Midtown Lunch

I try my best not to be too negative on this site, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be able to vent. Every once in awhile I’ll share some of the more angry useful emails I get in a post called “Airing of Grievances”. (If the Eater Complaints Dept. would like royalties, I’ll be happy to pay up…)

The Baja Fresh Opening Soon on B’way & 41st. Photo courtesy of Lunch’er Harry

Zach,

I’ve had enough, I like you too much and I can’t stand for you supporting Baja Fresh anymore. Friends don’t let friends support Baja Fresh. You’re making a fool of yourself. I told you long ago that this is not the “west coast Baja” you’re used to. I told you, that they’d been in Jersey for years now running a sinister operation of 9$ flaccid burritos, where they push the envelope of rice to meat ratio every time, probably just to test a customer’s breaking point. I would never in a billion years succumb to openly compromising my foodie reputation and associating myself Baja Fresh as a fan. However, just for you, I did [last week], and for the sake of being a cheapie who likes deals that rip off my arch nemesis (i.e. my failed attempt to win a free Yushi lunch). I tried printing the page at work but it would have been about 5 pages long since the stream of comments was so long. I decided to just bring in my phone and show them evidence that I actually went through the hassle of becoming a fan and writing a comment.

Read more »

Unlike most normal Midtown Lunchers, I don’t usually eat at a place I’ve already eaten at, and order the same thing I’ve already tried (it’s a hazard of the job.) But I do have a few go-to lunches that I can’t help but eat every once in awhile. The sauteed udon noodles with pork from Hing Won, and the fake shrimp from Cafe Duke come to mind. Added to that list yesterday was Baja Fresh. What can I say? The Baja Chicken Burrito was my go-to lunch when I lived in LA (along with Panda Express), why should things be different here?

So yesterday, when a friend and I were looking for a place to eat near his office- I couldn’t help myself but suggest the Baja Fresh (on Lex btw. 45+46th). And it was partially spurred on by a comment posted to the site yesterday by Lunch’er Jeff. It wasn’t really applicable to me (I always order the baja chicken burrito), but I took a liking to his obsessive and meticulous examination of Baja Fresh from a first timers perspective.

Check it out after the jump…

Read more »

Photos Courtesy of OC Mexican Food Blog

It looks like the battle between Baja Fresh and LA’s Kogi BBQ truck is just starting to heat up.  A quick recap for those who haven’t been following it closely… at the end of last month the OC Mexican food blog first reported that Baja Fresh had added “Kogi Tacos” to one of their locations in Irvine, CA, a seemingly blatant rip off of the LA Korean taco truck with the same name.  Readers were outraged, although some commenters on various blogs pointed out that “kogi” is just the Korean term for “meat”, so it’s probably legal.  On Thursday, NRN confirmed that Baja Fresh was in fact going ahead with their Kogi named line of Korean tacos, although the owners of the NYC Baja Fresh said it wasn’t going to be coming to New York.  (And in a double whammy, neither is the Kogi BBQ Truck we were promised a few months ago!)  Well, the Wall Street Journal blog is the latest to chime in, shining some added light on the legality of the name, and whether or not Baja Fresh can use it:

[Baja Fresh] chose to call the dish “kogi” because that is a transliteration of the Korean word for meat. Although it says now a Korean-language expert is investigating whether “gogi” might be a more accurate spelling and if Baja should use that instead.

“It speaks to our non-desire to rip off the Kogi name,” Mr. Rink says. Research and development staff from the chain did sample the tacos at the Kogi truck, but didn’t copy the recipe, Mr. Rink says. It created its own Korean taco using steak and chicken.”

So it seems like the word “kogi” is not really the commonly used phonetic spelling of “meat” that we thought it was.  Which begs the question… doesn’t the Kogi BBQ Truck have a trademark!?!

Read more »

Roy Choi & Lee Anne Wong During Last Month’s Midtown Kogi Invasion

A rumor that had been floating around for a bit was finally confirmed at last night’s Eater panel at the 92YTribeca: Lee Anne Wong is no longer working as the East coast rep for the LA based Kogi BBQ Truck.  According to the former Top Chef contestant “Kogi will be focusing on their West Coast operations” while she moves on to “some very exciting projects down the line.”

So does this mean Kogi in NYC is dead?  Kogi’s Chef Roy Choi had this to say: “I love NYC! We are doing our best but my energies right now are trying to keep the food fresh to def! 55th and Lex….it will go down in history :)” History?  That doesn’t sound too promising.

Could Baja Fresh be our best chance of getting “Kogi” to NYC?

Read more »

It looks like my hope of having knock off “kogi tacos” come to Baja Fresh here in New York is not just a pipe dream.  One of the reps from the NYC Baja Fresh location responded to our Tuesday story with this info:  “[The Kogi Menu is] currently being tested in one corporate location in Irvine, CA. However, this location is actually our prototype, same menu style, etc… So it is possible that we could be serving them soon, but I cannot confirm. I am looking into a more definite time frame, etc. Also, I highly doubt the word kogi is trademarked, just as Long John Silver’s is now selling Baja Tacos…“  Yeah, but Baja Fresh didn’t invent the baja style taco.  The Kogi BBQ Truck did invent this.  Either way, I hope it happens.  KOREAN TACOS IN MIDTOWN OR BUST!!!

Related:
Is Baja Fresh Ripping Off Kogi? (And More Importantly How Soon Will The Midtown Branch be on Board?)

Photos Courtesy of OC Mexican Food Blog

There have been scores of Kogi BBQ Truck Korean taco imitators, both in LA (where the truck is based) and here in NYC (where we hope one day a Kogi truck will be based.)  But none are as big as this:  The OC Mexican Food blog is reporting that a Baja Fresh in Irvine is now selling something called “Baja Kogi”, a menu with a Korean style burrito and Korean tacos complete with “sesame salsa” and “kimchi slaw”.  The Kogi BBQ Truck rep I spoke too hadn’t even heard about this yet, so it’s unlikely it’s been officially licensed by the company- and right now it’s only at that one Baja Fresh location in California.  I just hope Baja Fresh adds it to their Midtown location (on Lex btw. 45+46th), before they get sued and have to scrap the whole thing! (Although technically “kogi” is just the Korean word for beef meat, so I’m not sure if it’s illegal to use it in this way.)

Ever since Momofuku Ssam Bar stopped selling their namesake dish, there has been a Korean burrito hole in my heart, and you know I’ll take Korean tacos however I can get them.  Bring it Baja Fresh! [via Food Section Twitter]

Related:
At Lunch Now: Live Coverage of the Kogi BBQ/Dessert Truck Midtown Mash-Up
New York City Baja Fresh Nails the Baja Chicken Burrito