[FOODTRUCK REVIEW] Cheesy Mac and Rib / Grilled Cheese Truck / Los Angeles, CA
Sometimes an idea comes along that is so simple, and yet so totally ingenious that you just have to stand up and slow clap the dudes that thought it up, ‘Lucas’ style. So we applaud the comfort food genius that is Los Angeles’ Grilled Cheese Truck.
What’s all the more awesome is that these guys take such a staple, classic, comfort food and reinvent it with panache too. It’s testament to how well they do it that I’ve seen queues for this mobile eatery easily stretch 20-plus long. Our first visit attempt was at the fairly legendary Abbot Kinney First Fridays festival in Venice. The trouble was we’d already tried five trucks by the time we spotted them. Dammit.
And those queues are there for good reason; their Cheesy Mac And Rib is hugely satisfying. The barbecue pork was saucy-sweet, soft and worthy of a place all of its own on a menu. The mac ‘n cheese was heavy on the gooey cheese, sticky yet still trying to escape from every opening, and hinted a savouriness that balanced with the pork brilliantly. One hell of a sandwich.
I’m pretty sure I put this away in under ten mouthfuls it was so good, and if we weren’t going on to somewhere else for more food, I would have had another. A bang up job, and a must for anyone In L.A. who has only got time to visit a handful of food trucks.
- Rob.
[IN-N-OUT DIARIES] Part 1 - On First Visits and Franchises
An attempt at a conventional review of In-n-Out Burger would be futile and even a bit vapid. Duh. Obvious.
So instead, we’d like to tell a series of stories about why it’s such a special place, both in its westerly locations and, of course, in our hearts.
Those of you that live in California, Arizona, Utah or wherever else they’ve managed to open one might not fully appreciate what In-N-Out Burger means to us. The very first moment I step off a plane anywhere on the West coast, the very first thing I want to do is visit In-n-Out.
The last time I was in Las Vegas, I had to endure being driven right past the one on Dean Martin Drive a good dozen times over a period of four days without being able to visit once. It was painful.
My first ever In-n-Out burger was in the Spring of 2004.
I was in LA ‘revising’ for my finals and had made a small list of must-visits since this was the first time I’d been back to the west coast since the mid nineties. The two places at the top of that list were In-n-Out, any location would do, and much more amusingly with hindsight, Krispy Kreme.
Remember back then that KK hadn’t mutated into the Franchisosaur it’s now become. We drove all the way through several nastier neighbourhoods (ie. ones generally mentioned in Ice Cube lyrics) to seek out the hot baked goodness. It was one of the proper locations that let you pick up a free one hot off the conveyor belt. It was amazing; my first proper American doughnut experience.
But I digress. Back on topic. Heading North on the 101 towards Burbank I spotted the Cahuenga Boulevard In-n-Out, swiftly crossed about four lanes of traffic and parked up. Exciting. I remember the shock of the menu. I knew nothing of the secret menu in 2004, so I ordered a Double Double with fries. That burger was as Proustian as can be. I could barely comprehend how perfect it was. And I had change from $5.
Several hours later, on the way back from Van Nuys (I have no recollection why I went there), I pulled back in again and had another one. It was totally identical. Unbelievable.
For a short while, Five Guys were being uttered in the same sentence as In-n-Out. Personally, I don’t think they really compare. The sheer aggression of the Five Guys’ expansion across the US is McDonaldsian in scale and I think the quality is suffering as a direct result. In-n-Out don’t do that.
There is no UK franchise equivalent that can engender the same level of childlike wonder and anticipation. The fact it’s so many thousands of miles away sweetens the anticipation, even after dozens of visits.
It’s effortlessly Californian and we would like it to stay that way.
- Simon.
More In-n-Out Diaries are coming soon.
★[REVIEW / ON TOUR] Lobster Grilled Cheese / L.A. Café / Los Angeles, CA
Like conquering Mongols, we were on to the next dish.
We were drunk. We were in Downtown Los Angeles. We wanted some junk food. A bouncer told us to bowl down to Spring Street, and there, we found L.A. Café. That bouncer was a right geezer.
Sceptical that it looked too much like a bog standard cafe, we ventured in anyways, and on seeing chilli cheese fries on the menu were sold. My broseph also spied the Lobster Grilled Cheese, and on a high from the previous night’s grilled cheese food truck experience, ordered that too. Brilliant choice.
The lobster was lathered in a mornay-style sauce which was rich and lightly peppery from a hint of mustard. A thin layer of melted cheese was thrown on which glued it all to the bread perfectly. There were many tipsy cors and wows from both of us as we ploughed through it.
Like conquering Mongols, we were on to the next dish. The thick soup-like cheese was a great blanket for the crisp fries and customer-friendly chilli (it was missing a real kick). We got through that with presumably even less dignity.
Downtown L.A. has a real buzz to it and I was surprised how I hadn’t taken the time to explore it on previous visits. But whether you’ve spent your evening in a ridonkulous club or a dingy dive bar, this would be a pretty sweet place to end up.
Oh, and afterwards we wandered past a taping of CSI:NY, naturally.
- Rob.
★[REVIEW / ON TOUR] The SoCal Burger / Umami Burger / Santa Monica, CA / Fifth Taste Hits Top Five
“No unsettling flavour combinations or trickery. It’s just a good burger. Craft over science.”
I was in somewhat of a touchy mood when we finally arrived at the Santa Monica branch of this rapidly growing little chain (there are five outposts in LA now, with more on the way). Principally, because nothing on the website tells you it’s in a fucking Fred Segal store, and partly, because Google Maps sucks. So we walked circled a couple of blocks for fifteen minutes trying to find it.
So, note to any non Santa Monica residents looking for this place, if you see spot Fred fucking Segal, you’ve found it.
I ordered the SoCal burger and my dining companion ordered the Manly Burger (because he so is). When they arrived they looked brilliant, like straight-out-of-the-dressing-room pretty. Mood swiftly reversed.
The bun gets top billing here, as it’s amongst the best I’ve ever tasted, probably THE best.
It’s got the shine of a brioche (with their signature ‘U’ toasted into the top half), but isn’t really a brioche. It’s chewy, but super-squidgy. Substantial, but not stodgy. A superb example of how well a burger bun can be made.
And there’s definitely a can’t-quite-put-my-finger-on-it extra dimensional taste to the patty that makes it unique, an almost kinda hint of gravy. That signature umami. Hard to describe without over-hyphenating.
You can see from the pictures the meat is soft and ever so loosely formed; the result being it crumbles away in your mouth after each bite, mingling with everything else in the burger: the full hit in every bite. The consistency of the cheese is spot on and the house sauce, a homage to In ‘n Out’s ‘Spread’ if I’m not mistaken, adds a fresh tang without overwhelming it.
The only terribly small issue: the loose grind of the meat and the slightly anaemic bottom bun caused the burger to fall apart about three quarters of the way through, so the final few bites were frantic, morsel-rescuing mouthfuls.
The Manly Burger, their take on a bacon cheeseburger - with it’s thick lardons and crispy onion strings - looked, and apparently tasted, bloody epic.
There’s certainly a touch of Heston Blumenthalerie in the way these guys go about experimenting with different flavours and ingredients, not to mention their namesake fifth taste. The dude that owns the chain certainly talks almost evangelically about the painstaking construction of each burger. And it shows. Everything in it is crafted from scratch, and we applaud the wicked craftsmanship on display. Unlike Heston though, there’s nothing weird here. No unsettling flavour combinations or trickery.
It’s just a good burger. Craft over science.
Umami is an important place. Arguably, they’re at the epicentre of the quality mid-priced resurgence which is having a major impact on this side of the pond too. And for that reason, as well as a damn fine and totally unique burger, Umami is smack bang at the top of our Essential LA Burgers list, cosying up to In-n-Out. Go.
- Rob.
[ON TOUR] Kobe Beef + Pulled Pork Sliders / Slammin’ Sliders Truck / Los Angeles, CA
“I guess I expected more from something with ‘Kobe’ in the title…”
Sadly, the story of where I had to go to find this truck is *far* more interesting than the food that came from it: I found myself on USC’s Fraternity Row during some mental party night. Not only did I feel like a weird, peckish paedophile - trying not to look at any of the scantily clad sorority girls walking from frat house to frat house. But simultaneously, I felt like I was in some irreverent college film, so familiar did the surroundings feel to my moviephile self. Odd.
The beef sliders were distinctly unimpressive.
Uncondimented.
After adding some ketchup to them they tasted almost identical to McDonald’s cheeseburgers, just with slightly better meat - not necessarily a bad thing, I like the way they taste, but I guess I expected more from something with ‘Kobe’ in the title.
The pork sliders looked great, but the pork was really dry, with no BBQ sauce to accompany it. The slaw, whilst a colourful spectacle, tasted like crunchy-but-watery mayo and failed to moisten the pork.
In their defence, I did catch the place just as it was about to close, so maybe I didn’t get the freshest peak-time fare, but it turned me off going back there, and left me thinking that a good slider is always hard to find, even in the States.
- Rob.
![[ON TOUR] - Cheesy Mac ‘n Rib Sandwich / Grilled Cheese Truck / Los Angeles
“Like Grilled Heaven Excess”
Rob.](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lsac2x6l9B1qh62x4o1_1280.jpg)
[ON TOUR] - Cheesy Mac ‘n Rib Sandwich / Grilled Cheese Truck / Los Angeles
“Like Grilled Heaven Excess”
- Rob.
