’s opening night.

The Manila Machine serves adobo (a meat dish marinated in vinegar and soy sauce), lumpia (a Filipino version of spring rolls), sliders on pan de sal (a round bread roll popular in the Philippines), desserts including halo halo (a combination of shaved ice, milk, fruits and sweet beans) and will also offer specials.

My visit to The Manila Machine began with the lumpiang shanghai (seasoned carrots, pork and ginger, $2.00), a Filipino classic. Although lumpia can easily become weighted down by oil and grow soggy, these were perfectly light and crunchy with no grease oozing out after each bite. While the flavors were mild, the lumpia came deliciously to life with a dip in sweet and sour sauce.

Next was pork and pineapple adobo served with white rice ($5.00). Although I enjoyed each hearty bite of meat, I wished that the dish had a stronger vinegar kick and that I could taste the bright tang of the pineapple which was lost in the flavor of the marinade. American palates may not be accustomed to generous amounts of vinegar, but an extra splash might take this adobo from good to great.

The star of the savory dishes was the tapa slider (sweet calamansi beef, achara slaw and spicy Sriacha mayo, $2.50) on a pan de sal roll. With the soft, flaky roll, crunchy slaw and thick beef, this slider covers all of the textures for which your mouth might hope. The Sriacha sauce and mayo worked wonderfully well together, adding a nice, full-bodied kick to the cool slaw and sweet beef. Although I was getting full, I almost went back for another one of these sliders.

Although all of The Manila Machine’s desserts sounded delightful, I had to order the turon ($2.00), which is a fruit lumpia often filled with plantains and jackfruit. In Manila Machines’ turon, the flaky, crunchy egg roll surrounds sweet, warm banana and is topped with a caramel drizzle and, for $1.00 more, ube or pineapple coconut ice cream. Hot apple pie has nothing on this warm, sweet, fruity treat, and The Manila Machine’s banana lumpia is top-notch–just like “Tata” and “Lola” make back home!

Congratulations to Nastassia and Marvin for a successful first night; they sold out in a few hours! Best of luck, you two, and thanks for the taste of home.

The Manila Machine

www.themanilamachine.com

www.twitter.com/manilamachine

Cart for a Cause: The Lazy Ox Canteen

Cart for a Cause combines two things I love: good food and social causes.

The truck, which hits the streets every Tuesday, offers $10.00 meals (including a drink and cookie) prepared by a top LA chef. Previous Cart for a Cause guest chefs include Chef Alex Becker of Nobu WeHo, Chef Dong Choi of Comme Ca, Chefs Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo of Animal and Chef Eric Greenspan of The Foundry on Melrose. $6.50 of every $10.00 goes to St. Vincent’s Meals on Wheels, which allows the organization to feed one person for a day.

This week, it was Chef Josef Centeno of the Lazy Ox Canteen who served up gourmet food at a rock bottom price for Cart for a Cause.

This week, the truck was parked in Santa Monica starting at 11:30. After hearing about Cart for a Cause selling out within an hour in previous weeks, J and I tried to get there reasonably early. Fortunately for us, however, there was no line when we arrived at 1.

On Chef Josef’s menu were two types of báco— “a hybrid of a flatbread pizza and taco.” To this description, I’d add “with a dash of pita-like quality.” We, of course, ordered both.

Although I usually avoid pork belly because of its spongy consistency, it worked quite well in the original báco. Both the pork belly and carnitas were tender, and the savory flavor of each played nicely off the other. The greens added a lightness to the overall dish, and the salbitxada, a pico de gallo-like topping with tomatoes, parsley, chiles, garlic and vinegar, tied all of the flavors together.

Our second báco–the resco báco— was even tastier than the first. With crispy shrimp and a cabbage salad, this handheld lunch had a satisfying crunch. Again, the sauce (this time, chive) elevated the báco from good to great. Bonus points also for it being less messy to eat.

After sampling the Lazy Ox Canteen’s food at Cart for a Cause, I am eager to visit the restaurant and try the real thing. I am also eager to visit Cart for a Cause again in the coming weeks. Be sure to check their Facebook page or Twitter to see which celebrity chef will be preparing delicious food for this good cause next.

Cart for a Cause

www.twitter.com/cartforacause

Here’s their Facebook page