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Friday, May 22, 2009

Food The Hunt for Koi Fusion

Posted by Patrick Alan Coleman on Fri, May 22, 2009 at 2:33 PM

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The hunt for Koi Fusion would not have been that hard if we hadn’t been mislead by a tweet that took us into NW Portland. Then we lost connection with Twitter on the iPhone, thus missing a its actual location. Erik got grumpy. We were redirected by construction. We gave up. The whole situation reminded Alison of Adventures in Babysitting. I wholeheartedly agreed.

We developed a plan for the following day: I’d allow live updates to my cell from Twitter for both @PDXfoodcarts and @Koifusion. That way, we’d know where the much buzzed taco truck with its payload of Korean tacos would land, and how long it would be there. Unfortunately, the truck was sidelined for some routine upkeep.

Today, finally, I received the location (SW 6th and College) and the time (Noon to 2 pm) and made damn sure I’d be there in time to get a taco or two.

The Koi Fusion truck was hidden just off the PSU campus behind a market on SW 6th. I wasn’t actually sure I’d made it to the right place considering the sign on the side of the truck proudly read Rosali’s. But then I noticed a group of foodie-types huddled in the shadow of the market; a strange sort of bliss-filled listlessness surrounding them like thin smoke from a grill. They weren’t in line, per se, but it seemed as if at any moment they might spring into line. You know, just right after they finished chewing. This had to be the place.

The Koi Fusion truck is one of the lovely modern taco trucks, with the cooler in the side for an assortment of cold drinks, and a high window covered in blue plastic. I’d been anxious to taste this strange new trend ever since Alison told me a few months ago about Kogi BBQ, the storied Korean taco trucks of LA, which have garnered quite a reputation.

I was understandably anxious as I waited to order—the chatty young proprietor happily talking to a customer about his brand new venture.

“I wasn’t sure about the tofu,” he said.

“Dude it was awesome,” the customer replied.

Then it was my turn: one bulgogi taco, and one spicy chicken taco, both with cilantro, bean sprouts, and kimchi (I actually think the owner called it “Korean cole slaw” for my benefit).

As I ate, an antsy crowd began to form, ready for the taco love. The proprietor leaned out the window.

“Are you all following us?” he asked, referring to Twitter. There was a silence as half a dozen heads nodded in unison.

A young Asian couple arrived.

“Would you like to try a Korean Taco?”

“Oh man, did you read about that in Giant Robot? There’s these trucks in LA.”

“Kogi BBQ?”

“Yeah, they were in Giant Robot.”

“Those guys are my buddies! They gave me their blessing and a couple recipes!”

As people lined up there was often explanation as to why certain meats weren’t available that day (short ribs, for instance, were my first pick). It seems that somewhere in Portland a mother is marinating beef. That explains a lot. I’ll reserve my judgment on the tacos because Koi Fusion is far too new to be critiqued. But it would behoove you to find them, eat a taco or two, and let them know what you think. I’ll be including them in a late summer edition of Travels in Tacoville. In addition to the Korean tacos there is also a full Mexican menu.

When I was leaving, the Asian couple had finally decided on what to order.

“Can I have a Korean taco?” the small young woman asked.

“Bulgogi?”

The young woman let out a short gasp that was filled with memory and pleasure. “How did you know?” she asked.

“Because you’re Korean.”

 

Comments (8) RSS

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1
To be fair, most things remind me of Adventures in Babysitting.
Posted by Alison Hallett on May 22, 2009 at 2:52 PM · Report
2
I was going to add that part, but my brain was too mushy to figure out how to write it. Faaaawwkkk.
Posted by Patrick A. Coleman on May 22, 2009 at 2:55 PM · Report
3
You did good, Patrick.
Posted by Alison Hallett on May 22, 2009 at 3:06 PM · Report
4
KOifusion, Confusion! I swear, we planned to do a drive by this week (of the taco kind) at the parking lot near the Mercury's office. And trust me, we are still planning on it soon. Of course you Patrick, and you Alison will be the first to know.

Have to confess, the KOifusion taco love here in PDX has been a bit overwhelming...I mean, we aren't really even fully open yet, and yes, Mom is cooking the meat every day and when she's out, we're out. We are also reliant on our resident taco angel Rosie (she's the one cooking in the truck and making the tortillas). Rosie is our patron saint for sure; she's been working in taco trucks for 40 years! The woman knows her tacos and how to run a kitchen, that's for sure.

So this is what we are doing - KOifusion is going to have to continue to be a bit stealth for a couple more weeks until we can get everything fully functional and up and running smoothly. We will be hiring more people, getting a menu posted, and adding more specials as we can.

KOifusion will be at PSU (SW 6th and College) on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 12:30 til 2:00 PM. (except this coming Monday - it's Memorial Day). We will also be at Last Thurs on Alberta Street next week...somewhere on Alberta Street between NE 15th and 33rd, probably. Other than that, check our website www.koifusionpdx.com or our twitter feed @KOifusionpdx for our daily schedule, exact locations, and specials.

We are gonna have to ease into things like KFC (Korean Fried Chicken). But give us time.

Thanks again for going on the hunt for us. We're hard to find right now, but hopefully we were worth it.

@BoKwon and @MisslizzyC - The KOifusion crew.
Posted by KOifusion on May 22, 2009 at 10:37 PM · Report
5
Ninja Mode..... :)
Posted by Ptownfooddog on May 23, 2009 at 9:26 AM · Report
6
FACT: Bulgogi is the most delicious thing known under the sun.
Posted by rank_amateur on May 23, 2009 at 4:51 PM · Report
7
Assuming it is your intention to write about the food here, how was it?
Posted by R. Reichl on May 25, 2009 at 1:03 PM · Report
8
"I’ll reserve my judgment on the tacos because Koi Fusion is far too new to be critiqued."

Believe me, I'd love to tell you, but it would not be fair. Suffice it to say, I would not recommend people track them down if I didn't think there was something of interest going on at Koi Fusion.
Posted by Patrick A. Coleman on May 27, 2009 at 4:55 PM · Report

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