A Visit to the Kogi Truck at LAX

Yup, you can find this at Los Angeles International Airport.

Yup, you can find this at Los Angeles International Airport.

 

LOS ANGELES, CA — Flying from the Bay Area to Maui is a long trek, even in the best of circumstances on a nonstop flight.

So, my husband and I might have been a bit cranky two weeks ago at the thought of having to suffer through a layover in Los Angeles — if not for one delightful development.

We were scheduled to change American Airlines planes in Terminal 4.

Yes, the home of the permanently parked Kogi Truck, situated in the food court there, which opened in December 2014.

Imagine bypassing the usual fast-food chains and other tired-looking airport offerings for Chef Roy Choi’s clever mash-up of Korean and Mexican food instead. We’d chased down Choi’s original Kogi Truck in Los Angeles before, so we were no stranger to his kimchi-laced tacos, burritos, quesadillas and sliders, which essentially ignited the modern-day food truck craze.

We had just enough time between connections to get in line to place our order, wait for our food to come out, and walk over to some empty chairs at a nearby boarding area to enjoy our trove.

We shared four tacos — spicy pork, chicken, short rib, and calamari. They were $2.70 each with the exception of the calamari, which was $3.90.

An assortment of four tacos from the Kogi Truck.

An assortment of four tacos from the Kogi Truck.

The spicy pork, chicken and short rib were actually hard to tell apart in looks because they all had finely chopped dark meat showered with salsa verde and crunchy cabbage slaw. The calamari one was easily distinguishable by its tentacle rings, as well as its red salsa roja.

Nestled on fresh, warm corn tortillas, they were all vibrant tasting with a little heat and a little sweetness.

It made for one of the few times I was actually glad to have a layover.

RoyChoiCIA

More: Roy Choi at the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone in St. Helena

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