The infamous Kogi BBQ

“Food on the Go” has its meanings. It used to mean, well still does, a fast food drive through. Grab a greasy quickie (still talking food here peeps) and eat it while you drive from point A to point B. A hot dog stand comes to mind for New Yorkers. Eat and walk. My version usually means a bag of almonds and a protein drink, but then we all know I’m not your typical guy.

You may have noticed there’s a new kid in town which is taking cities across the nation by storm: the Food Truck–and it’s a booming business. Haven’t heard of them? Let me think of the best way to describe them…Ever pass by a construction site and see the taco trucks serving up lunch? (States side anyway.) You may know them as “roach coaches”, not quite renowned for having the best quality food but more of a cheap ‘n’ cheerful street food. Well these new Food Trucks are basically pimped out glorified roach coaches. It’s true these taco trucks aren’t a new idea though this latest crop of mobile food trucks have taken the concept to a whole new level, offering quality ingredients and a large variety of cuisines. Here in LA (on Abbot Kinney alone) there are sometimes 4 different ones catering to the shop owners, shoppers and even the late night bar clientele. The range and variety of food is super ranging form Korean tacos (Kogi) to Barbie’s Q (down-home bbq) to organic meals (Greentruck, whose serviettes & packaging are made from bio-compostable products and is run on bio-diesel) to ice cream sandwiches (Coolhaus). In Brooklyn it’s ribs, Manhattan has desserts and dumplings, DC has On The Fly.

Afraid? Don’t be. These companies have just taken their businesses to the streets. Instead of having one stationary restaurant or store where people may or may not travel to, they are taking the food to the people in all different neighborhoods throughout the city AND they’ve gotten smart about advertising their locations. The first high profile pioneer was the brilliant mastermind of Kogi Korean BBQ, whose headquarters is based in NY. They would let their peeps in NY know when and where they’d be stopping and they’d then Tweet (@kogibbq) about it, thus creating a craze that is still going strong. I don’t think I’ve ever passed by this truck without a line wrapped around it. They’ve been known to feed up to 800 peeps at one stop. Crazy.

Have a read here from the LA Times to see how Kogi came to be. Quite interesting and inspiring I think.

As I was thinking about writing about this ‘phenomenon’ I came across an article this past week in the LA Times Business section about a cupcake business here in LA, Sprinkles Cupcakes, who have just launched their “Sprinklesmobile”. Brilliant. I’ve been to this place and they do make good cupcakes. They’re conscious of not diluting the market with their brand by opening too many stores so they figure they can hit some new markets frequently by bringing the cupcakes to them. Interestingly, they plan on using social media platforms, Twitter and Facebook to ‘talk’ to their potential customers and decide where to sell their product. It’s not only the name of the game for techies, it’s the wave of the future for all businesses. Are you on board?

Image courtesy of LA Times

I’m doing some research for an article I’m writing about this subject, so let me know if you have seen the truck phenomenon in your area. Keen to find out if it’s just a US craze or if it’s gone global so do you have a local company delivering quality food in your town, city or country?

And if not, I may have just given you a brilliant business idea!

Cheers.

Like any good Irish household butter was a huge staple in the fridge as it was in our house. Butter on freshly boiled potatoes was the business and then margarine arrived on the scene and there was this hype about how much better is was for you. I thought it tasted like Castrol oil.

The reason for this very insightful piece of scripture? I came across an article in the LA Times last week about which is better for baking, Butter or Margarine? Now to be honest I’m not renowned as a Pat the Baker or a Sara Lee, but I can pull together a bit of bread or something on occasion. Hence, I was more interested in reading about the health differences than whether my biscuits (cookies) will be buttery and flaky.

Interestingly enough both have a similar overall fat content and calories but the most significant difference is the breakdown of the type of fats in each. A tablespoon of butter has 3 times as much cholesterol raising fat as margarine, BUT it’s the trans fat in the margarine that’s the killer, figuratively speaking of course. Trans fats are what make margarine solid instead of liquid. The key thing here is that trans fats are worse than saturated fats which are not only bad for your heart but also hits you with a double whammy of raising your bad cholesterol AND lowering the good. Margarine, however is higher in “good” fats — polyunsaturated and monounsaturated — than butter is, but butter on the other hand, is made from animal fat so it contains cholesterol and high levels of saturated fat. So what do you do?

In cooking terms, butter and margarine both tend to make thin, flat biscuits (cookies). Though margarine often has some more health benefits than butter it’s really a personal choice isn’t it? For what it’s worth, for me butter is a natural product that I grew up eating it so I’m going for the butter over the margarine in terms of taste and flavour when I do indulge.
Everything in moderation isn’t that what they say?

Compliments of Bon Appetite

Those of you over here Stateside are well aware that turkey season is just about here (Thanksgiving is next Thursday). I always associate turkey with Christmas but now since I’m over here I get a double dose with both holidays which for me equals lots of naps. By the time Santa comes I’ll have had turkey soup, turkey sandwiches, turkey stew, well you get the point.
There have been many articles about how best to cook turkey so it doesn’t dry out, wrapping it in bacon, basting with butter, wrapping it in soaked muslin and most recently brining. I’ve been brining my birds (too many to mention!) for a few years now and have always had great results. To see me in action click here. However there’s a new kid on the block: SALTING.
This is all over the mags and papers right now so here’s the scoop: All you do is salt the turkey a few days in advance, say 3 days ahead of cooking. Rub the salt into the flesh, a massage if you will, and pop it in the fridge in a sealable plastic bag. Then everyday prior to cooking give her a ruba dub dub to make sure the salt is spread evenly. How it works: The salt draws the moisture out of the meat but then re-absorbs it so in effect you’re actually brining it in it’s own juices. Apparently the bird is not salty when cooked. Sounds pretty good right? Check out the recipe from the LA Times.
Let me just say that I haven’t tried this yet but will be. I’d love to hear some feedback from those of you who’ve tried this out.