I recently came across this fantastic collection of paper taco trucks. I contacted Will Guy, the man behind the magic, for the inside story.

How did you first get exposed to taco trucks? What’s your favorite one? What do you order?

I remember my first taco truck visit when I was in art school, which saved my wallet more than a few times. I wondered ‘Why havent I seen these before?”. Maybe it was a rite of passage, like graduating from ice cream trucks or something. Living in the Bay Area, I often check Google Maps for taco trucks or check Yelp and save the bookmark. Theres also a great blog called yumtacos.com which I designed the logo for.

I like El Tonayense trucks in the Mission district in SF; the cooks are friendly and quick and the food tastes fresh. I usually have a staple order which is a couple of carnitas tacos and a horchata. Once in a while I order a burrito and an agua fresca if they have ‘em. Sometimes I’ll get a torta or a tostada when I want something different.

How did you come to create the paper dolls? Have you printed out and made them? If so, can you send photos of what they look like?

I’ve been wanting to do some kind of papercraft for a while and taco trucks popped into my head since you see different trucks with different shapes and logos. I also wanted to keep the cartoony aspect as opposed to an exact model. I have printed all of them out and made my own, though I havent yet made photos with them. If you search on Flickr for ‘paper taco trucks‘ you can see other peoples models which is a blast.

Why make paper doll versions of taco trucks? What do you hope people will get out of it?

For one its the idea of a ‘toy’ paper taco truck one can simply download and make. There’s the toy/keepsake aspect, the craft aspect, and the cartoonyness aspect of it. All those combined makes for a fun experience. It’s also a little reminder of the joy people get from visiting these traveling wagons of tastiness. I hope people enjoy them as much as I had designing them!

Have you shown them to any taco truck owners? If so, what was their reaction? If not, when will you?

I have not shown any paper taco trucks yet to any real taco trucks, maybe I should to get a free discount! I’m printing out and making a few to show off when I get a spare moment!

What’s next for you in the taco truck department?

Right now people are still discovering the paper taco trucks, and enjoy making them. I hope to make a few more variations in the future, stay tuned! I’ll continue visiting my fave loncheritas for the occasional taco or two. (or six . . . heh)

Goopymart is a one man (Will Guy) design studio specializing in bright, colorful lumpy illustrations. A wide variety of artwork is made for the delight and wonder of the world’s population. All this and more is available at www.goopymart.com.

Driving back to the Bay Area from Sonoma, Cyrus, Dallas, and I made a series of pit stops at a number of Sonoma’s and Vallejo’s best taco trucks.

Energy levels ran high as we pulled off Route 12 on to the gravel parking lot where the Tacos El Gitano truck was parked. Digging in to our six tacos (’cos) al pastor we were pleasantly surprised by the grilled onions and spicy salsa verde that almost made up for the luke warm meat stuffs. The sope de carnitas proved more interesting with heaps of lettuce, pinto beans, salsa, cheese on its slightly toasted tortilla. All in all, Tacos El Gitano was nothing phenomenal but a good beginning to our dining experience.

Our second stop, Tacos Dos Hermanos, offered much more in the way of tacos al pastor. We also enjoyed an array of well done carnitas cos dripping with a sauce of the combined runoff of freshly squeezed limes, salsa verde and spicy meat juices. Over an unremarkable ceviche tostada livened up by some ripe avocado and a round of horchatas, our crew compared this truck to the last and found the comida of Dos Hermanos to be unequivocally more tasty than those of El Gitano. Still, the location–off busy Route 29 in Vallejo in the Vallejo Furniture parking lot — left a fair deal to be desired. The horchata was also pretty watery.

The gang’s last stop, also off of Route 29 in Vallejo, was Tacos Guadalajara. Having read that Guadalajara’s ‘cos al pastor are not to be missed (and our bellies nearly replete) we ordered two a piece and dug in. Guadalajara’s ‘cos were slightly less salty than those of the previous stops but equally crispy as those of Dos Hermanos. Furthermore, Guadalajara had the added appeal of offering great salsa rojo, rich horchata, and a more appealing ambiance than either of the previous two stops–a pair of benches set under a shady tree just of route 29.

Bellies full, piling back into our old, grey Corolla, mouths burning from the pickled peppers we’d just eaten, we resumed our journey towards the Bay Area, and a wedding!

Tacos El Gitano
21040 Broadway (Route 12)
Sonoma (in front of Sonoma Materials)

Tacos Dos Hermanos
Corner of Sereno & Sonoma Blvd (Hwy 29)
Vallejo

Tacos Guadalajara
Corner of Ohio & Sonoma Blvd (Hwy 29)
Vallejo

[Image: David Dickey/Gourmet]

Everyone seems to be enjoying Korean (and other fusion tacos) in Los Angeles lately. There’s another Korean truck in Portland. And don’t forget about Marination Mobile, the new Hawaiian-Korean fusion truck hitting Seattle soon!

But what if you’re nowhere near Los Angeles or the Pacific Northwest? Fear not.

Gourmet magazine has done some homework and has come up with a few Korean taco recipes for your to try at home, reprinted below:

BULGOGI

Adapted from Kye Soon Hong

Makes enough for about 18 tacos

Note: the same marinade may be used for kalbi, thin-sliced bone-in short ribs

• 1 1/2 pounds beef rib eye, thinly sliced (preferably from a Korean or Japanese market)
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 2 teaspoons Asian sesame oil
• 2 teaspoons mirin
• 2 teaspoons water

Combine all ingredients and marinate at least 2 hours or up to 24 hours. Cook meat on a grill or in a skillet, then chop for tacos.

DWAEJI (SPICY PORK) BULGOGI

Adapted from Kye Soon Hong

Makes enough for about 12 tacos

• 1 pound pork shoulder, thinly sliced (preferably from a Korean or Japanese market)
• 3 tablespoons coarse-ground hot Korean red pepper powder
• 1 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon Asian sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 2 tablespoons mirin
• pinch of black pepper

Combine all ingredients and marinate at least 2 hours or up to 24 hours. Cook meat on a grill or in a skillet, then chop for tacos.

KIMCHI FRIED RICE

Adapted from Kye Soon Hong

Makes about 5 cups, enough for 4 burritos

• 4 cups cooked rice, cooled and chilled in refrigerator
• 4 strips bacon, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch pieces
• 2 cups Napa cabbage kimchi, the riper the better, diced
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 2 teaspoons sesame oil
• salt
• sesame seeds, for garnish
• sliced scallions, white and green parts, for garnish

1. Cook the bacon in a large skillet or wok over medium heat. Add the kimchi and cook several minutes.

2. Raise the heat to high, add the rice and stir-fry several minutes, until rice is beginning to brown.

3. Stir in butter and sesame oil. Season with sesame seed and salt to taste and garnish with scallions.

NAPA-ROMAINE SLAW

Makes about 6 cups, enough for many tacos, with leftovers

For the dressing:
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1-1/2 teaspoons lime juice
• 1-1/2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
• 1/4 teaspoon sugar

For the salad:
• 4 cups (5 ounces) shredded romaine lettuce
• 2 cups (3 ounces) shredded Napa cabbage
• 1/2 cup (2 ounces) thinly sliced onion
• toasted sesame seeds for garnish
Toss the salad in a large bowl with 1 tablespoon of the dressing. Add more dressing to taste and garnish generously with sesame seeds.

In other news, the city of Yountville, CA has approved its first taco truck! No word on when or where it will be open. We’ll keep you posted as we hear more.

It was bound to happen sooner or later. A competitor to Kogi has now hit the streets of Los Angeles.

Starting just a few weeks ago, the upstart Calbi BBQ has been copying the concept, logo, menu and style of the much-blogged-about Kogi BBQ. Heck, they’re even on Twitter, too.

There’s been some commentary over on Yelp:

“Calbi truck was good…but I like Kogi better. I think Kogi is more fusion and the flavors are more interesting. Calbi is just korean food wrapped in a corn tortilla. But I still enjoyed it!”

“Kogi is run by a bunch of young upstarts who know how to use the internet and be trendy (and think they invented Korean BBQ + Mexican fusion, which they didn’t). Calbi is run by a Korean lady and her husband who are trying to copy a good idea and provide decent food for people (lady in the truck gave me a free extra taco for chatting it up with her. Try to do that at Kogi).”

“I wish I had more time to appreciate the food. Also, you can get kimchi on the taco, but I declined. Will definitely be back, provided word doesn’t spread and the wait becomes obnoxious like Kogi.”

I’ve just gotten back to California and haven’t yet had a chance to sample either one. Rest assured, it’s on my list of summer projects.

The LA Chowhound crew also mentions some other intriguing taco truck fusion joints, including YuriTruck and Don Chow Tacos.

Apparently there’s also Marination Mobile, a new Korean-Hawaiian taco truck coming to Seattle soon, too.

Down in Houston, there’s also Bansuri Indian Food Corner, a new Indian taco truck.

Update (9:15 am): What does Kogi think of all of this?

Well, it turns out there’s an intense back story:

I understand that some peopLe’s soLe motivation is to just go out there and make a buck. But it is a bit sad when they so obviousLy put no souL into it or take the love and time to create and construct their own identity. If anything, I know that on some leveL, it might be fLattering — that someone is studying us like we’re some “business modeL” — though I don’t know if we’re reaLLy something to modeL after, since we go with our gut and wing it haLf the time.

Anyway, this is to be expected.

But… weLL… and this is coming from me — so this in no way refLects the views or opinions of any of the other members of the team, but… in the past we’ve been approached by a mom and pop shop to heLp them out. They came to us in tears, teLLing us that they were about to go under and were worried about how they were going to manage to support their kids, their famiLy.

Being quite the compassionate peopLe they are, key members of the team decided to change our usuaL route to park in front to heLp out this mom and pop shop. Chef Roy even went in to heLp them out with the menu, hoping that our presence wouLd provide more foot traffic to their shop.

And it did.

It was so successfuL, in fact, that the owner approached us for more joint business pLans — but it just was a littLe too much, too fast. PLus, we’re of the nomadic sort, so we’re a bit wary of tattooing ourseLves with a partnership after just 2 weeks of a joint project. So we parted ways… onLy to find out that about a month or so later, these same peopLe compLeteLy copied our “business modeL” from the inside out, even going so far as taking the recipes that Chef Roy had so graciousLy made for them and seLLing them on a newLy stickered truck, trying to mimic the spirit of our bLog posts, starting up their own Twitter feed and using our past coLLaboration to heLp themseLves in their new endeavors. ALso… parking at the exact locations and cross streets that we park at.

It is understandabLe that some of the team members — weLL yes, feeL duped — but more than that, they feeL emotionaLLy gutted. We invited these peopLe into our famiLy and they took advantage of us. Whether it’s to compete with us or it’s because they don’t have the confidence to work with what they know and what they’ve got, I don’t know.

All I do know is that some of the team members feeL reaLLy hurt and betrayed, for had they onLy asked — had they just said, “Yo! We want to start up our own truck too. Can you heLp us?”, we totaLLy wouLd have given them a heLping hand in that direction.

[via Hyphen magazine]

This just in from The Daily Breeze:

This week, the Rancho Palos Verdes City Council unanimously approved an ordinance that requires the trucks to park within 200 feet of a restroom that employees and customers have written permission to use.

The rules are a tightening of those created in 2006 that require catering vehicles to move at least 500 feet every 10 minutes - a requirement that for a time discouraged truck owners from operating in Rancho Palos Verdes, much to the satisfaction of residents who had complained about the lunch scene.

My guess is that none of the city council members in this uppity, ritzy neighborhood of Los Angeles County have ever eaten at a taco truck, otherwise they’d probably know what every taco truck patron and owner knows: 10 minutes is absurdly short.

Further, this new legislation is likely bordering on violating state law, says taco truck legal crusader, Phil Greenwald, in an interview with The Daily Breeze:“It is so outrageous, it tests credulity,” Greenwald said. “This (Rancho Palos Verdes) ordinance is apparently a thinly veiled attempt to restrain trade. It would effectively prohibit mobile vendors from exercising their right to participate in a lawful occupation.”

adding: “How many restrictions do you need before you realize that the purpose of the law is not for the public safety but it is to drive street vendors out of the city?”

The small town of Red Bluff, Calif., between Redding and Chico along I-5, is considering letting taco trucks back within the city limits.

According to the Red Bluff Daily News:

A 2000 city ordinance banned mobile food vendors within the city, but a pair of taco trucks had continued to operate until the summer because the FBI had asked city officials to allow them to continue their operations because of a federal investigation into a methamphetamine and money laundering ring.

A third taco truck has operated legally within the city since before 2000 and has been grandfathered in. The city received a number of requests from entrepreneurs hoping to move their mobile businesses after the drug busts, which prompted the council to review the 2000 ordinance.

The new proposed ordinance would allow taco trucks back into the city limits, provided that they comply with several conditions.

The two that give me pause are the ones that say “Vendors must provide at least three off street parking spaces.” and that “Mobile units must be no closer than 800 feet from each other.”

I’m not sure if those provisions could potentially be in violation of California Vehicle Code 22455, which stipulates that cities only may regulate in the interest of “public safety.” I’ll check in with Phil Greenwald to see what he says.

So the East Bay Express‘ John Birdsall recently went on a month-long odyssey of Fruitvale taco trucks and came back with this nearly 4,000-word piece: “La Vida Taco.”

I put five questions to him in this email interview.

1) What prompted you to write a month-long odyssey on taco trucks?

I love Fruitvale; it’s the yeastiest, sexiest part of Oakland, maybe the whole Bay. I’ve written about it for SF mag, and I used to hang out there a lot when I did weekly restaurant reviews for the Express. I’d written about the trucks before, but never taken a systematic approach.

2) Do you eat at taco trucks regularly? Are there any (in Oakland or elsewhere), that you really enjoy? I got the impression that you weren’t too impressed with Oakland’s offerings.

3) As a chef, what do you think are the advantages/disadvantages of cooking in a mobile, cramped, kitchen?

2, 3) I don’t eat at the trucks regularly, partly because I live a bit far (in Temescal, North Oakland), partly because I watch what I eat (unless I’m working). Trucks have severe cooking limitations, which gives them rather hobbled success in the taco realm. I mean, those amazing tacos al carbon in Mexico (part charcoal, meat, and onion smell in the street), or cazuela-style scrambled egg tacos in Mexico City …. that doesn’t happen in the trucks. Plus, the taco entrepreneurs here tend to be, well, entrepreneurs first, and cooks second. But that’s not to say that the trucks are failures: They’re about so much more than just what’s on the plate—kind of witnesses to the community. If Fruitvale’s tacos aren’t like Mexico’s, well, Fruitvale isn’t Mexico, either. But it’s delightful in its own way.

The best tacos I’ve had here (again, while doing a story for SF mag) were on the hood of my car in Redwood City: a pile of super-delicious takeout Michoacan-style carnitas (best I’ve had), with warm tortillas I’d bought somewhere else.

4) I love El Ojo de Agua, but usually I get burritos (pastor or chorizo). When living in Oakland, my fiancée, friends and I usually hit it once every week or two. It’s a frequent Friday night cheap dinner. I’ve yet to find a superior taco truck burrito in the Bay Area. I find that they’re well-balanced with their ingredients and don’t find them at all too “wet” as you described. I have had their tacos too, and while I don’t know that they’re the most amazing, they seem perfectly respectable. What makes a good taco for you? A good torta? Burrito?

4. I’ll revisit O de A; maybe I could join you when you return? A good taco is about texture and perfume: an honest, flavorful tortilla; meaty plushness; and a salsa that lets you taste the comal (tomatoes, onions, tomatillos, or chiles seared on the griddle). Best taco I ever had in Fruitvale was at a place that no longer exists: a granny who made goat-meat birria tacos on handmade tortillas: earthy, handmade, and snarly. My fave nontruck place in Fruitvale is the same: A mom who makes essentially three things she learned to make in Jalisco, and doesn’t take shortcuts (plus she gives you a free botana of fried pork skins with warm bean dip… awesome).

5) What advice would you give to taco truck novices?

5. Novices? Go to a truck where you see lots of neighborhood types lined up. Observe first to see if there’s a pattern to what the locals are ordering ( a whole family getting buche sopes, for instance), even if it’s something you wouldn’t normally choose. Chicken and carne asada are, in my opinion, likely to be the least successful meats a taco truck can manage.

It was bound to happen sooner or later — a California taco truck selling taco-inspired food that isn’t quite a traditional taco.

Since November 2008, Kogi has been serving up Korean BBQ served up in a taco (or burrito). Man, this is so freakin’ awesome — I can’t wait to get back Stateside. Folks, this could only happen in America, and more specifically, only in California.

As chef Roy Choi explained to LAist last month:

We’re Korean, but we’re American and we grew up in LA. It’s not a stigma food, it’s a representation of who we are. Everything you get in that taco is what we live in LA. It’s the 720 bus on Wilshire, it’s the 3rd street Juanita’s Tacos, the Korean supermarket and all those things that we live everyday in one bite. That was our goal. To take everything about LA and put it into one bite… It’s Mexican, it’s Korean, it’s organic, it’s California, it’s farmer’s market, it’s drunk people after midnight.

So what’s on the menu?

How about a Korean short rib taco?

This is our signature taco. We get the best trimmings of short ribs we can find, let it swim in our own special marinade, and chop it nice and small so the flavors just dance on your taste buds. Once on the grill, the fat melts away to create that soft and tender texture everyone loves and the sugars just caramelize to give the meat that deep and savory flavor. This is the Kogi crowd favorite.

All out tacos are topped with:

* sesame-chili salsa roja
* julienne romaine lettuce and cabbage tossed in Korean chili-soy vinaigrette
* cilantro-green onion-lime relish
* crushed sesame seeds
* sea salt
* garnished with lime wedge, orange wedge and red radish wedge

Compared with East LA or East Oakland tacos, these are a little on the expensive side, but at $2 each or three for $5, it still seems like a bargain. Plus, the clientèle is UCLA students, Venice hipsters and Hollywood club-goers.

The team borrowed a truck and had only $3,500 in startup cash and apparently is already profitable. Hot damn.

And they’re on Twitter. Sheeeet.

As Daniel Hernandez wrote to me in a recent email, after I shared with him my shock in discovering French tacos with fries in them: ‘Real’ tacos come with fries!! the beauty of the taco is its whore-y openness to being influenced by other foods or re-interpreted.. chocotaco anyone?

Point taken.

[Photo: Tom Andrews/LAist]

Reader Lisa Perry writes that Ramon’s Tacos in Planada, CA is her favorite local joint.

“The carne asada tacos are the best! The big chunk of avocado they put on the tacos is my favorite part! My co-worker likes the al pastor tacos and he says their salsa is what makes their food the best!”

I’ve added it to JLT’s YumTacos map — and recently have made additions in Washington, Oklahoma and Wisconsin.

If there’s a taco truck that you know about that’s not on this map, be sure to let me know, and ideally send us a photo and a brief description so we can check it out. Gracias!

So even though I’m in France, far away from traditional taco-land, I was astounded to discover that apparently many kebab huts sell “tacos.”

And as my photographer friend and fellow CTT blogger Alan Wiig noted: “those look just like California tacos! If the taco trucks, etc used crepes and a pannini griller. So not at all like California tacos.”

Indeed.

While I’ve passed many joints claiming to sell tacos, it wasn’t until this past weekend that I actually tried one. Nate Cardozo’s expression in this photo pretty much sums up my reaction to the entire experience. It wasn’t *bad* per say, it just wasn’t anything like a taco at all.

It came in a large boring flour tortilla that you can find in some French supermarkets that just taste bland and uninteresting. Then inside there was the choice of viande hachée, chicken, or kebab meat. Turns out that the viande is basically a hamburger patty, and the chicken is just a small chicken breast. (I stupidly ordered the viande, while Nate and Becky got the kebab.) Clearly, if you’re going to indulge in a French taco, what you want is the kebab, cut straight from the skewer. Then you get your choice of kebab sauces — the obvious choice is harissa.

So what else is in this vaugely Mexican, Maghrebified French excuse for a taco? Melted cheese — think Kraft-style singles — shredded lettuce, tomatoes, meat, and the best part: fries. Yes, fries. In a “taco.” In essence, it was a kebab, served in a tortilla, and grilled with what normally is used to fire up paninis. In other words, totally like a real taco.