Update on the Taco Truck Law

The "taco truck law" has been overturned by an LA County Superior Court Judge. Here is an LA Times story if you want to read all about it.

It's one thing to require taco truck adherence to health and safety standards. That ultimately is in their best interest, as well as the public's. But this case isn't about public health & safety, it's about two competing business interests - taco truck proprietors on one side and established restaurants and perhaps real estate developers on the other. There has to be more socially optimal resolutions than legislating away the existence of taco trucks. The economist in me thinks, why not let the market decide for themselves?

I doubt this is over. If you want to learn more, go to Save Our Taco Trucks.org for more information, including a petition.

Carne Asada is NOT a Crime

I'm no political-activist-guy, but that doesn't mean I don't care. I just have to come across the right cause. I came across two articles in the Los Angeles Times and Time.com that really got me fierd up.

It has to do with tacos, and taco trucks. Starting May 16, taco trucks in unincorporated parts of L.A. County will only be allowed to park in a particular spot for one hour at a time or face $1,000 fine or six months in jail...or both. This essentially detroys any loyal customer base.

As many of you know, I've been going to one particular taco truck for close to 20 years. (On Fair Oaks, just North of California in the Nishikawa Auto Service parking lot in Pasadena... affiliated with El Taquito #2 - also a good Pasadena restaurant.) These guys at the taco truck know my parents, my sisters, my wife, my son. I've gone there for dinner, second dinner, late night snack. I went there with my Dad, family, friends and dates. The food I miss the most being here in Tokyo? You got it, the taco truck. This is one of my favorite things to do in all of Los Angeles, and is so intertwined with my childhood that losing my taco truck would be in the general emotional vicinity of losing my childhood home.

Now maybe you think that's a little extreme...and you'd probably be closer to the truth. But, these are tacos after all. If you've had them, you'd know what I'm talking about. And I'm not talking about those sissy hard shell tacos with cheese and lettuce (I'm talking to you Tito's Tacos). Come on. Warm corn tortillas, meat, onions, cilantro, hot sauce, lime...you're done.

I bring this up not only because I'm hungry, but because I think it would be a cultural shame if somehow L.A. County became very un-taco-truck-friendly. I don't think my experiences with taco trucks is totally out of the ordinary, either. Obsessive? Yes. But one only has to see how long the lines are at a good taco truck at midnight to know that many people love their local taco truck. I only urge you to visit your local taco truck and enjoy a few tacos for your old pal Tony. You can also visit a website dedicated to preserving L.A. County taco trucks - http://saveourtacotrucks.org to sign a petition.

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.