The Best Los Angeles Food trucks
Food trucks are a staple of L.A.’s cultural identity. While they may be popping up in every major city across the world, it all started in Los Angeles. More specifically, it started with the Mexican food trucks that drove to construction sites, until the concept was revolutionized by Roy Choi and his Kogi truck, where he invented a hybrid of Korean and Mexican deliciousness (think kimchi on tacos instead of salsa). The Kogi truck begat more foodie trucks, and now they are everywhere, roaming every neighborhood across the city. No one seemed to know which in L.A. are the best. We were asked a few times, and couldn’t give a proper list of recommendations. So most of the goop team hit Abbot Kinney—a long boulevard in Venice where on the first Friday of every month, many of L.A.’s finest food trucks congregate. We asked some of our friends with the most discerning palates to join us, and set out to make the L.A. food truck guide, hitting more than 40 trucks, and eating our way through 50+ meals in the process.
L.A.’s Best Food Trucks
ARROY
We tried their insane Spicy Street Corn and delicious Chicken and Beef Brisket Thai Sliders—all while Kendrick Lamar and A blared from their speakers.
Dogtown Dogs*
The California Dog with avocado, arugula, basil aioli, tomatoes, and fried onions is pretty much not your average hot dog.
Grilled Cheese Truck*
One of the most popular trucks at The Brig, lines here tend to be long—and justified by the intense (and delicious) grilled cheese sandwiches.
India Jones
We chose the Sag Paneer and the Coconut Yellow Curry: Super spicy and totally excellent.
Kogi*
A Food Truck classic. The Korean-inflected shrimp tacos are always our go-to, though everything here is great.
Lobsta Truck
Their super fresh Maine Lobster Roll—toasted split top with butter—is unparalleled in L.A. food truckdom.
South Philly Experience*
We were blown away by their veggie cheese steak with broccoli rabe, provolone, and mushrooms.
Street Kitchen
The menu here is more of an encyclopedia—and the dishes are equally rich. We liked the Lobster Kobe and the Veggie Quesadilla.
Sushi Pirate
Both the Pirate House Roll and the Sushi Burrito are meals in and of themselves—and a bit lighter than some of the other offerings on the strip.
Takoyaki Tanota
Takoyaki are little flour balls filled with octopus or shrimp—and then topped with ponzu or Japanese mayo. Delicious.
Food Truck Finders
While dedicated food truck followers are better off keeping tabs on their top trucks via Twitter (they all scatter across the city throughout the week), if you’re in the mood for street food but don’t know where to go, there are a couple apps out there which update daily food maps. (The success of the app depends on the trucks’ diligence in updating their location schedule.) Roaming Hunger keeps a solid watch on trucks nationwide (Austin, Portland, NY and LA), Tweat.it is good for New York, and Food Truck Fiesta is the best for DC.
* You’ll find them in the lot at The Brig, a local bar which has the most prized parking spots.
Other Hits
Goes Bananas at Wafl
The ‘Smore Give Me More from Street Kings
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The French Toast Ice Cream Slider (with Vanilla and Green Tea Ice Cream) at Recess
Not Heading to L.A.?
Food Truck Happenings Worldwide
New York
Smorgasburg at Brooklyn
Bridge Park, Pier 5 | Sundays
Between Brooklyn’s Smorgasburg and the Brooklyn Flea, you’re pretty much covered for outdoor eating on the weekends. Our current favorite is Sunday’s Smorgasburg on Pier 5 with vendors like Dough (the ideal doughnut), bigBao (little rice pancakes stuffed with South Asian goodness) and Takumi (Mexi-japanese tacos). Sited right on the water facing downtown Manhattan, this is the perfect family pitstop thanks to built-in public seating and multiple playgrounds.
LeFooding Beach Club
Beach 97, Rockaway | July 11, 12, and 13
This Brooklyn beach oasis is going to be a fixture of the foodie scene this summer when LeFooding shows up with a weekend-long Beach Club. Thanks to a pre-selected menu from Trois Mec, Rockaway Taco, and Momofuku Milk Bar, it’s worth a trek out to BK’s southern tip. Plus, 10% of proceeds go to restoring Rockaway post-Sandy, which should help to make amends for the weekend invasion.
London
Kerb
Granary Square | 1st Saturday of the Month
Kerb wrangles London’s best mobile food vendors and curates office lunchtime trading at both King’s Cross and The Gherkin. Then, on the third Saturday of each month, Kerb goes all out at Granary Square bringing together around 30 of its vendors for snacks and cocktails.
Street Feast
Friday and Saturday Evenings
Street Feast in Dalston draws the East London crowd for drinks and dinner from some of the city’s best vendors, including Pizza Pilgrims (which now has its own Soho location) and B.O.B’s for Lobster Rolls. It’s fun to make a night of it with a big group of friends at one of the long communal tables.