This past Saturday, the 9th of October, there was an invasion of sorts in Long Beach. It was the LB Street Food Fest, which featured 28 of Southern California's top Gourmet Food Trucks. Aside from the uncharacteristic heat for an October day, it was AWESOME! I had invited a few of my friends down to join in on the fun and hang with my girl and I. We even got a chance to spend some time with Lou & Sue (dad & step-mom), and there was a guest appearance by my niece. Friends, family and food, what could be better? Yes, I'm sure we could all think of a few things, but that was a rhetorical question...
There was some lively music, and a buzz in the crowd. I could overhear conversations about what was the best and which lines were the longest (The Grilled Cheese Truck, by far the longest), where to get cold adult beverages, and what a cool event to be having in our own backyard. The kinds of conversations that are brought about by the combination of people that love food and love the newest craze- The Food Trucks. I don't know if it's really considered "new," but it is catching a huge groundswell and following right now. And from where this dude sits, it doesn't look like it's going to die down anytime soon, either. Which brings me to the food. By the way, if you think I am going to name all of the trucks that were there... I might or not?
I started off with some really delicious Chili-Cheese Fries from The Munchies Machine. Hand cut fries cooked perfectly with an some pretty damn good chili and super melty, tangy cheddar. For you burger enthusiasts,
it reminded me of Tommy's chili, delicious. Then it was on to the Yakisoba Dog from Dogzilla- what a combination of flavors. Spicy with a hint of sweetness and just salty enough. The yakisoba noodles, okonomi sauce and crunch of the slaw were outstanding, and the dog itself had great flavor, and yes, the snap! Which leads me to believe that if you have a great dog to begin with, anything you add is icing on the cake.
The last two dogs I've had have been a couple of the best I've ever had, both equally great in their own right- The Greasy Wiener & Dogzilla. I would be hard pressed to say if one was better than the other, because they were both completely different ends of the spectrum. So I will say that I was wearing my Greasy Wiener T-shirt while eating my Dogzilla Yakisoba Dog and asking if I could buy one of their shirts. That should say it all.
After the fries and the dog, we decided on making a visit to Bool Korean BBQ Tacos. I, like another Matt(MattBites), like just about anything in a tortilla. Hell, I've made Corned Beef Tacos with horseradish mayo, pico de gallo and cabbage in one of my places. So when you tell me Korean BBQ Short rib in the form of a taco, I'm all in! Simple "street style" tacos with a little kim-chi and you have something that I could eat all day long. Big Lou went for the burrito and it went over just as good. Bool got the thumbs up from all in our crowd and by the looks of things the crowds at the festival agreed. After that a few of our friends started becoming overwhelmed by the day and decided to tap out.
I on the other hand waltzed over to The Place and had a Pastrami Melt. So take a grilled cheese with white American and slamming it together into a double decker with perfectly cooked, peppery pastrami and mustard and you've got one hell of a sandwich. The last couple of bites we had were from Ahn Joo Korean Pub Grub. While a couple of friends went for the Bacon Wrapped Rice Cylinders, we opted for the Grilled Japanese Eggplant and Tofu Skewers- wonderful! And the report back on the bacon and rice was equally as promising. I think that was where I started feeling the sleepy feeling of the food coma coming on...
So we ended the afternoon walking from truck to truck wanting to say hi to the new friends we've made- Slice Truck, Fresh Fries and The Greasy Wiener. We stopped by the Save the Food Trucks and Saturday Night Foodies booth and chatted for a few minutes, getting further info on different events that will be upcoming in OC, South Bay and of course, LA. So, stuffed and sated from the samplings of the day, sufficiently drained from the sun we decided to call it a day. My only regret is that we didn't get to all of the trucks, but I'm sure that I will be venturing and adventuring out to find them more and more as time goes on. Oh yeah, and I didn't get my white whale, The Grilled Cheese Truck!
http://www.dudeonfood.com/2010/10/food-trucks-doin-time-in-the-lbc/
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