finally, korean tacos have arrived!

It seems like people have been talking about the Kogi truck from LA for years now….and then there was the Krave out in Jersey…

But what about NYC?

It’s highly unlikely that I am going to get on plane and roam the streets of LA for a Korean taco…and Jersey? Yeah right.

Thankfully, the guys at Korilla BBQ have made my quest for the Korean taco that much easier.  Just 10 blocks from my office!

Today was the first day Korilla BBQ was in action for lunch (thanks for the head’s up, Midtown Lunch). When I got to the truck the line wasn’t that long…but it wasn’t moving much…

It’s like camo-Korean.  Love it!  40 minutes later I was at the front of the line ready to place my order…you can get a burrito, taco, slider or a rice bowl (bulgogi, chicken thigh, pork, tofu), ssam aioli or Korilla sauce, and one of 6 kinds of Kimchi and veggies.  I love those kinds of options.

Oh, and did I mention the b.k.f.r? That’s bacon kimchi fried rice.  Yes.  They went there.

I went with the bulgogi burrito with Korilla sauce and red kimchi…aw, look at the “grillmastas” so hard at work!  I exchanged a couple words and they weren’t expecting as many people (the tofu and ssam aioli had already run out by time I got there and the pork and beef were running low!) and were head-down trying to crank out the food…

I must say these guys have their branding in the bag.  haha. OK that was lame, sorry.  But the bag is cool, no?

Lo and behold! It’s like a torpedo of yummy….

Packed full of sticky rice, flavorful bulgogi, onions, tomato and lettuce and deliciously tart kimchi.  Ah so good!

If you are a food truck fan, like Korean food, like tacos….if you like food at all, I highly recommend the Korilla BBQ truck.  The prices are good for the portions (my burrito was $7 + $1 for the bkfr), and the taste is the perfect balance of Asian and delicious.

Only improvement – needs more bacon!  Just kidding…really, it could use some hot sauce.

I can’t wait for these guys to get through their learning curve, expedite, and hopefully offer some fun new foods in the future.

Go Korilla!

nyc food film fest: day 2

11:00 am I checked into NYC’s first ever Food Truck Drive-In @ the lot underneath the Brooklyn Bridge, DUMBO.

It was a frantic scene of volunteers running around setting up tables, barking out instructions, and nervously counting down the minutes until go time (noon).

After meeting some fellow volunteers from the Food Bank NYC and helping to set up the general admission area, I was whisked away to the VIP entrance where I was ordered to hand out wristbands to all the participating food trucks.

Yippee! I had the perfect opportunity to walk up to every truck, say hello, and take a peek at the menus…I couldn’t contain my excitement as I visited each one…

The Rickshaw Dumpling Truck

The Krave (Korean Tacos from Jersey)

Jiannetto’s Pizza

The Green Truck

…that supposedly runs on vegetable oil!

Schnitzel & Things

Street Sweets

The Cooking Channel Truck

Pizza Moto (complete with a wood burning oven!)

And part of a separate area called “Brooklyn Flea” were the food vendors from the weekly Brooklyn Flea market…how clever!

Asia Dog (yum!)

McClure’s Pickles

The Milk Truck

(Not pictured: NYC Cravings, Treats Truck, Vegan Truck, Go Burger, Liddabit Sweets, Nunu Chocolates, plus a few others…)

I got to greet almost each one, tell them how great they all were and secretly warn them the health department was making the rounds…shh…

1:00 pm A slow and steady trickle of hungry foodies came through the doors, excitedly touring the grounds where the food trucks were stationed – gearing up for the long day of cooking ahead.

As the lines grew longer under the burning sun and the grills got hotter in those tiny little mobile kitchens, I was asked to head back to the festival HQ with some other volunteers to help stuff grab bags.

I was a little disappointed to be leaving all the action, but I was grateful at a chance to enjoy some AC.

So for the next few hours I sat with two other volunteers stuffing bright green Bloomberg bags with free snacks and various coupons for free burger grills, bottles of mustard and Zagat memberships – your standard foodie event schwag.

This is just a fraction of the never-ending sea of green

4:00 pm Finally we were released from stuffing bags and headed back outside.  The crowds had died down and I swooped in on one unsuspecting truck for a late lunch.

I’ve heard great things about the Schnitzel & Things truck, plus it was the winner at last year’s vendy awards so I went straight for the $4 chicken schnitzel…

It totally lived up to the hype! It was essentially a chicken cutlet sandwich with a special mayo sauce, but the chicken was pounded into flat pieces and stacked with some crunchy greens served on good ciabatta bread.

Yum!

And for dessert, I lined up for a free ice pop from People’s Pops.  My flavor – rhubarb with jasmine simple syrup.

Talk about exotic! All I really tasted was syrup…but on a hot day, the icy treat was refreshing nonetheless.

In the calm before the dinner time crowds picked up, I took the opportunity to roam around the area and admire the beautiful venue.

The Manhattan Bridge

The Brooklyn Bridge

Even though I had just eaten lunch, the lines were slowly starting to pick up again so I decided that now was the best chance to get some Korean BBQ while I could.

The Krave truck had the longest lines the entire day (and night!).  I give major cudos to the three guys cooking up a storm and feeding what must have been hundreds of people.

The full Krave menu

Kalbi sliders (succulent, spicy beef with soft bread – winner!)

Chicken taco (with cool white sauce and pickled veggies – winner! again!)

6:00 pm After the food break, I headed back to the general entrance to see if I could be of any help.  I stayed here for a good three hours helping check people into the event.

It was such fun meeting all those foodie fanatics…there were people of all kinds – young, old, local, international, curious, hungry, lost…

As if she heard my poor feet crying, the Treats Truck owner dropped off a bag of her last few chocolate chip cookies before driving off into the sunset.

9:00 pm My next station was selling drink tickets.  Placed next to the beer truck, I was relieved to get a free refreshing glass of light ale as I sat and enjoyed the film screenings (and failed miserably at math when a thirsty patron would come up to buy a drink ticket).

11:00 pm I relinquished my stand at ticket sales and headed home after a long and tiring day.

It was an amazing experience, and I’m looking forward to helping out again next year. I highly recommend you check out the food film festival 2011 – if not for the films, certainly for the food!

Signing out!