Thursday, August 4, 2011

Like a 'bab van only better and on Twitter

Has the food truck trend hit London yet? It started a couple of years ago in LA, and is growing in New York now too, but last time I checked the only mobile food vendors in London were kebab vans, icecream vans and those dodgy dirty gang-aligned hot dog carts.

These groovy food trucks cruise the city's streets, parking somewhere different every day. They tweet their whereabouts, 'corner of Varick and Christopher, 11 till 1', and their eager followers flock to queue around the block for lunch. You never know quite where they'll be the next day. In dense little New York that's probably manageable, but in sprawling LA I imagine some people had quite a long drive to get their lunch.


The original truck that everyone went nuts about in LA was Kogi BBQ, a Korean Barbecue truck. Personally I think if you can't cook the Korean beef at your table, there's no fun in it, but their crowds of customers think differently. The one I took this photo of today in Soho is a typically random fusion of Korean and Mexican:  Kimchi (that's the Korean bit) Taco (you got it!). And I saw a Greek Mexican one on the Upper West Side the other day. Mexican is actually a bit of a common denominator, come to think of it.

Apparently the food these trucks serve is pretty good. I guess that's why it works.

Unfortunately I have too many bad memories of their cousin, the ropey kebab van, to try one of these new incarnations yet... This (along with heavy truffle oil) may have to be another food trend I pass on. You can take the girl out of London, but you can't take the London food truck snob out of the girl, I guess.

2 comments:

  1. Fo’ Sho’, London has food trucks!

    Daddy Donkey (or the burrito van as we used to call it) is amazing and The Meat Wagon is legendary.
    http://www.themeatwagon.co.uk/

    They even have street ford awards
    http://britishstreetfood.co.uk/

    In fact, I am getting pulled pork from the Pitt Cue Co for my tea this evening.

    Shame on you for doubting

    x

    ReplyDelete
  2. I stand corrected. DEFINITELY moving back now.

    ReplyDelete