The food truck phenomenon is not confined to New York City – they’ve spread to my side of the river, in Jersey too!
The Krave Truck is a mobile peddler of the iconic truck food from LA – the Korean taco. Similar to the Kogi Truck, and brethren to the Kimchi Taco Truck that Truckspotter just reviewed, the Krave Truck offers a blissfully brief menu of Korean-inflected Mexican food. Or maybe it’s the other way around. Given my love for Korean, and my penchant for food from a foam container, I went to go check it out.
The Krave Truck travels to different locations in Jersey City throughout the week, and I found them at their usual dinnertime spot, the corner of Columbus and Marin Blvd right outside the Grove St. PATH station. The truck is a bright pea green, and hard to miss. I picked an unseasonably warm day in the spring for my visit, and I was able to eat on the steps of the PATH station, while people-watching – a glorious way to enjoy my food.
I had luckily familiarized myself with the menu beforehand, because the photos in the window of the truck were a bit haphazard and difficult to understand. Based on Truckspotter's soggy taco experience, I decided to order the BBQ Rice Platter, which comes with the option of two out of three meats – galbi short rib, tangy pork, or sesame chicken. I opted for just one meat – the galbi short rib – and I ordered a regular size for $6. The Krave Truck also offers a large option for $10, but I figured that was probably more than I could (or should) eat.
BBQ Rice Platter @ The Krave Truck (Photo credit: NJ Truckspotter)
As I suspected, the regular was a more than generous portion of barbequed Korean short rib, steamed white rice, and kimchi. There was a bit of sriracha and some sesame seeds sprinkled over the beef as garnish. All in all, a lovely sight in a styrofoam box. When I ordered, they also gave me the option of something that was described as yogurt sauce. While I love yogurt, the idea of it on my Korean food was less-than-appetizing, so I decided to skip it. I would later find out while perusing Yelp reviews that it’s more of a sour cream sauce. No matter though, I didn’t miss it.
The beef was in lovely bite-sized pieces, and was fantastically soft and chewy. It was simultaneously spicy, tangy, and a little bit sweet with that great Korean bbq flavor. The rice was a bit clumpy, and probably came out of a rice cooker, but it was the perfect accompaniment to the beef. And there was a small portion of kimchi on the side to set everything off. The kimchi wasn’t quite as fermentalicious as the stuff you can get in a proper Korean restaurant, but it did hit the right notes and tasted good mixed in with everything else.
And it was a perfect amount of food. I was full, but not too full. The meal made me so transcendentally happy that I actually had a pleasant conversation with a friend who called during my dinner – who, as it were, I was mad at. And yet after my BBQ Rice Platter, I was happy to hear from him! Go figure. I hopped and skipped my way to my subsequent grocery shopping engagement.
I went back a few days later because I had too much work to do to be bothered to make dinner. Having fallen hard for the galbi, I decided to get it in tacos this time – in the name of science, of course. I really wanted the rice platter.
Galbi Tacos @ The Krave Truck (Photo credit: NJ Truckspotter)
I ordered 2 galbi tacos ($2.50) each. They were also available in the tangy pork and sesame chicken, but you know... galbi. The tacos are described as being ‘served on a flour tortilla, kimchi puree, onion-cilantro relish, our special pink sauce, and a dash of roasted sesame seeds.’ They did indeed include all of these components.
The tortillas were a bit thick for my liking (not a huge fan of tortillas to begin with) but the wonderful beef was the same as in the platter. I do wish it had been served a bit warmer though; I feel like more of the taste would be evident that way. The kimchi was indeed pureed, and I honestly have no idea what the special pink sauce is. I’m going to guess it’s a mix of sriracha and mayo. Or maybe sour cream. Or yogurt, like the guy tipped me off to in our first exchange. The meat is better suited to rice, in my opinion, but the tacos are good.
Two tacos is not quite enough food for dinner, but it was satisfying. The BBQ platter is the better deal, though.. and when I return, that’s what I shall get. But it might be a while, because in the name of foodtrucking everywhere, there’s plenty more to try!
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