There’s more than just Kogi, Calbi and Lomo Arigato when it comes to LA Asian fusion. LA Fuxion was founded earlier this summer and serves up a “new eclectic mix of Latin Asian Fusion food.” I pinged Giselle Palencia, one of the co-owners, for some details. Also, this appears to be the first taco truck I’ve ever seen with TVs mounted on the side.

1) Get me beyond your marketing copy. What is “the perfect marriage of flavors and styles by blending Korean, Chinese, Japanese, and Latin American herbs and spices” ? How’d you come up with your menu? How’d you get started? Who is behind this operation, anyway?

My partner Mindy is Asian and I am Latina we are the operating people. Funny…. we don’t yet know what is the perfect marriage. We are still researching for a better taste. We came up with the popular Asian dish already known and wrapped them with Latin wraps and added Latin sauces.

2) When did you start? How do you pick your routes? Where do you operate? How much does Twitter help you choose where you’ll be?

Started 5 months ago we operate in city streets. We get request from people to go to different location.Twitter does help but our customers are mostly repeating customers.

3) What’s the best and hardest thing about operating from a truck? Where’d you get your truck, anyway? Do you rent or buy?

The best thing is that you don’t need as much money to start as opening a restaurant. The hardest thing is that we are subject to so many irregularities. We got our truck from Westcoast Catering.

4) What other LA trucks (nouveau and/or classic) do you like? When’s the best time to go to a truck?

Of course, we enjoy our food the best! honestly here in our team, we all have different tastes and we enjoy many of other different trucks. The best time to come is when we are open. Check our website for operating hours and locations.

5) How do I pronounce your menu items, like Xuna and Xen? How do I pronounce Fuxion, anyway?

The “Xuna” is read like “Suna”, “Xen” is read like “Sen”, and Fuxion like Fusion. Give a little more hiss when you say the X. Read it like how you normal read X sounds like xylophone.

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After the success of October’s taco truck tour, it’s time for another!

Taco Truck Tour Numéro Dos:

When: Sunday, November 22, 2009
Meet: 12:30 pm, Lake Merritt BART station (9th and Oak St., Oakland).
Start: ~ 12:45 pm
End: ~ 3:30 pm ish, Fruitvale BART station
Twitter: @catacotrucks / #tacotrucktour

Itinerary (follow along at Oakland Taco Truck Map 2007)

1) Tacos Alonzo at Foothill Blvd./27th Ave.
2) Tacos El Mazatlan at Foothill Blvd./Fruitvale Ave.
3) Tamales Mi Lupita at Foothill Blvd./34th Ave.
4) Tacos El Tio Juan at Foothill Blvd./41st Ave.
5) Nieves Cinco de Mayo (ice cream) at 3340 E 12th St.

When it’s all said and done, feel free to bike or BART home. Anyone is welcome to join up or leave at anytime, obviously.

Afterwards, I might even be up for a beer at The Trappist (8th/B’way, downtown Oakland).

Bring: bike, helmet, $10-$15 for tacos+ice cream, camera if you want to document the deliciousness

RSVP: Email me cyrus [at] californiatacotrucks [dot] com. Put “Fruitvale taco truck bike tour” in the subject line.

All are welcome!

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Despite creating a new permitting system for Lodi’s taco trucks last year, city officials are now looking to cap the number of taco trucks allowed to operate within the city limits.

According to the Lodi News-Sentinel:

In 2008, there were 16 taco trucks permitted by the city, and in 2009, there were 22. Before 2008, the city didn’t require a mobile food vendor permit for the vendors.

The city started requiring permits after several council members expressed concern about whether mobile food vendors had the correct health permits and business licenses, said Joseph Wood, neighborhood services manager.

There’s the usual points brought up about taco trucks being “unfair competition” to established brick-and-mortar restaurants.

However, the City of Lodi may want to consult this part of the article before making any ruling, which to me, shows how much taco trucks want to work with city officials to keep themselves in business:

The community development department has heard very few complaints about the taco trucks, including the ones near residential areas, Wood said. With the new permitting process, the department performs spot checks to see if there are any problems with the trucks.

One of the problems Wood spotted was a taco truck had a non-approved water connection because it didn’t have a hose that met state health requirements. The taco truck owner removed the hose, Wood said.

Another had an electric connection crossing a roadway or pedestrian area. While taco trucks can have electric connections, they cannot cross property where people are driving or walking, so the truck had to remove it.

I wonder what local attorney David LeBeouf has to say about this.

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First prize in the taco truck photo contest goes to Aurelio Jose Barrera of East Los Angeles. Congrats Aurelio!

He writes: “This was shot Halloween night 2009 on Whittier Blvd in front of Kmart in East Los Angeles.”

He’ll win a copy of Scott Wilson’s new book: Tacos: Authentic, Festive & Flavorful.

Second place goes to Gwen Harlow of Oakland.

She says that this is her favorite shot of a taco truck that she’s ever taken. It’s of the El Novillo Taco Truck in the Guadalajara parking lot at Fruitvale & E. 10th St. in Oakland.

She wins five bucks to go buy tacos with!

Thanks to all those who entered!

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