The Verdict
KOGI BBQ is Roy Choi's Korean-Mexican taco truck that in 2008 started the gourmet food truck revolution and demonstrated that culinary cultures can be synthesised in a truck window with the same intelligence that fine dining restaurants apply to their fixed addresses. The short rib tacos whose kimchi and sriracha communicate the Korean-Mexican synthesis, the Twitter-announced locations whose community-gathering culture created a new form of restaurant social contract, and the specific Los Angeles multicultural energy all communicate what happens when a Korean-American chef applies his complete cultural identity to the taco format.
The Korean-Mexican menu reflects Choi's specific cultural synthesis: the Korean short rib preparation applied through the Mexican taco format's specific vehicle; the kimchi quesadilla whose specific combination communicates the two culinary traditions' most productive available intersection; and the specific spice and acid combinations that communicate both traditions' most essential flavour values simultaneously.
The food truck format provides the cultural context that amplifies the Kogi identity: the democracy of a restaurant that goes to its audience rather than requiring the audience to come to it, the Twitter-announced locations that created the social media restaurant culture, and the specific Los Angeles street energy that the best available taco truck produces when it appears in the neighbourhood that needs it most.
Why It Works for Solo Dining
A solo Kogi short rib taco - tracking the truck on social media, arriving at the announced location, eating the Korean-Mexican synthesis in the street - is Los Angeles solo food culture at the level of the most culturally specific available mobile dining experience.
Also in Los Angeles
Explore the full Los Angeles restaurant guide. See our Impress Clients, First Date, and Close a Deal occasion guides for curated picks across Asia.