Gourmet Food Trucks in LA: Top 10 Tips
If you are starting up an office in a new city, or even changing your neighborhood, knowing where to go for lunch is going to be one of those things that doesn’t seem that important until you’re suddenly hungry. While office workers the world over are subject to the whims and prices of their nearby shops, in Los Angeles the recent swell of gourmet food trucks roam the streets and offer a wide variety of selections beyond the usual street vendor fare.
But how to catch up with these roving restaurants? The easiest method is to go directly to the source; many of these trucks have their own twitter feeds and websites, on which they will post their schedule and keep followers updated on the move. You can know where you’re going to buy your lunch long before you leave the office by following a favourite truck, or just check to see if one is in your area. Nearly all of these vendors are happy to provide catering, parties, or office orders, which definitely let you reclaim your control over what to have for lunch that day.
If you are new to this whole lunching experience, use these tips. You won’t notice it, but soon you will become an expert in LA food truck scene!
Photo © Guzzle & Nosh
1. Decide what type of food you are after. Korean tacos? Strawberry cupcakes? Japanese noodles? Knowing what type of gourmet food will turn your lunch break into a feast makes the whole process more exciting.
2. Search the web to see which companies send out food trucks with the kind of food you’d like. Explore their websites to peruse menus, prices and specials.
3. Subscribe to your favourite food truck’s RSS feeds, start following them on Twitter or any other major social site.
4. Download their schedules to see when and where they will have their customers salivating! Figure out which point will be the closest to your office. Pin the schedule to your cork board.
5. You snooze, you lose! Nobody wants to miss out on that last portion of spicy rib. The whole point is selling freshly prepared food, and when that’s finished, there’s none left.
6. If you hate long lines and are prepared to risk it, try going to the truck just before it’s about to leave. You might not get the full menu choice, but will win on time and perhaps bag a bargain.
7. Check out what the other people in the line are getting. Something that might not look so exciting could be an absolute must and you don’t want to miss out. Ask around for tips on what’s good.
8. Enjoy the art – don’t you find some of the food trucks visually irresistible? Some owners go an extra mile to decorate and spruce up their vehicles to give you that rounded experience – why not pay them a compliment?
9. Tip them well. They made the journey, they made the food and they satisfied your hunger.
10. If you liked them, recommend them to co-workers, friends and relatives. Review them on your blog if you have one. Submit your review to them directly via social media sites. Take a photo of your spring rolls and share it with friends. The food trucks work hard to generate the genuine word-of-mouth buzz, it makes it worth their time to come by your office block next time round, and it makes the news spread as fast as butter (sorry, I couldn’t resist it!).
We’ve also compiled a list of some of the most popular and media-savvy food truck sites to get you started in your search. And for those still searching Offices.net for an LA location, it might help to see where your preferred cuisine circulates!
Top 30 LA Food Trucks
The Dimsum Truck Chinese
Lardon Bacon dishes
Kabob n’ Roll Mediterranean
Ahn-Joo Korean
Canter’s Truck Sandwiches & Snacks
Dosa Truck South Indian
Vesuvio Italian
Frysmith Very interesting fries
Komodo Tacos
Flying Pig Pork dishes
Ta Bom Brazilian
Phamish Vietnamese
Vizzi Filipino American fusion
Wao! Vietnamese
Mandoline Grill Vietnamese
Jody Maroni’s Sausages & Hot Dogs
Crepe’n Around Crepes
Crepes Bonaparte Crepes
Border Grill Gourmet tacos
Green Truck Vegan-friendly
World Fare Various
Louks Greek
Kogi BBQ Korean BBQ
Dumpling Station Asian American fusion
Tapa Boy Filipino
Buttermilk Inc. Breakfast
Barbie’s Q BBQ
Fishlips Sushi Japanese
India Jones Chow Indian
Lomo Arigato Japanese
Sweets! Top 5 Trucks
Sweet E’s Cupcakes & Cookies
King Kone Ice cream
Sweets Truck Cakes & cookies
Del’s Frozen Lemonade
Big Swirl Sorbets & treats
Tags: food, Los Angeles, lunch, office
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