Kogi Truck... The truck of all trucks, the motherload of trucks, the the one that started this whole food truck craze. Yup, it all started with this one little truck that people were flocking to, waiting in line for hours for, buzzing all over Facebook, Twitter, and any social media outlet they could rave to. Kogi BBQ, a fusion of Korean bbq and Mexican flavors. How the heck was this going to turn out to taste? We visited the Rosita truck in Irvine on a Thursday night. It was open for business at 6:30 but we didn’t get there until 7:30. I was afraid the line was going to be crazy, but it wasn’t. There were probably 15 people ahead of me and 8 people waiting for their orders. Just standing there made me hungrier. The aroma of the food smelled so good! 30 minutes later it was my turn. WAS THIS REAL?? Was I FINALLY going to try the food from this infamous truck?? YES!!! I ordered 3 short rib tacos, the short rib burrito, BlackJack Quesadilla, and the Kogi Sliders.
Let’s start with the tacos. Have you ever felt like the inside of your cheeks just puckered up as if whatever it is you’re eating is making all of the senses in your mouth go ballistic....when it’s so flavorful that every single taste bud is jumping around dying to go wherever the food is so they won’t be left out of the party?? Well, that’s how my mouth felt. The flavors were so bold. It was a perfect balance of the sweetness of the marinated meat with the tanginess of the cabbage slaw. One of the best tacos I’ve had. The short ribs were perfectly cooked and seasoned. 
Next, the BlackJack Quesadilla. Melted inside the flour tortillas was spicy pork, caramelized onions and a combiniation of jack and cheddar cheese topped with salsa verde. This was good. Not spicy at all. I couldn’t tell it was pork. I wish it just had more cheese. It didn’t have the gooey-ness I was looking for but it was still good enough for me to eat 3 triangles.
A surprise hit was the Kim Chi Quesadilla with short rib meat (not pictured). I didn't order it, nor was I planning on doing a review on it but fortunately my brother asked me to take a piece of his. I know the Blackjack Quesadillas are most people's favorite, but I liked this quesadilla much better. It had more cheese, so you have that gooey smoothness when you took a bite and pulled it apart. Red sauce was also poured on top of it to give it a little more spice.
On to the sliders. Just when I thought I couldn't taste anything better, I did! Short rib, cheese, mayo, cabbage slaw and red sauce were smashed in between a sweet roll. Way BETTER than the taco. The bread soaked up the sauce from the meat and the slaw. But the bread wasn’t soggy at all. Everything just went nicely together. The sauce wasn’t too hot where your taste buds are shot to hell and can’t even feel your tongue but you can taste the spice. I'd order this over any other slider out there.
Kogi, Kogi, Kogi.. oh how others would love to follow suit. You are often imitated but haven’t been duplicated. How I am wishing right now that I worked on the FoodNetwork and a cast member would show up with a Kim Chi quesadilla and some sliders! I can definitely see myself craving this and eating it again.
No comments:
Post a Comment