What. It's perfectly normal to stand in line for several hours at the Korean taco truck.

April 10, 2009 7:02 AM

We've gotten all stupid over the Kogi taco truck.

I was not going to post this, for fear that more publicity would lead to longer lines. Then I waited in line for two-and-a-half hours, which I assume approaches the theoretical limit for taco truck lines. So I guess it doesn't matter anymore.

(I can personally only vouch for the tofu tacos, which are downright delicious.)

Not everyone loves it, but a lot of people do.

Sometimes they have to impose strict rations, but most of the time you can walk away on your tired, shaking legs with an armload of food.

But really, folks, it's such a long wait. Don't even think about it. Please.

posted by univac (118 comments total)

I just lost my mind. The enthusiasm is infectious.
posted by now i'm piste at 7:13 AM on April 10, 2009

"... in line for two-and-a-half hours, which I assume approaches the theoretical limit for taco truck lines."

Approaches the limit, passes it, and re-defines it.
posted by krilli at 7:14 AM on April 10, 2009 [4 favorites]

We went this weekend. It does not live up to the hype.
posted by outsider at 7:14 AM on April 10, 2009

Oh god, they twitter their locations. Brilliant.
posted by now i'm piste at 7:16 AM on April 10, 2009

@outsider: What did you have?

The food sure looks pretty.
posted by krilli at 7:21 AM on April 10, 2009

Two and a half hours? That's just begging for a drive-by paintballing. Or kimchi-ing. Whichever.
posted by uncleozzy at 7:26 AM on April 10, 2009

Honestly, I can't imagine waiting anywhere near that long for food, even good food. If it were local to me, I'd just wait for the next fad to come along, or until they open more locations, and go get the Korean tacos when the lines have gone away.

I mean, what makes taco trucks so great is that you don't have to wait. The food is cheap, incredibly good, and impressively fast -- once you stand around in a long line, it kind of takes the whole point away.
posted by Forktine at 7:36 AM on April 10, 2009 [2 favorites]

Two and a half hours in a food line!?!

AMERICA IS TURNING INTO COMMIE RUSSIA! SEE? SEE??
posted by R. Mutt at 7:36 AM on April 10, 2009 [1 favorite]

Waiting 2.5 hours. For a Korean taco. Made from tofu. Served out of a truck.

Where do I start?
posted by DU at 7:36 AM on April 10, 2009 [13 favorites]

As someone spoiled by the plethora of delicious street-foods in Korea, I'd really like to try this. Kimchi torta? C'mon, that's fucking crazy in the best of ways.
posted by bardic at 7:36 AM on April 10, 2009

It does not live up to the hype.

How could it possibly? I wouldn't even wait in line that long for Hot Doug's.
posted by adamdschneider at 7:41 AM on April 10, 2009 [1 favorite]

This is why we can't have nice things anymore.
posted by Lipstick Thespian at 7:44 AM on April 10, 2009 [3 favorites]

A gal in San Francisco was doing something similar but recently gave up because of permit issues.
posted by twsf at 7:47 AM on April 10, 2009

Don't even think about it. Please.

....yeah, ya say that AFTER introducing me to the concept of the tofu taco. Please now come to my house and cook me one.
posted by mannequito at 7:51 AM on April 10, 2009

I don't think this is what they mean by Slow Food.
posted by FelliniBlank at 7:54 AM on April 10, 2009 [2 favorites]

Haven't been yet, but one of the bits of buzz is that the wait is sometimes actually fun, people talk to each other and stuff. Heaven knows LA could use some more random places/times where people are out of their cars.
posted by namespan at 7:54 AM on April 10, 2009 [2 favorites]

Korean Short Rib, Korean Spicy Pork, Korean Chicken, Korean Tofu...

Wife: Have you got anything without Korean?
posted by hal9k at 7:58 AM on April 10, 2009

The Clover Food Lab truck at MIT also twitters their status, but they don't have that line, oy.
posted by mkb at 7:59 AM on April 10, 2009

Yay taco trucks. Taco trucks are the best. I kinda have to agree with Forktine about the wait though.

The husband and I are sad over the townhomes on the next lot over finally finishing after a couple years of construction because the taco trucks will no longer drive up and park in front of our house and honk to let us know they're there. I was getting breakfast tacos in my jammies. My Spanish was getting better. It is the bright sunshine of living next to a construction site.

When New Orleans had an influx of Mexican workers a few years back, the taco trucks came with them and it was strange to some of the folks not used to this sort of access to food. They thought - maybe they didn't really want food in trucks to be allowed. It was a sad time for taco trucks. Why couldn't PoBoy's also be offered in trucks?

Food Shark is another fun 'taco' truck. (YT link there).
posted by dog food sugar at 7:59 AM on April 10, 2009 [1 favorite]

"SNAPE TACO KILLS"
posted by Pants! at 7:59 AM on April 10, 2009

I'll take two.

And a pepsi.
posted by pointilist at 8:03 AM on April 10, 2009

Pupatella is my favorite non-taco taco truck. Handmade nutella stuffed doughnuts in the morning. Freshly made margherita pizzas for lunch. Very much slow food, too. Usually at the Ballston stop of the DC Metro.
posted by 3.2.3 at 8:10 AM on April 10, 2009 [2 favorites]

What.
posted by Glarg at 8:13 AM on April 10, 2009

Waiting 2.5 hours. For a Korean taco. Made from tofu. Served out of a truck.

Where do I start?

At the end of the line like everybody else.
posted by vibrotronica at 8:13 AM on April 10, 2009 [6 favorites]

Is this just the warmer climate version of the Canadian chip truck?

God, I want some poutine right now.
posted by sciurus at 8:17 AM on April 10, 2009

This reminds me that I should be listening to Adam Carolla's podcast more often. I had absolutely no idea how insane LA really can be until I became a devoted fan of Loveline.
posted by SpiffyRob at 8:18 AM on April 10, 2009

Taco truck photo gallery
posted by davebush at 8:21 AM on April 10, 2009 [1 favorite]

y'all come to my house RIGHT NOW and I'll make the best bulgogi taco you've ever had! And, it won't take 2.5 frigging hours!
posted by HuronBob at 8:30 AM on April 10, 2009

At least Pink's is across the street from Golden Apple. Then one of you can stand in line while the other buys comics.
posted by hifiparasol at 8:30 AM on April 10, 2009 [1 favorite]

Oh God yeah. I heard about this, went down at 11:30am, truck was due to arrive at noon.

It's not that the line was around the block. It's that the line DID NOT MOVE. They had hired what appeared to be professional photographers to take pictures. After about 30 minutes standing in the same place, I started to think maybe that money could have been better spent on another cook. Then I left and got lunch somewhere else.

The appeal of regular taco trucks is that they're quick- walk up, order, get tacos, eat tacos. These guys come off a bit obnoxious and high on their own success. I'm yet to see an apology for, or even acknowledgment of, the absurd wait times on their Twitter.
posted by drjimmy11 at 8:31 AM on April 10, 2009

Oh yeah and when they're in Silverlake, they park by the 4100, The. Worst. Bar. In. The. World.
posted by drjimmy11 at 8:32 AM on April 10, 2009

I had absolutely no idea how insane LA really can be until I became a devoted fan of Loveline.

geh,,,

I...

pllhhhh...

buuhhh.....



That's it. I give up. You guys win. Yes Adam Carolla and the people who call loveline are an EXACT representation of what day to day life in L.A. is like. No need to ever visit one of the world's most metropolitan, diverse cities, with almost 10 million people from hundreds of countries living in the metro area.

You already know exactly what's it's like. Because you listen to Loveline.
posted by drjimmy11 at 8:35 AM on April 10, 2009 [11 favorites]

One of the things that I hate about Chicago is the relative dearth of food trucks.
posted by aramaic at 8:37 AM on April 10, 2009

This sounds deLicious and aLL, but what's with the odd capitaLization of the Letter L that seems to be associated with this? Is it a twitter thing?
posted by filthy light thief at 8:41 AM on April 10, 2009

Why don't they have a kalbi and kimchi taco? They go great together. I'd even add some strips of kim (dried seaweed) and a little gochujang. And for extra extravagance, I'd add ojingeochae bokkeum (sweet and spicy dried squid) on top. That would be an awesome, over-the-top Korean taco.
posted by effwerd at 8:42 AM on April 10, 2009

These guys come off a bit obnoxious and high on their own success.

No taco for you, six months!

One of the things that I hate about Chicago is the relative dearth of food trucks.

Are you serious? There are so many better reasons to hate Chicago!
posted by adamdschneider at 8:42 AM on April 10, 2009

That's it. I give up. You guys win.

Come down off your cross, it's not your turn today. I specifically said "can be." I'm sure LA also "can be" as wonderful as you claim. I made no sweeping generalizations.
posted by SpiffyRob at 8:44 AM on April 10, 2009 [2 favorites]

That line is a lot easier to wait in when you've got some MeFites holding your spot near the front while you go inside the nearby bar (Golden Gopher this past time) and order a round. If I'd just been traipsing by there's no chance in hell I'd stand in a line like that for Korean BBQ, but with a dedicated network of friends and acquaintances to chat and chill with it wasn't so bad. What also helped: The keyboard-bangin' serenade and the ever-present downtown smell of piss.
posted by carsonb at 8:45 AM on April 10, 2009

Shit. Where do I get a fish taco near Trumbull, CT, in the next 20 minutes?
posted by These Premises Are Alarmed at 8:53 AM on April 10, 2009

I'd open a burrito cart right across the road for when people get tired of standing in the 2.5 hour line. Booyah.
posted by educatedslacker at 8:56 AM on April 10, 2009 [1 favorite]

TPAA: http://www.jimmysseaside.com/

Maybe?
posted by The Whelk at 8:57 AM on April 10, 2009

Yeah, we went there the last meet-up. Look, it's good, but it's not stand in line for two hours good. My God, do you know what kind of food you can get in L.A. if you have two hours to spend getting it? You could go get some Korean fried chicken, some Mexican mango-chili popsicles, Peruvian fire-roasted chicken and still have time to stop at a Russian bakery in West Hollywood to pick up lard-encrusted sugar things.

Still, those Korean barbecue sliders they serve are pretty wicked. And one of my friends booked Kogi to cater their wedding, which will be really great.
posted by Bookhouse at 8:58 AM on April 10, 2009 [2 favorites]

I am sorry to say this, especially being from South of the border, but a tofu taco is highly unorthodox.
posted by dov3 at 9:04 AM on April 10, 2009

If the question is taco truck, the answer is always yes.

Always.
posted by slogger at 9:10 AM on April 10, 2009

Great. We just moved here, and I love fusion-y food, and now I'm going to force me and my husband to wait two hours in the taco truck line. You did this to spite me!
posted by Nattie at 9:11 AM on April 10, 2009

Not everybody lives in L.A.
posted by rageagainsttherobots at 9:24 AM on April 10, 2009

I heard about this on NPR. I wish we had taco trucks.
posted by TedW at 9:24 AM on April 10, 2009

Portland has the best street food in North America that I know of. Here in Vancouver there is exactly one food stand worthy of discussion. Our city fathers have seen fit to run the scourge of cheap tasty fast food from our streets, presumably to make more room for the heroin dealers. And you wouldn't want to do anything to cut into the margins of the Subways that litter the landscape.
posted by Keith Talent at 9:24 AM on April 10, 2009

I had 1 taco each of bulgogi, galbi, and tofu.

The galbi was pretty good, but on the whole everything tasted pretty similar, like salt and vinegar and not like tasty korean food or tasty tacos... both of which I am a fan of.

If there was no line I would go there for lunch for sure and try everything else out, but waiting in line for that? Please.

I can go down the street and get totally awesome taco truck tacos that taste better than those did for less $$ and a 5 min wait.
posted by outsider at 9:30 AM on April 10, 2009

Waiting in line? On your own two feet? LA used to be where you'd drive two-and-a-half hours for street food.
posted by grounded at 9:35 AM on April 10, 2009

I waited in line for two-and-a-half hours

After waiting 2.5 hours for food, pretty much anything will come across as mind-blowingly delicious. I guess that's one thing I don't miss about LA: the way it's culturally embedded in everyone's minds that it's acceptable to stand in long lines for ridiculous amounts of time to do basically anything.

It does not live up to the hype.

The amount of time you must wait in line for something is inversely proportional to the excellence of the product you've waited for. Just ask all those fanboys who slept on the sidewalk to see The Phantom Menace.

Okay, Mr. Cranky Pants is going to take a nap.
posted by puritycontrol at 9:36 AM on April 10, 2009

mkb: "The Clover Food Lab truck at MIT also twitters their status, but they don't have that line, oy."

Thanks for pointing out that link. I'm no where near MIT, but it was a fun read.
posted by Science! at 9:36 AM on April 10, 2009

Ours don't serve korean fusion food, but Denver is loaded with food trucks. It's pretty great.
posted by boo_radley at 9:43 AM on April 10, 2009

In Portland our carts are not so mobile. Most of them are situated in various "pods" distributed around the city (several downtown and a few on the east side.) Foodcartsportland.com has lots of details on the various cart options.

That reminds me, I'm getting a babysitter on Saturday which means I finally get to try the poutine at Potato Champion.
posted by vespabelle at 9:44 AM on April 10, 2009

Nobody walks in LA.
posted by owtytrof at 9:53 AM on April 10, 2009 [3 favorites]

I'll see you your Vancouver tightassedness about street food and raise you Toronto's completely stupid and paternalistic approach.

We have lots of hot dog carts. They're pretty good -- grilled hot dogs and sausages, toasted buns -- but for years, they have been the only kind of street carts permitted by the city. This year, the city has finally agreed, after years of complaints, to allow more diverse food carts, but they have to be "ethnically diverse". They have to be "nutritious". Each vendor has to buy special carts from the city.

As of late May, this city of 3 million people is finally going to get -- drum roll! -- EIGHT new carts at specific locations. You want to buy jerk chicken from a cart? You'll have to go to Yonge and St. Clair. You want Pad Thai? You have to go to Mel Lastman Square, the city centre of North York. Oh, and the ubiquitous hot dog carts can now sell pre-packaged nuts and bagels and such, too. Be still, my palate!

Instead of just setting standards for hygiene and carts, this project doles out approved Nutritious Ethnic Food in a ridiculously small number of locations. Yeah, we have a lot of great big and small restaurants in this city. We just aren't allowed to buy the same food on the street.
posted by maudlin at 9:54 AM on April 10, 2009

That looks like it could be tasty, but yeah, two and a half hours? Ugh.
posted by klangklangston at 9:55 AM on April 10, 2009

A vast emptiness that consumes everything.
posted by Burhanistan at 9:55 AM on April 10, 2009

NO WE ALL HAVEN'T BECAUSE OBVIOUSLY WE DON'T ALL FUCKING LIVE WHERE YOU DO!!!!

jeez...some people think everyone lives in their same neighborhood.
posted by GavinR at 9:58 AM on April 10, 2009

hell, where i live you could go out and SHOOT something to eat in 2 1/2 hours
posted by pyramid termite at 9:59 AM on April 10, 2009 [1 favorite]

There are delicious morning doves that are in my backyard right now.
posted by Burhanistan at 10:03 AM on April 10, 2009 [1 favorite]

Does it's range take it to SF? Because I'll pay for the gas....
posted by sh0ganai at 10:19 AM on April 10, 2009

hell, where i live you could go out and SHOOT something to eat in 2 1/2 hours

Lemme know when you've shot, dressed, and prepared your first korean taco.
posted by namespan at 10:22 AM on April 10, 2009 [1 favorite]

Yeah, and it should be made with free-range kimchee, too.
posted by maudlin at 10:28 AM on April 10, 2009

Tacos grow on bushes, silly.
posted by Burhanistan at 10:33 AM on April 10, 2009

Had my first Kogi at the Mefi meetup on Wednesday. The doorman at the Golden Gopher hooked me up with food recommendations and was SPOT on. The grilled spicy pork sliders were alllllll sorts of tasty awesomeness for $5. My spare rib taco was yum too. My Kogi meal was about half the price of my first drink at the Golden Gopher... and much more filling.

AAAAAA+++++++. Would wait in line again. But not for over 45 minutes unless I was with awesome company. Not many things I would wait that long in line for.
posted by miss lynnster at 10:42 AM on April 10, 2009

Nobody walks in LA.

Oh, shut up. Seriously.
posted by miss lynnster at 10:44 AM on April 10, 2009 [2 favorites]

BTW, the doorman also did mention the spam sliders as a good special. But I just can't go for that. Noooo. No. No can do.
posted by miss lynnster at 10:45 AM on April 10, 2009

Update on my lunch: We went to Señor Salsa in Fairfield, CT. The place was packed, so we got tacos to go and went up to the seawall in Lordship to eat. Picture.
posted by These Premises Are Alarmed at 10:54 AM on April 10, 2009

Best chip truck evar.

You want Pad Thai? You have to go to Mel Lastman Square, the city centre of North York.

Well, give them some time. the wheels of city hall turn slowly. Besides, there are plently of non-cart locations to buy good food in Toronto. Oh, the days when I could eat lunch at St Lawrence Market... drool.
posted by GuyZero at 10:55 AM on April 10, 2009

Well played, Los Angeles. Well played.
posted by cazoo at 11:03 AM on April 10, 2009

"Waiting 2.5 hours. For a Korean taco. Made from tofu. Served out of a truck. Where do I start?"

So...... what you're saying is....... you don't love LA?
posted by y6y6y6 at 11:04 AM on April 10, 2009

Wow, two and a half hours. Even the line at Pink's on a Saturday afternoon isn't that long! But then again waiting for a hot dog is lame, waiting for a Korean tofu taco is awesome.
posted by cazoo at 11:07 AM on April 10, 2009

Lemme know when you've shot, dressed, and prepared your first korean taco.

they have squirrels in korea, too, you know
posted by pyramid termite at 11:15 AM on April 10, 2009

There are delicious morning doves that are in my backyard right now.
Mourning doves. (Sorry, pet peeve.)

Also: Taco Blue?
posted by trip and a half at 11:22 AM on April 10, 2009

Oh, shut up. Seriously.

... seriously?
posted by owtytrof at 11:29 AM on April 10, 2009

Aren't you guys supposed to be having a recession or something? And the average lifespan is still considerably shorter than a hundred years? If you spend 2.5 hours waiting in line for a fucking taco, you are living life incorrectly. Go back home and cook something.
posted by pracowity at 11:30 AM on April 10, 2009

These guys come off a bit obnoxious and high on their own success.

They certainly don't in person. I've had kogi a good half dozen times now - not least because they were coming to our office weekly until the local cops decided they didn't have the proper permits for that zip code - and they've always been incredibly friendly.

I'm yet to see an apology for, or even acknowledgment of, the absurd wait times on their Twitter.

It's mostly because people line up before they arrive, much less before they start serving. It takes them a bit to get running after they stop at a location, and during that time the line just grows. Once they're serving it's pretty quick, but they always have a backlog to run through.
posted by flaterik at 12:02 PM on April 10, 2009 [1 favorite]

owtytrof: "Nobody walks in LA."

I live two blocks from work. I've gone weeks at a time without starting my car.

I'm surprised and dismayed at the hate that some people have for street vendors. They're what gives a city its character. A city that crushes its street vending market is a city without a soul.
posted by mullingitover at 12:02 PM on April 10, 2009

Incontrovertible proof.
posted by owtytrof at 12:15 PM on April 10, 2009

The one in SF closed? What a loss, I wanted it to start a trend. That Korean food truck would stop within a block from my office, it was very good.

Where I live in the Fillmore, there is a pretty decent Korean restaurant where they already know me. Just across the street there is a struggling Mexican food restaurant, tacons and tortas, owned by a Korean man. If I remember, I will get some kimchee, walk it across the street and ask the guy to make me a torta. I want full credit for this, I will deny ever reading this thread.

Offtopic, I second whoever mentioned Portland street food. One extra cold, wet and miserable day in January 2000 I was completely broke in Portland, with another Mexican friend. We had 60 cents between us and were starving. We decided to go to a taco truck, eat as much as possible and then offer to pay with our watch, our leather belts or some work.

The tacos were delicious, Michoacan style carnitas (the hot pink ones) and they had delicious toasted barley water. The dude was amused with our excitement and we started talking. He was from a small town in Michoacan we had just visited a few months ago, were we had had very good carnitas, at his brother's restaurant! We got the food for free, and he gave us some tips on the vest dumpster diving in town: outside this organic farmer's market type thing at 9 p.m. for food; with a shopping cart by the back door of the tallest building downtown, were we got $40 worth of glass bottles and cans to recycle.
posted by dirty lies at 12:31 PM on April 10, 2009 [3 favorites]

I'm currently arranging to take the Metro to work so that I can save gas money* and on nice days my dog and I will get our exercise by walking a mile to and from Union Station. So yeah, seriously. It would not be dishonest of me to say that I would be very pleased if the pattern of quoting the lyrics of a Missing Persons song as fact solely in order to flippantly stereotype a city which is home to 9,878,554 residents with varying transportation styles would fade out.

But hey, that's just me.

*BTW, happy to discover that the LA Metro will take me to & from work for only $3. When I took the Bart to work in SF, it cost $8 RT even though the distance was shorter.
posted by miss lynnster at 12:39 PM on April 10, 2009 [1 favorite]

My spicy pork, spare rib and tofu tacos were all quite delicious, but I won't try it again if I had to wait in line as long as I did at the meetup. There was something bullshitty (but not as bullshitty as the mountain of ice in miss lynnster's drink) about the truck pulling up and doing nothing for at least 15-20 minutes while we all sat there in line waiting for something to happen.
posted by mandymanwasregistered at 12:40 PM on April 10, 2009 [1 favorite]

I really love the fact that in the NPR story the guy said he got the idea for this when he was drunk.
posted by queensissy at 12:42 PM on April 10, 2009

The street food in LA is one of the reasons I love it--nothing can compare to the joy that is a bacon wrapped hotdog smothered in ketcheup, mayonaise and jalapenos. If you go the table outside of the Echo you can even get the vegan version of this culinary joy.
posted by mandymanwasregistered at 12:51 PM on April 10, 2009

pattern of quoting the lyrics of a Missing Persons song as fact solely in order to flippantly stereotype a city which is home to 9,878,554 residents with varying transportation styles would fade out.

As fact? Seriously? You think my go-to source for facts about the city of Los Angeles is a now-hokey-sounding(I don't know how the song was recieved when it was first recorded) song from the 80s? Really? Really?

Here's a fact: for a very long time, before I learned the title of the song, I thought the lyric was "Nobody walks in a lake," and I thought "Well, no shit!" I still prefer to sing it this way.

I will say that I'm sorry if I pissed in your Post Toasties - that wasn't my intent. I do, however, think you're being a tad over-sensitive. It's the internets, after all.
posted by owtytrof at 1:19 PM on April 10, 2009

Just ketchup and jalapenos?
posted by ryanrs at 1:19 PM on April 10, 2009

Please, it's fakin' wrapped notdogs.
posted by mandymanwasregistered at 1:22 PM on April 10, 2009

owtytrof--do tell, what is the source of your comment then if it's not the song? Because regardless, it's still wrong and ignorant.
posted by mandymanwasregistered at 1:29 PM on April 10, 2009

A) Never take anything I say as totally serious.

B) Yeah, there are people who do say that quote as though it's a fact about LA they read in a guide book.

C) Never take anything I say as totally serious.
posted by miss lynnster at 1:47 PM on April 10, 2009

What are words for, when no one listens anymore?
posted by Tacodog at 1:51 PM on April 10, 2009 [1 favorite]

doing nothing for at least 15-20 minutes

I like to think they're doing prep work and not just playing the nightclub game of letting a line grow for no reason other than buzz. I hope I am not dissuaded from this potential illusion because they're just so goddamn nice that I hate to think that they'd do that.

The street food in LA ... the echo

The last time I was there I had to get a hot dog on the way out. And then stop at the taco truck nearby. That I had already stopped at on the way TO the echo. I love that taco truck and I hope it's there next time I drag myself out there.

I love LA street food. It's a wonder I'm not fat. Maybe it's cause I walk so much.
posted by flaterik at 1:53 PM on April 10, 2009

D) Due to your protests to my honest reaction of saying I'm tired to death of hearing people quote that song? (Honestly, someone tries to interject it in nearly every single L.A. thread so it's just eye-roll inducing at this point.) I think your Post Toasties appear to be the pissier flavored ones. Mine taste like happy California sunshine and spicy pork, just the way I like 'em.
posted by miss lynnster at 1:53 PM on April 10, 2009

That Pupatella thing looks amazing! I'm all for non-taco taco trucks of all kinds.

Accidentally ended up waiting for about 2 hours for my first Kogi burrito, but I was with coworkers and there was a DJ (as there is whenever they stop at the Japanese American National Museum). The next time they came it was rainy so there was no line, and that was awesome. They are NOT worth a long wait. I'm gonna ask my mom to try making tofu tacos one weekend, as they tasted very similar to her tofu potstickers.
posted by estherbester at 2:12 PM on April 10, 2009

Wait, is it:

A/c) Never take anything I say as totally serious.

-or-

D) Due to your protests to my honest reaction of saying I'm tired to death of hearing people quote that song?

So was your rant serious, or not? It sounded serious, much more so than my original post consisting of a mere 4 words and in no way even remotely implying that it was directed at you. If that was "happy California sunshine and spicy pork" then I hope I, or anyone else here, never truly piss you off. You might clog Meta's Filter with the bile.

But, really, you might want to work on how you portray yourself when you want to convey that everything is rainbows and butterflies. You came across to me as seriously hostile, hence the apology for pissing you off. Which you respond to with "Huh-uh, you're pissed off!" That isn't to say I'm perfect at reading strangers' posts on the 'net, but taking the time to get such a specific figure for the city population? You put effort into that. Believe me when I say that, all snark aside, I did not mean to upset you or any other citizen of LA. Resuming the snark, your posts in this thread perfectly accompany the persecution complex hinted at in the Location field of your profile. I've never been to LA, and have no reason to hate it. In fact, I would one day like to visit. While I'm there, I might even walk some, or take public transportation. Heck, I do that regularly here.

With that, I'm through with this exchange. Feel free to respond, but I'm going to bow out at this point. Let's let the good users in this post maintain their discussion of delicious taco truck food in the happy Californian sun, and this dumb Texas hick will just slowly back out.
posted by owtytrof at 2:14 PM on April 10, 2009

Oh man. You're hurting my head.

It was a reaction and I was half joking. Jesus, just lighten up and quote all the stereotypical song lyrics you want to. Knock yourself out! I don't know why you're going into the texas hick thing. I don't know why you're acting like I'm some kind of snob when I haven't implied anything of the sort. Here's the thing dude... I didn't go out of my way... although you assumed I did. Here are the facts: I'VE BEEN AN L.A. TOURGUIDE PROFESSIONALLY. MY FAMILY CAME HERE IN 1908. I KNOW THE POPULATION.

I think you're protesting too much just because I hate a song.
posted by miss lynnster at 2:40 PM on April 10, 2009

Also? Resuming the snark, your posts in this thread perfectly accompany the persecution complex hinted at in the Location field of your profile.

See, this is why we can't enjoy nice things. One of us is sounding like a snob and it isn't me.
posted by miss lynnster at 2:43 PM on April 10, 2009

P.S. -- As a native Los Angeleno who moved to San Francisco and was constantly forced to hear "You're from LA? GOD I HATE THAT PLACE!" at every dinner party I attended... THAT was why I wrote that in my profile last August when I moved back. I'm proud of where I'm from and have heard every negative thing people have to say, that's all. It's tiresome.
posted by miss lynnster at 2:53 PM on April 10, 2009 [4 favorites]

I walked to get samosas about a mile and a half away last night and they were pretty awesome (though it's hard to walk with the chutneys, so I ended up eating 'em in a parking lot and almost forgot to throw away my trash but went back for it and some heavily-accented black dude gave me a thumbs up and said, "I was afraid I'd have to clean that up.")
posted by klangklangston at 3:14 PM on April 10, 2009

I always thought the song was "Nobody woks in L.A." - so you can imagine my initial excitement and my subsequent, dawning sense of irony upon reading this entire thread.
posted by xod at 3:54 PM on April 10, 2009

Ok, I am going to let out a little secret:
Kogi Tacos are OK. Better then most, but not so much that I'd wait in 2.5 hours for it.
and you can get it without waiting in line by going here:
http://www.alibiroomla.com/home.php

You can order it, get some drinks have fun, and the waiter will come by with a plate of authentic Kogi taco/burrito/whatever.

PS Kogi translates to "meat".

And as a person who lives in DOWNTOWN LA, I walk all over LA. :p
posted by countzen at 4:34 PM on April 10, 2009

oops the link is:
Alibi Room
posted by countzen at 4:35 PM on April 10, 2009

Is it just me or is almost everyone on MeFi really cranky today?
posted by zylocomotion at 4:51 PM on April 10, 2009

Is it just me or is almost everyone on MeFi really cranky today?

I'd be cranky too if someone told me the wait for dinner was 2.5 hours and I would have to stand cuz there were no seats in the waiting area.
posted by aGee at 5:55 PM on April 10, 2009

weird, I just ate at this truck randomly last week in LA without knowing the hype around it, and this is the first time I'm finding out that it's famous. For what it's worth, the tacos were incredibly delicious, and the wait at 1AM outside the bar was like 15 minutes, tops on a Friday night.

I eat at some pretty good tacquerias in the Mission district in San Francisco (tacqueria central, if you don't live in SF) and these korean tacos are an awesome change of pace. I mean tacos are great, but even the ideal regular taco gets old after eating them your whole life.

I wonder where the 2.5 hrs wait time quote is coming from?

Man, i sound like a yelp review. help please.
posted by I like to eat meat at 6:09 PM on April 10, 2009

But, really, you might want to work on how you portray yourself when you want to convey that everything is rainbows and butterflies. You came across to me as seriously hostile

After a while of having people repeatedly piss on a place you really like -- no, place you identify with -- via the usual glib analysis, you might tend to either get bit sensitive, if you don't choose "totally apathetic" instead.
posted by namespan at 6:15 PM on April 10, 2009

I have to second and third miss lynnster's and namespan's annoyance, even though I really didn't want this thread to turn this direction. I have lived in LA for the past 21 years but grew up in the SF bay area. I stopped going back home because I got really tired of people being so completely rude about where I lived. "Why do you live THERE?" was common. So yeah, we can get a little sensitive when an LA stereotype is brought up.

Anyway, the way to do the kogi truck is to find really fantastic and generous friends, and eventually one of them will just walk up to you and give you a taco. It worked for me. And they're great. Both the friends and the tacos.
posted by queensissy at 6:55 PM on April 10, 2009

Yeah, see... I went through a period where I was sensitive when I was living in the Bay area. I was basically made to feel in no uncertain terms that something was wrong with me if I didn't feel my life only began after leaving the place I'm a 4th generation native of. I thought I belonged in the Bay area but was made to feel like an outsider because I love where I'm from. Which is kind of sucky.

But now that I'm back here, my attitude is this... I am happy. I like where I'm from. I'm far from hostile, it's actually the people who go on and on about this place when they've never lived here that are the hostile ones. To me being Southern Californian is as much an identity as any other culture or nationality. If someone in a thread goes on about how stereotypes of people in Asia or Africa or even Appalachia, people who know better usually chime up and say, "That's not accurate."

Los Angeles is the only place that if you defend it when it's attacked and say that your opinion of it isn't negative, people call you hostile. It's ironic really. Being positive about where you are from shouldn't ever be judged as a hostile attitude. That makes no sense.
posted by miss lynnster at 7:01 PM on April 10, 2009 [2 favorites]

I just came by to lock the doors & sweep up, & it seems a bunch of rowdy drunks have taken over the thread.

I wonder where the 2.5 hrs wait time quote is coming from?

That's how long I waited recently. I regretted it soon afterward. My rationale for going in the first place was to take advantage of the convenience of the truck stopping a few blocks from the office, which I now realize is ridiculous. Usually I've only had to wait 1/2 - 1 hour.

Anyway, that same night I was on the Westside & stopped by the Alibi Room for more tofu tacos & stuff, & the wait was a normal restaurant wait, bringing down my average Kogi wait time somewhat.

Nobody walks in LA because when the smog blinds you, you can't see the armed gang members stealing your breast implants during an earthquake/mudslide/brushfire.
posted by univac at 7:11 PM on April 10, 2009 [1 favorite]

BTW, I'm just assuming that since I haven't been on here much lately, anyone who takes everything I say seriously must not have read many of my previous posts. I mean, I'm a jazz singer who is currently making a living designing stuffed animals for Christ's sake... my days ARE filled with sunshine and rainbows, and my nights are filled with the Great American Songbook. I have NOTHING to feel angry or bitter about... nowadays my life is annoyingly content.

Oh yeah, and I love where I live. It's an awesome place filled with cool, insanely creative people and taco trucks that serve really good korean sliders. Almost forgot to mention that.
posted by miss lynnster at 7:15 PM on April 10, 2009

Nobody walks in LA because when the smog blinds you, you can't see the armed gang members stealing your breast implants during an earthquake/mudslide/brushfire.

Okay, well, yeah. There's that. But it's the still best way to get around when you're looting during a riot. So it has its place.
posted by miss lynnster at 7:17 PM on April 10, 2009

What would be extra cool is if people could post about things in a somewhat objective manner so threads don't devolve into personal narratives.
posted by Burhanistan at 8:01 PM on April 10, 2009

I think I also speak for Stavros when I say there are no Korean taco trucks in Korea.

And I really wish there were
posted by Joseph Gurl at 8:12 PM on April 10, 2009

Yeah, agreed. I apologize for posting in here about anything other than taco trucks and for reacting to him.
posted by miss lynnster at 8:24 AM on April 11, 2009

I do so enjoy my fair city.





Please let's all be nice
posted by hifiparasol at 9:05 PM on April 11, 2009

I just ate at Alibi, the tofu tacos. They were OK, but lacked enough zing (Korean, the Korean I like, is spicy as hell) and if I'd waited two-and-a-half hours instead of the half-an-hour, I woulda been PISSED.
posted by klangklangston at 10:06 PM on April 11, 2009

In San Francisco, you can get Korean tacos and burritos during work hours, Monday to Friday, at John's Deli in Financial District. No line or twitter nonsense. The owner's mother and wife do all the cooking on portable stoves in a tiny convenience store.
posted by junesix at 11:33 AM on April 13, 2009 [1 favorite]

Thanks for the John's Deli suggestion, the food is really good. It is almost a mile from my office, wee worth the walk.
posted by dirty lies at 2:36 PM on April 21, 2009