"street cart" news and stories

While most mobile food trucks have dealt with the animosity of less than enthusiastic local eateries, few are subjected to veritable street-meat turf wars. Yet the revered Los Angeles street vendor, Taco Zone, was set fire to one Friday night this past June, reported the Los Angeles Times. The subject of much debate, the fire's origin was never ascertained -- but motives are surmised to include hate crime, envious competitors, vandals or gang activity.

Regardless, in a city brimming with taco trucks on nearly every corner, Taco Zone reigns supreme in Los Angeles. The no-frills Echo Park truck -- outfitted in a plain metal exterior and typically parked just outside a Von's parking lot -- may be as visually unremarkable as the rest of the fleet of local food trucks, but has garnered a cult following for its zesty authentic Mexican tacos.

More on Taco Zone -- and a photo of their fare -- after the jump.

Devoted Kogi fans. Photo: Alexa Weibel.

As street cart fare becomes increasingly sophisticated, heralded Los Angeles street cart Kogi BBQ is being commended across the nation for its brilliant adaptation of local cuisine and its reinvention of advertising concepts. Serving succulent Korean BBQ wrapped in freshly made tacos, the truck's empire has successfully spawned a proper fleet of three carts, spanning the vast Los Angeles vicinity in just one year.

The idea dawned upon founder Mark Manguera, 30, in the midst of a boozy, late-night taco snack: Why not transform the Mexican staple by filling it with a distinctly Korean stuffing? It made sense, Kogi creative director Alice Chin told Slashfood: "For some reason, Korean and Mexican chiles play well together with sesame oil, lime and cilantro." So Manguera partnered with RockSugar chef Roy Choi, procured a truck and took to Twitter – and the streets, in November 2008.

Armed with three trucks, sans fancy PR company or organized advertising, Chin humbly notes, "We are but your local L.A. taco truck... times three!" But it works: The trucks thrive strictly on their masterful Internet usage and -- most importantly -- word of mouth. With a Web site promoting the specials and Twitter updates indicating the weekly locations, the Kogi trucks inevitably attract more people than they can even serve, and specials are usually sold out well before the end of each shift, which serves anywhere from 300 to 800 people in a matter of hours.

More on Kogi -- and a photo of their fare -- after the jump.