Barbie's Q-Closed

Barbie's Q

For some unknown, strange reason people in LA love following these food trucks. Why people would want to chase a truck, then wait 2-3 hours in line for the food is beyond me. Yeah the grilled chese truck maybe cool. The ice cream truck would be cool. But this food truck trend is stupid.

I've reviewed Don Chow, and Kogi Taco Truck. With Kogi, the first time I went I wasn't impressed. I only went he second time because a friend wanted to try it. I still wasn't impressed and I wasted two hours waiting in line. While Don Chow was awesome, I wouldn't wait in a two hour line for the food. I just happened to be in the are where Don Chow had set up.

This past weekend, there was a food truck street fair and it cost $5 to get in plus the cost of food. Lines 2-3 blocks long, people waiting 2-3 hours in line and being denied admission because there were already too many people in line. No way am I dealing with that.

But I did hear that Barbie's Q was going to be in Echo Park tonight and with no traffic because of the President's Day holiday, I drove out to Echo Park to try their ribs. They were scheduled to be there at 8pm. I got there about ten minutes before 8pm and they were already selling BBQ. There were only 2-3 people in line. So almost no wait!! But there were also no tables to eat the ribs. There was a ton of construction going on Beverly and Alvarado, so a friendly concrete barrier provided a place to put the food, so I can take a picture. I went to the nearest McDonald's to eat the ribs and mac and cheese.



I got a side of mac and cheese,$4. Really this was 90% macaroni and 10% cheese. It was so dry and bland. Where is the cheese in this!!! Not good at all and a waste of $4.





Three St. Louis ribs and cole slaw, $2 per rib, buy three or more ribs and get one side. Barbie's only has St. Louis pork spare ribs, so I got three ribs and my side was cole slaw.

The cole slaw had very little mayo, so dry. The cabbage was fresh but man put some mayo on it.

The ribs were OK but overcooked. BBQ should not be falling off the bone. It should have some give to it. If you take a bite and the meat comes off the bone, it is overcooked. This did have a nice smoke flavor and almost no fat.

The BBQ sauce was a tomato based sauce with a mild tanginess and spice. Pretty good sauce.

Service was very good. The man taking orders was very nice and friendly.

I would go back but I wouldn't drive a long way to try it and I wouldn't wait in line over ten minutes.

Ricky's Fish Tacos

Ricky's Fish Tacos
4006 Santa Monica Blvd
Los Angeles
http://twitter.com/RickysFishTacos

There are taco stands all over LA, matter of fact, there used to be a blog that reviewed taco stands. Not sure if that blog is still around. But I found out about Ricky's fish tacos and decided to give them a try.

Ricky's usually sets up on weekends, any time from 1-5pm. Check their twitter account for the most up to date information. This address is a wireless phone store in the Silverlake area of LA.

This is an Ensenada Style fish taco stand. They serve only fish, $2.50, and shrimp, $3, tacos. The tacos are fried to order.

The first taco pictured is the fish taco, with fresh cabbage, salsa and that white sauce. The fish is covered in a light batter, pretty crispy. The cabbage and salsa are fresh. The tortilla is a store bought tortilla.

The shrimp taco was also covered with the same batter. Good sized pieces of shrimp. Again fresh toppings.

Service was good. If you're worried about the cleanliness of the tacos, Ricky is the only person who touches the food. He has two other guys who handle the money. Speaking of money, this is a cash only taco stand.

There was nothing great about either taco. They weren't bad. But they were the best I've ever had either. When I went there wasn't a long line but I've heard people have waited in line for 30 minutes or longer. I don't think these tacos are worth the 30 minute wait.

Don Chow Taco Truck-Closed

Don Chow Taco Truck

Much like Kogi Taco Truck, Don Chow Taco Truco is an Asian-Mexican fusion that is sweeping the tastebuds of LA. While Kogi is Korean and Mexican, Don Chow is Chinese and Mexican fusion. Don Chow seems to serve mostly the pretentious Westside but I found them in Chinatown.

I ordered the Chinese BBQ pork taco and Kung Pao Chicken taco, $2 both with a mild sauce. The first thing I noticed about the Chinese BBQ pork, was the large amount of meat in the taco. Much more than Kogi. The BBQ pork was pretty tender and flavorful. A bit different than the Chinese BBQ pork you get from Chinese restaurants with the red coloring. But still good.

The Kung Pao chicken taco, even with a mild sauce, was spicy. Again a huge amount of meat in these tacos. Flavorful though very spicy chicken and fresh onions combined with a mild sauce. The one thing about these tacos, they are HOT, right off the grill.

Since Don Chow and Kogi are two different Asian foods, comparing them to each other is like comparing apples and oranges. But Don Chow has much more meat in the tacos and I think the overall quality, price and taste is better. When I say taste, Don Chow makes a very good kung pao chicken taco. While the Korean short rib taco from Kogi is just OK.

Service is good. Plus the guy taking the money can add and isn't a clueless idiot like at Kogi. The last time I went to Kogi, the line was moving so slow because the guy taking the money couldn't add $2 + $2. What an idiot. You don't face that problem with Don Chow.

Don Chow is starting to get more popular but there still aren't the long lines that make Kogi a pain. Plus the lines move faster since the cashier has a clue. Of course if you want Korean-Mexican fusion you go to Kogi. If you want Chinese-Mexican fusion, you go to Don Chow. If you just want to try any type of Asian-Mexican fusion, go to Don Chow.

Kogi Korean BBQ Taco Truck

Kogi

After much hype, I've finally made it to Kogi Korean BBQ taco truck. Yes, a Korean-Mexican fusion. Kogi has been talked up in the LA Times, all food blogs, everywhere.

Tonight, Kogi was in Silverlake, at the 4100 Bar. I have read stories about people waiting in line for an hour and Kogi running out of food because the lines were so long. But I got to 4100 by 9pm and met a friend. We talked for awhile, then went outside to wait in line at about 9:45. We were about the 8th people in line. Within ten minutes of waiting in line, there were at least 50 people. People were coming from everywhere.

Kogi has $2 tacos and $5 burritos. I got the spicy pork, chicken, and short rib taco and a short rib burritos. 4100 Bar was nice enough to allow people to bring in their food but I went across the street to the take a picture of the food. A bench at the Jiffy Lube came in handy.

There is a lot of onions in the tacos. There was some meat but $2 worth? No way. I wasn't overwhelmed with any of the tacos. They were OK but not great and certainly not worth waitiing in line for over an hour. The spicy pork wasn't spicy at all. The chicken was pretty bland and the only flavor I got was the onions. The short rib was OK but some of the rib was burnt. Not good.

The burrito has eggs and hash browns, it is more of a breakfast burrito but my burrito didn't have much meat in there. Again it was OK but nothing overwhelming.

Service is pretty good and they do try to get your order ready quickly.

I really think if I was drunk, I would have enjoyed the tacos and burritos more. Hell if Denny's Moon Over MyHammy or Jack in the Box's tacos taste good when I'm drunk, anything will taste good, when I'm drunk.

For me Kogi didn't live up to the hype. I would go back if it was near where I was at, but I would make an extra trip out for it. To be honest, I would prefer going for two tacos at Jack in the Box.