The yakitori truck...the new taco truck?

Our family was taking a walk around our neighborhood when we happened upon a guy selling yakitori. What's yakitori? Well, if you ask Shelley, she'd say that it is simply burnt meat on a stick. More on her disdain later. Yakitori is literally translated to mean "grilled chicken". Think of them as small Japanese shish-kabobs with chicken (all sorts of parts of the chicken!) and vegetables.

By the way, if you're reading this and you live in LA, then you should run, not walk, to Little Tokyo and go to a place called Kokekokko which quite possibly could serve the best yakitori in all the world. I'm dead serious about this. Of course, it is because of Kokekokko that Shelley, and my Mom for that matter, don't like yakitori. You have to sit on these hard stools and the food comes out stick by stick, you have a minimum order and it takes a long while to get your food. The owner is a bit of a Soup Nazi to his staff, but it's worth the wait. The yakitori is wonderful. No reservations, get there early, and order right away. My Dad and I go there when our wives are out of town or otherwise indisposed. So maybe this a guy thing.

So, yes,I love yakitori, I see this small truck and I have to stop and get one. Anthon sees a chicken meatball stick and starts screaming, "meatball...MEATBALL!" So we get him one and this kid who really is ambivalent about eating in general eats, no devours like the most voracious carnivore, the four meatballs in about 30 seconds. And he's screaming for more while his mouth if full of meatball. So we hurry back to the truck for one more. I have only seen this level of crazed passion towards a food a few times before. Tacos comes to mind!

If you know me, you know that I also love the taco truck, a small catering truck in Pasadena that our family has been going to for years...more than 15 to be exact. And seeing Anthon go ga-ga for not only the taco truck as well as the yakitori truck is more solid than, I think, DNA evidence that Anthon is my child. So, being in Japan I know that I am not going to be able to visit the taco truck but a few times a year. I will have to have a substitute go-to place for my late night food cravings. Maybe this yakitori truck will be it.

To my friends in LA and Pasadena, please do think of me when you go to the taco truck. And for those who haven't been to the taco truck, it's on Fair Oaks, just above California in Pasadena. Don't be fooled by the one just above it. The real taco truck is in the Nishikawa Auto Parts parking lot.