Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Kogi tacos... the easy way

The not so new craze that has sweeped through most of Los Angeles has been Kogi taco truck tacos.

You follow the trucks on twitter and show up where ever they are, along with a hundred other people. Then you stand in line and pray that the tacos don't run out when you get to the window or that someone doesn't puke on your shoes.

Forget that.

Last night I went to Alibi Room - once a dive bar in Culver City, but is now run by the Kogi people.

We parked in the residential neighborhood next to modest 2 bedroom $600,000 homes like this one. (got to love this town)


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The venue is small and consists solely of a triangle shaped bar and a small outdoor patio with limited seating. We went on a Tuesday night at 8:30pm and ended up standing at the bar since all the seats were taken. This place is worse than Father's Office. Hmph. Well, at least it's better than sitting on a curb in Exposition Park. I think.

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The drinks are delicious and strong, but tiny. I drained mine in about 50 seconds. The first was the Lychee Cooler with Ketel One Vodka, St. Germain, and lychee puree. Didn't get a chance to take a picture. lol.

For the second drinks, I was more restrained. I got the Acai Margarita - El Jimador Reposado tequila with citronge, fresh lime and acai puree, served on the rocks with salt. Another winner.

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He got Mint Sweet Tea ("to help my sore throat" - insert derisive snort here) which was hound dog sweet tea vodka with fresh muddled mint and lemon juice. Tasted like a mojito to me - little too much mint.

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We started with a side of fries that were sprinkled with chili flakes. The dipping sauces were a chili sauce mixed with ketchup and sesame mayo. These were a perfect bar food and were finished quickly.

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Next up were the tacos. Mr. Insom refused my request for "half-half" (where we get different dishes and trade plates halfway through) so we got identical items: the famous short rib taco.

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As I ate it, I marveled at the simplicity. Tender marinated kalbi shortribs, kim chi, and a sparse dusting of lettuce and green onion on two slightly crispy corn flour tortillas. Wedges of lime and orange and an errant radish or two provide an additional kick. I can't believe no one's thought of this before.

As we left, we saw the taco truck waiting patiently in the alley. Maybe next time, big boy.

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3 comments:

dapotato said...

i refuse to try kogi until there is zero wait. i might be more willing to try alibi if i were still on the westside.

i do love all kinds of tacos, though. meh.

all the drinks sound delicious.

weezermonkey said...

How could he refuse half-half! That is the *only* way to eat!

10yearstogether said...

Mr10yt won't do half half either so I end up just picking at his plates the whole time. Man that acai drink looks niiiice.