Burbank, CA - Video and Pictures of Manila Machine and The Greasy Wiener

It was a day of reckoning for the foodies of Burbank.

At the behest of Arianna at Food Truck Times and with the help of Valley Food Truck and Food Trucks SFV,

 PRESENTS  

A showdown of Eggroll versus Wiener! 

CHECK OUT WHAT MANNY ON THE STREETZ (KIIS FM) HAS TO SAY BELOW!

I visited the LA Flea Market at Dodger Stadium with Glenn from ChasingTrucks on a hot September day.

We ate at a few food trucks and tried to stay in the shade since temperatures reached 100 degrees F!

Here are a few pictures I took:

KO Taco Truck - my newest obession.

Even though KO Taco Truck (aka The Knockout Taco Truck) has a menu with only 10 tacos, I still had a hard time picking out two for my first visit. Doing some research, I found that chef Chris Goossen is the former Executive Chef at Bottega Louie in Downtown, created a 42 (!) taco menu for El Pearl Cantina on the Miracle Mile, and has cooked at several well-known LA restaurants. Wow, with that pedigree, I was definitely excited to try the food.

For his truck, Goossen has created a menu that covers a spectrum of tacos and fillings - pork, seafood, beef, chicken, and potato. Not only that, the truck is manned (or womanned) by cute girls in KO Taco tanks that say, "My taco can kick your taco's ass!" I'm sure there's some double entendre there somewhere. But going back to the tacos (ahem), I had time to study the menu and agonize over my choices while waiting in line.

I settled on the Taco de Papas (spiced Yukon gold potatoes, lettuce, red salsa, tomatoes, cheese and crema Mexicana) and the Blackened Shrimp (bacon and cheese grits with Cajun salsa). Well, actually my wife (aka Mrs. FoodTrucker) picked the shrimp taco. She loves cheesy grits and bacon and shrimp and the second she saw that taco on the menu, it was like a little angel had answered her prayer. In her Japanese accent, she shrieked, “OMG, all my favorite things in one taco?!” as she fell to her knees in thankfulness. Then she pushed me out of the way to order.

A cute KO Taco girl takes your order and another one calls your name when the order comes up. Tacos are cool because you get to eat all these ingredients in the same bite. And if designed right, each ingredient complements the others. My Taco de Papas was in a hard shell and was hot and crispy. The seasoned potato filling was balanced by the cool crema, lettuce, and tomatoes, with added flavor from the red salsa. It was one of the best potato tacos I’ve ever had.

"One of the best potato tacos I've ever had!"

I can’t wait to try the rest of the menu, in particular the Jalapeno Albacore (with apple, jicama, and habanero salsa) and the BBQ Port Burnt Ends (with baked beans and Southern-style coleslaw). I love tacos because of their versatility; they're one of my favorite foods. The KO tacos were so good, I keep checking to see if the KO Taco Truck is nearby when it's time to eat. Thanks, Chef Goossen, I have some new tacos to obsess over.

KOTaco Truck

Try: Taco de Papas, Blackened Shrimp Taco

(5 OUT OF 5 STARS)

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Mrs. FoodTrucker Satisfaction Rating (out of 100): 99

My wife works in the antique business and used to spend days combing flea markets for stuff (or “sh*t” as she calls it). So after promising to do things like rubbing her feet every night for the next week (and adding a feature at the bottom of this entry), I was able to drag her out to the inaugural LA Flea Market at Dodger Stadium on a hot Sunday (July 17) to try out some food trucks.

We walked among the trucks, checking out menus and spying other people’s plates.

And then we came upon the Komodo Truck. I gotta say, Komodo designed a clear, easy to read menu with pictures. Not only that, the pictures have labels. And prices. On top of that, they have combos. What could be simpler than having the menu put your order together for you? I couldn’t resist.

"Complete awesomeness in my mouth!"

After agonizing over the beautiful pictures on the menu, we narrowed it down to the Killer Combo - 4 tacos for $10. It was tough because the burritos, meatballs, and french fries leaving the pick-up window looked so yummy. We settled on two Komodo 2.0s (seared skirt steak with jalapeno aioli and Southwest corn salad), one Blazin’ Shrimp (spicy Singaporean-style shrimp with sour cream salad) and one Asian marinated chicken (grilled orange marinated chicken with stir fried rice).

I swear I finished my two tacos (1 beef, 1 chicken) in under a minute, including a bite of my wife’s shrimp taco. The steak was tender with lots of flavor, aided by the jalapeno aioli and the cool corn salad. The plump little shrimp were spicy, a little too spicy for my wife, but I loved it (with help from the sour cream). And my favorite, the chicken, was beyond delicious. The meat was tender and sweet, offset by the salty fried rice. So good, it haunts me. One bite into that taco and it was complete awesomeness in my mouth.

Counterpoint: My wife was disappointed that the shrimp taco only had one tortilla. The filling was wet and deliciously messy and the one tortilla holding it all together fell apart.  In her words (with a Japanese accent), “Who puts only one tortilla in a taco?!” Followed by, “How the f*ck am I supposed to eat this?!” I personally thought that a second tortilla would overpower the flavors (but don’t tell her that). Note: she finished the taco.

Was going to a flea market to eat at a food truck worth it to my wife? I dunno, as she still sometimes shrieks, “Who puts only one tortilla in a taco?!” backing it with examples. For me, that chicken taco enters my mind at the weirdest moments, like when I’m rubbing my wife’s feet. It was that good. What I love about the food truck movement is the freedom of creativity of the chefs. And that we get to eat the fantastic results. The food at Komodo is world-inspired but still accessible and delicious. I'm no cuisine expert by any means, I just like what tastes good. Komodo's food tastes good. Really, really good. I guess I’ll be hearing more Japanese-accented cursing from my wife because Komodo tops my faves list.

Try: Asian marinated chicken taco (so good!), garlic fries

(5 OUT OF 5 STARS)

Komodo Food Truck

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Mrs. Foodtrucker Satisfaction Rating (out of 100): 93 (-10 for one tortilla in the shrimp taco)= 83 deduction will gladly be removed if she can have 2 tortillas in her shrimp taco next time