Tasty Express

A prize goes to the person who can tell me where this is. That was a trick, because it could be anywhere, but it spends most of its time parked in front of the Home Depot on Jefferson in Marina Del Rey. That's right, its a food truck, often referred to by its more appetizing name... a roach coach. Now I'm no stranger to roach coaches. I often pull over just to sample what these miracles on wheels have to offer, but this one has a special place in my heart as I seem to spend more time at Home Depot than I do at my home. I'm not the only one either.

Seemingly regardless of what time I arrive at the Tasty Express, I almost always have to wait in line. I usually spend this time deciding which flavor energy drink I'm going to pluck from the built in ice chest on the side of the truck, having already memorized the menu. Speaking of the menu, talk about variety! It seems hard to believe that this little kitchen on wheels can produce such a wide array of cuisine but they offer everything from breakfast to burgers to a broad selection of Mexican food. One would think that with a target audience comprised mostly of the day laborers that hang around in the parking lot, food from south of the border would be the specialty but if you ask Victor (the proprietor) he will tell you that the steak sandwich is his meal of choice. It was the steak sandwich that I had for dinner tonight. As usual, I ordered my sandwich with fries and opted for a refreshing sangria (the non-alcoholic kind of course) to wash it down.

The sandwich itself reminded me of a torta, with strips of not so lean skirt steak, lettuce, tomato and onions. A word to the wise, if you intend to eat the whole thing without a fork, keep the yellow wrapping paper on as long as you can. The fries were of the crinkle cut variety and served with ketchup in a tiny plastic cup. Everything is made on the same griddle so you occasionally taste re-fried beans or enchilada sauce in your sandwich but I think that only adds to the flavor. Of course, that doesn't explain why I had a few fries that clearly tasted like shrimp, but at least they appeared to be good shrimp. There are of course tables behind the coach to sit at but I have discovered that all the best conversation happens when eating at the bar affixed to the side of the truck. Of course, if you don't speak Spanish, you're out of luck anyway but even if you just nod your head and laugh at appropriate times you can still feel like part of the group. Victor's coach is actually the second of two unaffiliated mobile kitchens that occupy the space on a daily basis. He arrives at about 1:30 pm and stays until 9:30 pm or until things really start to slow down. Everything is made to order and he will package your food to go upon request. Plan on spending about $6.00 or about $7.50 with your choice of foreign soda but this is a cash only establishment (and there is no ATM at the Home Depot) however I have noticed that Pesos seems to be freely exchanged.

All in all, I never fail to enjoy my experience at the Tasty Express, even if I do not always enjoy my experience at the Home Depot. Is it good enough to visit even if I didn't have to buy a light fixture? Sure. However at that point you're pretty close to Inglewood and you would be passing up some SERIOUSLY tasty roach coaches on the way.

Tasty Express:

12975 W Jefferson Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90066

N 33.976336°, W 118.423463°

Introduction

Those of you who know me must be baffled. Of all the people you know, I'm probably the least likely to start a food blog. I mean, I've never seen a full episode on the Food Network. I don't own a microwave, let alone a real oven. And even if I did, I'm pretty sure I couldn't boil an egg. But that's the whole point. I eat out 3 meals a day, 365 days a year. More than anyone I know, I depend on LA's abundance of restaurants to sustain me. Now granted, I'm no connoisseur, in fact I had to Google how to spell that word. My friends have a running joke that every meal I eat is the best meal I've ever had. I don't suppose that's far from the truth either, but it's not because I can't tell the difference. I'm just very open minded when it comes to eating. You kind of have to be when you constantly depend on someone else to prepare your food. But that's exactly why this blog should be appealing... who's more open minded than the guy with no expectations? Plus it should be worth it for most of you just to have a few laughs.

Let's get a few things straight right from the beginning:

- When I said I don't cook, I mean it. Never. Not mac and cheese, not spaghetti, not even peanut butter and jelly. I do enjoy all of those things, I just prefer if they're made for me.
- I eat at McDonalds. GET OVER IT! If fact, I eat at quite a few fast food restaurants. Come on, if you eat out every meal, you can't always have El Bulli.
- The closest I come to eating vegetarian is eating vegetarians. (It's been known to happen)
and finally
-I don't do carrots. I order almost everything just like it's read off the menu but carrots are a deal breaker.

I hope you will continue to follow this blog. I spend a great deal of time all over this city and will try to post on as many interesting dining experiences as I can. Of course, I would love to hear feedback as well. If there's some place you'd like to try but don't know if it's worth the journey/cost, you can bet I'm going to be eating out anyway so you might as well let me give it a go. If you have any suggestions as to places I should try, please submit them. Also, if you disagree with something I say, feel free to let me know in a comment. I'll probably delete it, but you should try anyway. I'll try to geocode most of the places I visit so you can find your way back there if you like. And of course, I always prefer to eat with company so give me a call if you'd like to join.

Bon appetite!