Yesterday, we received some nice media coverage, courtesy of John T. Edge over at the New York Times. You can read the article here. It follows a trend of past coverage that both KOi and Korean fusion as a genre have received over the last year, and it now appears that the concept of “fusion” has become a full-on epidemic in the US. Following the original Kogi model, trucks have started popping up over the past year, spanning the country– from Midwestern locales like Indianapolis and Oklahoma, all the way to Atlanta, New York, and of course California. Our very own city, Portland, has even received some increased competition over the past year, as no fewer than four Korean barbecue competitors have rolled into town.

What does it all mean? It’s something we as a team have talked about more recently. When we started, the concept of the Korean taco was strictly the domain of Kogi and LA. We were one of the first to take Roy Choi’s pioneering vision and mold it into our own concept; using his blueprint, we ran with the idea and re-invented the recipes so that they tasted uniquely KOi. One of the reasons we’ve been successful in this new sea of competition has been a consistent adherence to our original vision.

By sticking with the homemade marinades that only Mama Kwon knows the recipe to, using locally-sourced tortillas and tacos, only buying fresh, local vegetables, and only selecting the highest quality meats to buy, we’ve been able to consistently deliver the best Korean BBQ in Portland, even as we’ve expanded over the past year.

Everything we serve is cooked to order, and when you come to KOi, you know everything you eat has been grilled, chopped, diced, and prepared that day. It’s not a marketing gimmick–it’s the only way we know how to do business, and we refuse to change our commitment to those ideals.

As the genre continues to grow and expand, we’ve prepared ourselves for the inevitable increase in competition by making sure we continue to do the best everyday. As Bo said to the New York Times, we’ve built our business not on trying to be just another Kogi, but by taking the idea of the Korean taco and “Portlandizing” it. Our marinades, tortillas, meat, and recipes are unique to KOi. We have much love for the growing legion of Korean taco trucks across the country; but for us, it’ll always be a KOi and Portland way of doing things–and we wouldn’t have it any other way.

Love, Peace, and Taco Grease,

Scott, Team KOi

RIP.

-Team KOi

This person is named Ghostface. He is the man.

Photo courtesy of Kogi's Eric Shin. He is also the man.. much love to Kogi!

YO! Good morning ktaco family. I hope all you had a, um, healthy and productive friday night yesterday, and you’re up bright and early on this Saturday morning like I am. Don’t worry, I come bearing good news.

That’s cause KOi is gonna be at not one, but two events around the city today.

1. For all you suburb peeps who love rib tacos but hate driving into downtown, we got you. The KOi team is partnering up with the fine gentlemen behind 503 Motoring for their annual block party TODAY, from 12-6 in Beaverton. You’ve probably seen their work on half a dozen Portland Trailblazer’s cars, as well as countlessly wealthy, but non-famous Portlanders.

The block party is about to pop. Aside from featuring a ridiculous amount of expensive and custom cars, the Portland food elite will be in full effect, with Voodoo Donuts, 50 Licks, and the Lebron James of street food, KOi Fusion, all slated to appear. Blazer guard Martell Webster will be kickin it with us from 2-4, and there’s gonna be prizes, givaways, a DJ… what more do you want? Come down today and say whatup! We’ll be there from 11-6.

Address: 5703 SW Artic Drive, Beaverton, OR, 97005

Event #2:

2. For all you downtown Portlanders, hipsters, families, and nature enthusiasts, we’ve also got you covered. That’s cause we’re bring the second truck out (AKA lil’ ghetto KOi) for the 2nd annual RiverFest festival, held on the banks of the gorgeous Willamette River.

From the Riverfest site: “Popular attractions from last year return, including The Freshwater Trust Portland Triathlon, Portland Audubon events, the Festival at South Waterfront, Kayak Tours, and the SOLV Cleanup. We have also added many new and exciting events for the whole family to enjoy. Join us this summer to celebrate the river on the river.”

They forgot to mention that KOi is the main draw of the event, but oh well. We’ll be there in full force today and hope to see some of the k-taco familia out there to keep us company. 2 events, 2 cities, multiple hours, no excuses. Come and say hi!

Two orders of business today:

1. First, let’s start our day off right with some Parliament Funkadelic, shall we? We may or may not be bumping the funk all day today in the truck (probably).

2. Yes, it’s true. The black and white stickers are finally in! We have only produced a limited number of these bad boys, so while they last, we’re going to give them away with every order.

So come on down, brave the heat, listen to some funk, grab a pork taco, and enjoy a free vinyl gloss sticker of your favorite food cart in the world.

Also don’t forget to come by the cart next week. We’ll have a limited run of our black and white stickers for the first few hundred people that show up.

As some of you have probably already heard, we lost another great artist this morning. Baatin, of the legendary Detroit hip-hip outfit Slum Village, was found dead this morning. 1997′s Fantastic Vol. 1 and 2000′s Fantastic Vol. 2 will always remain on the short list for two of my top ten favorite rap albums of all time. Jay Dilla’s soulful production on those albums is still regarded as some of the finest production on any hip-hop release ever, and although Dilla himself passed away in 2006, I still find myself throwing on some old Slum Village tracks consistently. RIP, Baatin. Here’s some of my favorite SV tracks.

While we here at KOi definitely love food, it’s not the only thing we enjoy. From time to time, we’ll be throwing up things that we’re feeling at the moment, whether it be new clothing labels, music, artwork, or whatever is fresh and inspiring to us.

After a long week of work, with the July sun beating down on us, that late afternoon music listening session is so necessary sometimes. Today, I’ve been zoning out to Miles Davis. 1959′s Kind of Blue is considered by most jazz heads to be the greatest album of all time, and rightly so. The subtle, brilliant trumpet interludes by Miles blend perfectly with his band, a collection of some of the greatest jazz musicians of the 20th century, among them a young John Coltrane. Mellow, relaxing, intricate perfection.

A live performance from 1959 featuring Miles and Coltrane together.

Some iced tea, a book, a shaded porch and some Miles Davis. Does it get any better than that?

As we creep into the peak of the summer season, there’s been a unique phenomenon happening across the country. As some of you may have already noticed, media coverage surrounding the emerging food cart scene has been rapidly gaining traction the past six months.

Whether it’s the state of the economy, smarter spending, or simply a desire to escape fast food hell, there’s been an explosion in popularity towards street vendors and food carts all over the country.

Recently, the Oregonian wrote about the new influx of carts on Mississippi Ave in Portland in an article published two days ago, noting “Multnomah County has more than 375 food carts, with action blossoming in the suburbs — and the applications keep coming.”And apparently, some other people in Portland see potential here.

“Food carts are the entrepreneurial adventure of the 21st century,” says Howard Shapiro, a board member of the nonprofit Albina Opportunities Corp., one of the lenders that helped Goldingay with financing. “These are more than little things on wheels. They’re serving darn good food and prices at a time when people just love food.”

The New York Times have also caught on. In addition to their thorough review of Portland’s street food scene (found here), they’ve also been detailing some of the new ideas street vendors are implementing to reach customers. A series of open-air, after work summer parties has seen the marriage of local street food, good music, and a relaxed vibe.

This article details the set-up further: “Entry is free; $5 buys a plate of food. Menus have included tacos from the celebrated food truck Calexico and pulled pork from Egg, a beloved local restaurant; indie stalwarts like Tim Harrington of Les Savy Fav have played D.J. (At the next BBQ, on July 29, the chef Sam Mason mans the grill, and the Harlem Shakes, a Brooklyn band, are on the decks.) The mood is chill hipster hangout.”

Hmm…. is this a hint of things to come for our Portland scene? Stay tuned, K-heads.