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| Awww...my first food truck back in 2009. Kogi BBQ in LA. |
Well, I just set off for my next food truck adventure this morning. I'm finally making a return trip to the city that introduced me to gourmet food trucks and authentic Mexican taquerias...Los Angeles! Some of you will know that for various reasons I had to cancel this trip twice already this year. But, with an abbreviated schedule and some well deserved time off work, I think I have finally managed to make it happen!
I'll be in Southern California for a total of 8 days stating today.
I'm excited to meet some food truck friends I have gotten to know
over the past year through various blogs and Twitter, and I may have
even brought a couple of the Canadian inspired trucks a few treats
from home! With only 8 to go before hitting my 100th
truck, I am curious to see where I will end up for this milestone
food truck meal. Of course, I will at some point need to track down
the Kogi BBQ truck. As they were the ones that popped my food
truck cherry back in 2009, it just feels right to go back for another
round of Korean tacos.
But aside from the ever popular and fun “gourmet trucks”, I am
mostly excited for the chance to immerse myself in the Mexican
culture. With only 6 weeks of Spanish lessons under my belt, I'm
hoping that I will have adequate confidence and ability to converse with
the street vendors and (maybe) learn a little from Latin American community members along the way.
I have purposely scheduled this trip to coincide with La Dio de los
Muertos, the “Day of the Dead” festival at the Hollywood Forever
Cemetery in LA. On this day, the Mexican community (as well as
several other Latin American countries) celebrate the lives of the
loved ones they have lost. Most families construct large and elaborately decorated altars with photos, sugar skulls, flowers and food, among
other items. The festival itself can best be described as “Halloween
meets Carnivale”. Participants often dress up or paint themselves
to resemble skeletons, and enjoy dancing and eating authentic Mexican
foods during the celebration. Definitely looking forward to this
experience.
With ample time allowed in my itinerary for exploring East LA and the
Boyle Heights neighbourhood, along with a day trip to Tijuana, I will
no doubt return home with an even greater appreciation for Latino
culture...and of course, the food!!
As always, you are welcome to follow along on Twitter @Street_Eater
with my adventures. And if you have any specific trucks or street
vendors in The LA area that you'd like to see me visit/profile,
please let know know and I'll do my best to get to them!
