Midtown Lunch

This is quite possibly the greatest food truck story I’ve seen in the 4+ years I’ve been doing Midtown Lunch:  On Tuesday Eater broke the story that the Flying Pig truck (one of our favorites in L.A.) was going to be starring in a porno with Ron Jeremy called “The Flying Pink Pig”.  Amazing right?  Not so much says the Owner of the Flying Pig, who is afraid this might be bad publicity for the brick and mortar he’s about to open in Little Tokyo.  He told Squid Ink that he had no idea they were going to be using the truck in a porno film, apparently thinking the film was a “romantic comedy”.  Although that story becomes hard to believe once you see the trailer.  (If the cheesy construction workers weren’t a dead giveaway, than the half naked women making out in your truck should have been!) Regardless of what the owner of the Flying pig might think this is a clear victory for those of us who have been saying for years that food trucks should make love not war.  And the best news is, two sequels are already in the can.  [photo via Eater]

A bunch of lunch news for the people who work Downtown… first off, the bad.  The Original Texas Barbecue King (on 7th btw. Grand & Olive) has closed down.  It wasn’t the greatest BBQ of all time, but it was all we had in the area!  They are trying to find another location to relocate to in the Downtown Area.

And that’s not all the area lost over the holidays.  Because of construction on the new Target opening Downtown next year, the entire food court in the 7th & Fig complex has been closed down. But don’t get too upset, there’s a silver lining to this part of the story…

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With all the ruckus over Grill Em All’s “Great Food Truck Race” victory over the Nom Nom Truck a few months ago, it’s easy to forget that earlier in the year Grill Em All was actually bested by Baby’s Badass Burger Truck on Travel Channel’s “Food Wars”.  It’s hard to beat Grill Em All’s seared fennel smoked sausage gravy and maple syrup topped burger (aka The Molly Hatchet) but when it comes to just the burger itself, Baby’s is surprisingly awesome- provided you order it medium rare. So, when I spotted this special posted on the Baby’s Badass Burger Truck, how could I resist?

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There’s no doubt that fusion tacos are the most ubiquitous item found on food trucks these days (thanks for that, Kogi!) but if you were forced to pick a runner up, you wouldn’t be wrong to think banh mi. Nom Nom Truck is undoubtedly the most famous, thanks to their nearly undefeated record on the Food Network’s Great Food Truck Race, and the Phamish Truck was named one of L.A.’s ten best food trucks by Los Angeles Magazine. On paper Mandoline Grill is an easy pick for 3rd place (they’re vegan friendly and don’t even have pate and Vietnamese cold cuts!?!) and yet their grilled pork banh mi might be the best version from a food truck in the city.

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When Grub Street reported a few months ago that the Schnitzel Wagon would be hitting the streets of our city, my interest was probably piqued more than than the average Angeleno.  After all schnitzel is not really as hype inducing as, say, Filipino food.  Or red velvet pancakes.  Or dim sum and hipster fried chicken.  Part of it was because I miss New York’s ultra popular Schnitzel & Things Truck, and part of it was because I was super curious to find out why they completely ripped off the Street Sweets’ truck design! (Also a popular New York truck.)

But mostly I was just using these reasons as an excuse to go eat deep fried cutlets of meat and fish off a truck in Downtown L.A.  (As if I needed an excuse!)

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I’ve heard little bits and pieces about the new fried chicken truck run by Dante Gonzales, the NYC artist/chef/party thrower now based here in L.A. It was enough to get me interested, but the Dante Fried Chicken Truck hasn’t really hit the streets full time yet (just a few private events here and there.) I was particularly curious how such a new truck managed to squeeze their way into Thrillist’s Food Truck Rally– featuring the 5 “Best of the Best” Food Trucks in L.A., but the pick turned out to be inspired… because not only were they the talk of the event this past Saturday, they won the people’s choice voting (beating out Frysmith, Dim Sum Truck, Komodo, and Lardon.) And not just for their fried chicken… it was also their fried tofu (vegetarians should be seriously excited for this), mac and cheese, and their coconut biscuit topped with blueberry stout brisket & almond banana slaw.

I’m not sure exactly when the truck will pop up in public next, but it sounds like they may be on Miracle Mile for lunch very soon. My twitter stalking has officially started (and if you’re smart, you’ll follow them right along with me.)