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]

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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!

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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.

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