National Spotlight
Best Food Trucks in America? 3 Austin favorites make the cut
Los Angeles was the epicenter of the modern food truck movement in 2008, with Roy Choi's Kogi BBQ single-handedly redefining street food in America. It makes sense, then, that when The Daily Meal set out to rank America's 101 best food trucks, Los Angeles trucks dominated, with Kogi BBQ coming in an unsurprising first place.
Austin's food truck scene may not have started the movement, but it definitely holds its own on the national scene. Three of our favorite food trucks earned spots on the national list released Tuesday. Check out where these hot spots were ranked and what The Daily Meal had to say about their fare.
Coreanos
Coming in at No. 35 on the list is the little Austin (and now Houston)-based truck that serves Mexican-Korean fusion cuisine:
In another homage to LA’s Kogi, Austin’s Coreanos truck (now also in Houston) serves "Mexican cuisine with Korean in-between." Of course, that means Korean barbecue tacos, quesadillas, and burritos with your choice of marinated beef short rib, spicy twice-cooked pork belly, spicy marinated chicken, or marinated tofu. That LA homage is driven home by two great menu items: the hot dogs. There’s the L.A. Hot Dog (bacon-wrapped hot dog with grilled onions, grilled jalapeños, and mayo), and the Coreanos dog, also bacon-wrapped with grilled onions but also topped with caramelized kimchi and "El Scorcho" sauce.
Mighty Cone
The favorite chicken-in-tortilla that first made its mark at ACL Fest is ranked No. 54 on the list:
This successful truck was actually kind of born out of the Austin City Limits Festival. The story goes that Blank was approached "to entice local restaurants to join the festival’s food court," decided to experiment with a sous chef’s fish breading on different foods, which were then served in cones. Now, Blank’s truck menu features staple cones filled with Hot ‘n’ Crunchy chicken, avocado, and shrimp, and Austinites, well let’s just say they’ve become coneheads.
The Peached Tortilla
Rounding out Austin's representation on the national list is the traveling tortilla truck at No. 72:
The Peached Tortilla was launched just two years ago, but since then founder and former litigator Eric Silverstein’s Southern-Asian fusion fare garnered him and his catering director Mark Tamiso Eater’s 2011 Austin Food Truck of the Year 2011, and with shout-outs to their brisket and mini crabcake mini sandwiches, a spot on Food & Wine’s 2012 list of the best sliders in America 2012. There’s a fairly long menu of tacos and burritos among other options including riffs on banh mi, Chinese barbecue, and pad thai.
We were, of course, surprised that no other Austin trailer food mainstays — ahem, East Side King — made the cut. But that doesn't mean those trailers can't tickle your taste buds.
So go, grab a mobile meal today, and celebrate Austin's latest accolade in the national foodie spotlight.