New Truck on the Block: Korilla BBQ

I tried the new Korilla BBQ truck for lunch yesterday!

After eating at the famous Kogi Truck many times in LA this summer (post here), I was waiting for something to start up in New York. Last week, I tried Korilla's kBBQ tacos at their launch party in K-Town and have since been dying to check out the truck in action.

Korilla (pronounced like Tortilla -- get it, get it?) is a new Korean BBQ truck in town. Think of it like Chipotle with a Korean twist, with all your favorite Korean BBQ meats and side dishes. Everything is advertised as organic and fresh and to their credit, I even felt healthy while eating my lunch (I'll admit this doesn't happen often when eating from trucks).

I just started the P90X workout program on Sunday, so I opted for the healthiest looking item on the menu -- the Chosun Bowl. On nice laminated menus, they laid out all the options you have including type of rice (sticky or bacon & kimchi fried rice), protein (beef, pork, chicken, tofu), Korean sides and veggies (tons of choices).

Menu from Midtown Lunch article

Also, if you get up there and want to just point at what you want, they even have a mirror on the ceiling of the truck for those that can't peer over the ledge. I'd say this is key for anyone 5'5" and under -- I am 5' 2", wore heels and could barely see still!

View of the mirror above the food -- This is Edward Song, the founder, helping us prepare our Chosun Bowls

I'd say the entire experience was very pleasant and well executed! I didn't feel rushed and everyone was so friendly =)

Oh yes, onto the food! Most of us got the Chosun bowls -- here are all the ones we got:

Chosun Bowls -- Don't they look so fresh and healthy??

My coworker Gregor got the burrito with bulgogi and fried rice, pictured here:

No one in my group got the tacos, but I had them at their launch party and did think they were very delicious!

I got excited and took two when they finally came out!

Korilla taco's close-up

So what's the verdict? We all thoroughly enjoyed our lunch (as evidenced by the silence for the first 5 minutes while we scarfed it down) and appreciated that we were satisfied, but still felt healthy after we finished. I think this will be a compelling selling point since so many people (like me) sit for 10-14 hours a day at our desks, fretting about gaining weight (and it's not just girls)! I have to admit though, the food didn't taste as Korean as I expected, although hey, it's a fusion thing, so maybe that's what it's going for. Not sure if it was the meat or maybe because I got the healthy bowl version. I think I will go back and try the tacos some other time though and give it another try!

Favorites and suggestions -- Our favorite protein was the tofu -- it's "awesome" silky tofu, not the fried stuff. I liked the bulgogi, which tasted like high quality beef, but want to try the pork next time. Our favorite veggies were the mushrooms and kimchi radishes. Our only suggestion would be to give the meats a little more kick in the spice department. Even though some of us asked for extra hot sauce, we still wanted more! Maybe there can be an extra spicy option or side hot sauces to get to go?

Anyway, check out their website and see if they'll be near your office! Or, better yet, take matters into your own hands. Tell them to come to you by voting for their next spot on their website (great idea!). This is exactly what we did -- at 11am on Tuesday, Madison Square Park was winning for Wednesday, so my coworkers and I started an aggressive campaign to get them to Midtown West and it worked!


For other food truck lunch options, check out my other food truck posts too! Los Angeles and New York.

Anyway, it's almost the weekend, so enjoy everyone! My parents are in town, so I'm starting it early... with Jean Georges for lunch today and a show tonight -- I'll have lots to post about!

My parents at Jean Georges -- 3 Michelin Star restaurant and me and my mom at Lincoln Center Plaza

Do you like the special effects on the photos? It's through this iPhone app called Instagram -- free filters and automatic upload to twitter, tumblr, facebook, etc! It's my new favorite app and best of all -- it's FREE!