Louks To Go

I've been so anxious to catch up with my blog posts so that I could finally get to this one.

Behold the awesomeness that is Louks To Go.

A little about the day I tried Louks:
First of all, I was dressed up in a blouse, skirt and heels. A skirt and heels, people. Not a good truck chasing outfit at all. I had just taken my 2 year old to the pediatrician's office in the morning so when I finally arrived downtown, I had snot on my shirt and crumbs all over me. Oh and my feet hurt like a biaatch.

When I read on Twitter that Louks was going to be in Downtown, I drove my lazy ass to their corner to stake out a gyro.

They weren't 'doors up' quite yet so I checked out the menu while I waited.

Then nice gentleman filling the ice bin informed me that they wouldn't be open for another 20 minutes. Suck. Luckily, I had spotted Don Chow Tacos down the street and walked my tired feet over there for a little BBQ Pork taco snack. After shooting the shit with the Don Chow guys, I headed back to Louks to order my gyro.

Beef Gyro

I apologize for the quality of the picture. I was trying to get close enough so you could see the fries that they had stuffed in with the other delicious ingredients. I'm totally one of those people that puts chips in my sandwiches, so fries in my gyro were right up my alley! Sounds kind of dirty huh? I assure you, it was not dirty. It was divine.

I wouldn't say the gyro was superior to others I've had...but I'll tell you what rocked my socks.

These.

Honey Feta Fries

Holy Lord Baby Jesus Son of Mary!!!!!! Amazing, Rich, Flavorful. By far one of my favorite items I've had on a truck thus far. My mouth is salivating just thinking of them.

For those of you with a sweet tooth, they also serve these:

Nutella Louks

These are like little funnel cake holes drenched in Nutella. They are good, but I'm not much for sweets. "just co-worker" loves these.

My one critique for the fine folks at Louks is that they should change their Fries & Louks packaging. When we took the Nutella Louks back to the office, we noticed that they had melted the bottom of the plastic container a bit. Kind of gross. But.umm.yeah, we still ate them.

My poor attempt at a photo of the hole.

Louks has become one of my regulars just for those honey feta fries. I may try to replicate them at home. That would work out great during this Lenten season!

Follow Louks To Go on Twitter @loukstogo

Truck chasing blues

It's been a while since I've posted. I do have a bunch of material to get to, but honestly, it's depressing. You see, I gave up food trucks for Lent. It was truly the only thing I could give up that was a real sacrifice. It's so hard to write about the food when I can't have it!!

I will do my best to get a few posts up between now and Easter but I'm not making any promises...

18 days and counting...

Any food trucks willing to park outside my house on Easter morning? ;) I'm going to be chomping at the bit for a good nom.

Fishlips Sushi

My truck chasing adventure continues as I make my way through Food Trucks for Haiti. Yes, still. I'm still catching up.

After visiting Don Chow Tacos, Phamish, and Asian Soul Kitchen, you'd think I'd be done. But see that's the thing about chasing...you see a truck you've never had and you just have to try it because..."ohmygod I don't know when I'll see it again!" Kind of ridiculous, I know, but just go with it, 'mkay?

Enter Fishlips Sushi

I'm not going to lie. When I heard there was a sushi truck, I was kind of grossed out. I mean, it's one thing to eat cooked food from a truck but raw fish? uh uh, no way.

...until it was there, in front of me, in all it's raw fish glory.

Here is a small part of a much larger menu

The hubby and I ordered Yellowtail sushi & a Spicy Tuna Roll.

It was good, yo. Like really really good. The yellowtail was super fresh and the spicy tuna roll was just your standard yum. I was pleasantly surprised.

Unfortunately, Fishlips Sushi doesn't frequent Downtown for lunch so I'll have to hunt them down again soon.

Follow Fishlips Sushi on Twitter @fishlips_sushi

Kidneys are more important than teeth

This is a different kind of post. One from my heart, if you will.

First, a little backstory. I have a tooth ache right now. I cracked a tooth and had to go to the dentist for it yesterday. Luckily, I don't need any major work (yet), so he told me to take Advil and see if that helps. I asked him if I can take Tylenol instead, and he said no. Tylenol is not an anti-inflammatory agent. Then the convo continued:

Dentist: Does Advil make your stomach hurt?
Me: No. I have Polycystic Kidney Disease. I can't take Advil ("it can reduce the flow of blood through the kidneys and aggravate high blood pressure - so PKD patients should NOT take these medications" - www.pkdcure.org)
Dentist: Well then ride out the pain. Kidneys are more important than teeth.

That made me laugh. :)

A little about PKD and how it has affected my family

Polycystic Kidney Disease affects more people than you know. Some people live their entire lives without knowing they have it. Others die from it. Basically, cysts grow on your kidney (one or both), and they grow and grow until they restrict kidney function and you either go through dialysis or get a kidney transplant. There is no cure. Nothing they can do. NOTHING.

This frightens me to know end. See, I lost my father at 8 years old due to this awful disease. He was 38 years old. He was first generation American, a USC alum, a very successful CPA. He had the most amazing sense of humor. He was the best father a little girl could ever want. He was my daddy, and to this day, I still have many vivid memories of the short amount of time we spent together.

When I turned 13 years old, my mother decided to have me checked out for PKD. It's hereditary. I remember laying on the ultrasound table as the tech rolled the wand over my lower abdomen & lower back. She carefully clicked, measured, typed. It was official. I, too, had PKD.

I still have PKD. And there is nothing anyone can do to help me.

When I met the man I knew I wanted to marry, we had a long conversation about death. I wanted to be sure that he still wanted to marry me even though I may die young. Even though I may leave young kids for him to raise all by himself. Lucky for me, he loved me enough to look at me like I was crazy for being concerned.

In 2003, we got married.

In 2007, we had a beautiful baby boy.

I have responsibilities now. I have people who depend on me to live.

You don't have to know me very well to know that when I want something, I do everything in my power to get it. I want to live. I want to beat this awful disease. I want to be there for my husband and my child.

On March 7th, I will join Walk KidneyWise as we raise money to fight chronic kidney disease. I ask you to please dig deep in your pockets and donate to help find a cure. Even $5 makes a difference.

Click the family photo below to donate. Thanks!

Phamish

A few months back, Phamish tweeted a Downtown LA lunch stop and the chasers and I were on our mark to go on the hunt. Unfortunately, they ended up not being able to make it, which left us sad and hungry. I was finally able to catch up with them at the Food Trucks for Haiti event.

I love that they did this to help the cause that much more.

Here is their delicious menu filled with Vietnamese awesomeness.

I really really wanted to try their pho, but chasing around a 2 year old at a food truck event with a bowl full of hot liquid would have been bad. Ah, to be young and single again. ;)

Instead, I went with the Lemongrass Chicken Banh Mi.

Lemongrass chicken banh mi

The ingredients were fresh, the bread had just the right amount of crunch (read: it did not cut the roof of my mouth), and the lemongrass flavor of the chicken was on point. 'Twas scrumptious. My hubby, on the other hand, did not like it as much as Nom Nom Truck. But, he is not The Truck Chaser. I am. And we all know how "on point" his food critiques are. Yeah.

In all honesty, I think Nom Nom is a tad bit better. BUT, I didn't have to wait in line for an hour to get my Phamish banh mi. That definitely adds a lot to the experience.

Verdict:

Disclaimer: Please don't mind the disheveled look. Food truck events are friggin' stressful to navigate.

Follow Phamish on Twitter @eatphamish

Don Chow Tacos

I heard about Don Chow Tacos early in my chase. My friend and fellow chaser, Donut, is friends with Lawrence, who is one of the guys who started Don Chow. She had been marketing them to me for months. After unsuccessfully wishing them to downtown for lunch, I decided to give them a try at the Food Trucks for Haiti event.

Their menu is Chinese Mexican Fusion, also known as me! My background is Chinese & Mexican...two cultures you would rarely put together in a person, let alone in food. Turns out my parents were brave enough, and so was Don Chow.

The line at the event was about 5 people deep. They had one person taking orders outside the truck, a la In N Out, and another person in the truck taking the money. Efficiency at it's finest.

I ordered 1 Kung Pao Chicken Taco & 1 Chinese BBQ Pork Taco.

Chinese BBQ Pork Taco (foreground); Kung Pao Chicken Taco (background)

Kung Pao Chicken Taco: Eh. Not good. It was way too sweet and not really that spicy at all.

Chinese BBQ Pork Taco: Off.the.hizooook! This taco is just incredible. It was like all the goodness of a char siu bao scooped out into a tortilla with some extra crunch & added texture. Woooot!

A few weeks after the Haiti event, they surprised the heck out of me and made their way to my favorite street corner in Downtown! Weeee! Off I went to try the Chinese BBQ Pork Taco again just so I could be sure it was as good as I remembered. You know...so that I'm giving you guys accurate information. Yeah.

Not only was it still good, I think it was better. Something about making mass quantities of tacos at the Haiti event really affected all the trucks I visited that day. The difference with this taco was slight, but it was definitely better the second time around.

Being the unique mix that I am, I rarely find other people of the same pedigree. But now, thanks to Don Chow, I can take comfort in the fact that I am, in fact, a delicious blend of culture, flavor & soul. Yes!

Follow Don Chow Tacos on Twitter @DonChowTacos

Komodo

I broke the rules again and decided to drive out to 2nd & Central to try Komodo.

Their menu, on it's own, doesn't make much sense. "B"? "T"? Que?

To help guide you through their selections, a very nice dude stands out front and explains every menu item. He asks you what you like and makes suggestions based on your preferences. I thought this was a really great personal touch.

They also have this great little cheat sheet at the window.

"Just co-worker" and I are pretending to watch our waistlines, so we split the Komodo Signature Burrito.

Komodo Signature Burrito

...and an order of truffle fries because, well, we are watching our waistlines.

Truffle fries

The burrito was off the hook. Right away, the great quality of the meat is apparent. It was tender & flavorful. The guacamole was out of this world, and the cotija cheese added just the right amount of flavor contrast.

The truffle fries were obviously amazing. Truffle anything is amazing.

It was at this truck that I had my soul food revelation. From the second you walk up to Komodo, you can tell that these guys are working hard to put out delicious food. When you are done eating, they ask you how you liked it. They genuinely care. I love that.

This is definitely one truck that got their slogan correct.

Follow Komodo on Twitter @komodofood