Kogi BBQ Mysterioso Rehash

Sometimes in this job, I mean hobby, you gotta go where the adventure takes you. Had faithful blog reader and one-time (so far) guest reviewer Eric e-mail this morning asking about meeting up for lunch. I said, "Name a place in Orange you want to go to and I might be able to go."

He said, "What's that place Nancy recommended to you?"

"La Casita. Let me call her and see if she can go too."

So I called up Nancy Luna, the Register's Fast Food Maven, and she said she was actually just leaving her office to go to a Kogi BBQ truck stop that happened to coincide with the opening of the new Yogurtland in Anaheim on Euclid. Ended up going to that and Eric, Nancy, and I are going to meet up at La Casita another time.

When I arrived the Kogi truck wasn't there but when that thing comes driving up everyone pulls out their camera to snap pictures of it. Somebody told me that Wing Lam of Wahoo's fame was there but I didn't specifically notice him. A line immediately formed and even though the truck arrived an hour and twenty minutes late it was still another 30-40 minutes before we got our food. I'm not complaining since because of some legal loophole they couldn't sell anything from their truck at this stop but gave it away for free. Each person got two tacos of their choice and their special little watermelon/cheese side dish that reminded me a lot of what Kantina used to serve. I was hoping to finally try their kimchi quesadilla or their rare-as-a-Bigfoot-sighting Hawaiian Jalapeño French Toast, but, once again, we were limited to two tacos this time. Again . . . not complaining.

Nancy and I also met up with "OrangeCountyGal" (@OrangeCountyGal on Twitter) and had her as our line buddy and she got to hear all our food blogger yammering about which companies and restaurants are good with working with food bloggers and which aren't and other various and sundry things that only a food blogger would care about.

Now Kogi is known for "tweeting" its locations but somehow this stop passed under the radar and didn't get officially tweeted by them, or unofficially for that matter. I happened to pick it up from Nancy's Twitter account and retweeted it on the @ocmexfood twitter account. Yes, it annoys me that Twitter has taken over the world but sometimes you can get good information from it.

Click here to read about my other Kogi encounter or here to read about all the Korean/Mexican fusion food in the county.

More Korean Tacos in OC

I've been getting plenty of traffic here at the blog over my recent mention of Korean tacos at Baja Fresh. Numerous sites have linked to it and people have been mentioning it on Facebook, Twitter, discussion boards and more. Just yesterday I got word that Taqueria el Granjenal is now also serving Korean tacos. This shouldn't have surprised me since I mentioned in my review of them over three years ago that this is a Mexican joint owned by a Korean. Reader Jonathan S., who is a fan of the prolific Mexican food scene on 19th St. in Costa Mesa, went for dinner and took some pictures and sent in his remarks:

Now THESE are how korean tacos should be. They were honestly a great amount better than the baja kogi crap i had earlier today. yes, i had korean tacos twice today. The flavor of both the pork and steak was great where baja kogi was a little bland. They seem even more bland after eating these. They come with a type of cabbage that doesnt have a lot of flavor but you can tell theres a small amount of an asian hot sauce. My one regret is after I finished I looked in the bag and there was a small container of what ended up being a thick teriyaki type sauce but the flavor was good and it was not that strong. I wonder how that would have gone on the actual tacos. Guess I will have to go back. I also got a torta de asada which was whatever. Kim's Tacos were $1.79 each and were smaller than the normal tacos.

I'm going to try to make it there soon myself to try these out and get some more pictures. Thanks, Jonathan. If anyone else knows of a place to get Korean tacos within the county line let me know by sending an e-mail or leaving a comment here.

Also, you can click here to read our complete coverage of Korean/Mexican fusion all at once.

UPDATE: Here's my own pictures from the early lunch I just got back from:

Baja Kogi

Welcome to everyone coming from OC Weekly, Yelp, Food Frenzy, Midtown Lunch, and more. When you're done with this entry click around to find more great info on Mexican restaurants and food in Orange County. For starters, click here for the list of over 200 restaurants we have reviewed. For those from L.A., click through to our sister blog: Los Angeles County Mexican Restaurants.

Perhaps you couldn't make it to the Kogi BBQ truck for one of its few Orange County stops before it retreated back to L.A. County but if you're still craving Korean-prepared meat served Mexican style I was just tipped off today (thanks, Brooke) to the fact that the Baja Fresh in the Gelson's shopping center at Alton and Jeffrey in Irvine is now serving Kogi style tacos and burritos.

Available in Spicy Chicken or Korean BBQ Steak they are served in corn tortillas with kimchi and a sesame salsa roja with beans and cilantro lime rice on the side.

So far this is the only location that has the Kogi items. I suspect if they are popular we will soon see them at other Baja Fresh locations.

(Also, you can click here to read our complete coverage of Korean/Mexican fusion all at once. There's more than one place that has Korean tacos. You can also read about the new Baja Fresh look and concept at the Fast Food Maven blog. NEW: Read about Baja Fresh possibly changing from the use of the word "Kogi" to "Gogi" here and more on this subject at the OC Weekly.)

UPDATE: Here's a slightly better picture from the second time I tried these:

Baja Gogi

NEWER UPDATE: The transition from "kogi" to "gogi" is complete:

Kogi Korean BBQ Taco Truck

(This is NOT the only taco truck in OC we have covered. Click HERE or on the 'taco truck' label below for our complete coverage of Orange County taco trucks.)

If you haven't heard of Kogi Korean BBQ I simply don't know what planet you're on. People are going absolutely nuts over this taco truck that makes Korean BBQ-style meat and serves them in tortillas. I haven't mentioned them yet because well, it's a little more Korean than Mexican (I think), and because they haven't come to Orange County yet although they have been very close. But Nancy Luna's Fast Food Maven blog on the Register's website has just updated to say that Kogi is planning on being in Orange County this coming Thursday in Anaheim and Saturday in Orange. The Kogi people are wondering if they are going to get a good reception in OC. Judging by the pentup hype surrounding them and their undeniable mystique I'd say they'll get an overwhelming response.

And according to our friend Edwin at OC Weekly, Kogi will be in Fullerton tonight.

Here is Kogi's Twitter feed, which they update regularly to give information about their location.

Get this widget!

Read more about Kogi at Monster Munching.

UPDATE:

So, I made it to the promised land finally; even though the promised land in this case rolls around on wheels I still made it there. Followed ElmoMonster's tip and headed out to Fullerton to catch Kogi for their first legit stop in OC. As I was making my left turn off of Harbor Blvd. I spotted the Kogi truck making the same turn three cars in front of me. Maybe it helped that I was in my Korean-made automobile. Otherwise I might not have known it was the correct turn.

As I made my turn I saw a crowd of people waiting on the corner who all followed the truck down the street as it found a parking spot.

I arrived at about 6:40pm and it took the workers in the truck a good half hour of prep time. Meanwhile the line just grew longer and longer.

At around 7:30pm the line finally started moving.

Here's their menu board:

Prices listed do NOT include tax. I tried one of each kind of taco; total w/ tax came to $8.75. I enjoyed all of them but wish I had eaten the tofu one first. I had overheard somebody in the crowd saying that the spicy pork is the chef's favorite and it was so spicy but I didn't even purchase a drink and I wasn't pleading for one after eating the spicy pork.

I'd have to say the tacos were the perfect blend of fresh tortillas, hot, non-gristly meat, and cold toppings, and not entirely non-Mexican. Other people were getting quesadillas and burritos. The burritos were all wrapped up so I couldn't see them but the quesadillas sure looked good. Seeing as how I was there for approximately an hour and forty-five minutes I have a hard time seeing how people can do this as a lunch break thing. Apparently some people do it. One guy I talked to in the line had been at the truck in downtown L.A. earlier today for lunch, then he brought somebody with him to the Fullerton stop to try them for dinner. The crowd was very excited to sample the wares and lots of pictures were being snapped by people who can now prove that they too had arrived (shouldn't this truck be selling "I Ate at Kogi's" t-shirts?). So, yeah, it has a big following and if you want to get in on it try to catch them at their Anaheim and/or Orange appearance soon.

Official Site

(Also, you can click here to read our complete coverage of Korean/Mexican fusion all at once. There's more than one place that has Korean tacos.)