We are heading to Seattle on Saturday March 13, 2010 for the Seattle Mobile Chowdown III. If you feel like getting out of town for a fun little trip, Koifusion will be truckin’ caravan style up the I-5 along with our peeps Whiffies, Potato Champion, and the Burgerville Nomad Truck.
This is your chance to sample most of the Seattle carts in one location. Seattle carts include, but are not limited to:
For more information check out Mobile Chowdown III in Seattle Magazine. See you there! In the meantime, here’s a little bit of Seattle’s Finest from Koi’s Seattle Food Muse Sir Mix-a-Lot chowing down on the Dick’s Deluxe. Posse on Broadway. Word.
KoiFusion, Portland’s favorite – scratch that – Portland’s ONLY Korean Taco truck is moving on up. Well, more specifically, we are moving into a storefront space called Koifusion@1. Formerly the SOLO bar space located at 1300 NW Lovejoy in the Pearl District.
Don’t panic though, even if you can’t make it to Koifusion@1, our two Koifusion trucks will continue to provide tacos to hungry Portlanders all over the place, as usual. Ha! Scared some of you though, didn’t we?
We snaggedthe uber talented Chef Joe Anderson, formerly of Carlyle and the Portland City Grill, to run the kitchen. Mixology expert Joshua Palmer, the bar manager from Typhoon/Bo Bar, will be heading up the bar program Studio 1. Joshua, Joe and Koifusion’s Bo Kwon are working closely to create special cocktails and infusions to compliment Koifusion@1’s Korean Taco (K-Taco) influenced menu. Look for drinks such as the Studio One fresh muddled cucumber gimlet, or the Koi Storm made with house infused mango/pineapple vodka, mixed with rum and citrus served on the rocks. The menu includes many of Koifusion’s greatest hits, including our famous K-Tacos. Other items include Korean Beef Sliders, Spicy Korean Fries, the Korean Rice Bowl known as Bi-Bim-Bap, a Korean Taco Salad, and Korean Tempura Vegetables.
The biggest surprise though is that Koifusion@1 will finally be serving KFC – Korean Fried Chicken. We promise! This spicy, crunchy fried chicken in a tangy sauce has a cult following in places such as New York City and Los Angeles, with specific restaurants dedicated to the dish and even several fan websites. The LA Weekly called KFC, “an evolutionary leap forward — marinated in a cabinet full of spices, saturated with garlic, double-fried to a shattering, thin-skinned snap.” It’s off the hook addictive and we are excited to bring Korean Fried Chicken to Portland.
In the typical DIY Ninja manner you’ve grown to expect from us, Koifusion@1 will be doing things a little bit differently than other restaurateurs around town. Rather than taking full ownership, Bo’s simply taking over the day-to-day operations of SOLO. Studio 1 does the drinks, Koifusion does the food. It’s a win-win for everyone.
Koifusion@1 is currently in a soft opening phase and will open fully to the public sometime during the second week of March, 2010. This means our service, menu and hours are limited for now, so be patient with us. We are still working out the kinks and getting our food and beverage service down first and making sure things run smoothly so diners will have the best experience possible. Koifusion@1 will be open from 4PM to 12AM, every Tues-Sat. Koifusion@1 will begin serving lunch and serving a special happy hour menu in late April. We are also in the process of hiring servers and bartenders, so if you think you have the talent, experience and chops to work with our crazy crew, check out our Craigslist Ad.
Peace, Love and Taco Grease. See you in the Pearl!
KOi has been hearing a lot lately in emails, Twitter messages, and Facebook wall posts about how much the ‘burbs could use some more K-tacos. So the truck is rolling on in to Beaverton! Come visit on Tuesdays and Thursdays for lunch at Reser’s Corporate Headquarters:
Reser's Headquarters - 15570 SW Jenkins Rd in Beaverton
Come visit us, we’d love to see you!
Tuesdays and Thursday 11AM – 2PM at Reser’s Headquarters 15570 SW Jenkins Rd in Beaverton
Big ups to @karmeno and @resers for making it happen!
KOi Fusion is super grateful to you, our customers and readers, and to the strong cart scene both here in Portland and beyond. We here at KOi appreciate all your support, and we try our best every day to bring scrumptious K-treats to a street near you. KOi Fusion also has a philosophy of sorts, looking at food carts as a positive national movement that benefits diners and cities alike.
That’s why this recent LA Times article rubs us the wrong way. It appears that Los Angeles is cracking down on mobile food cart vendors (AKA our food cart homies) in some dubious ways. According to the article:
“Some drivers said they were cited for minimal violations such as parking too close to the curb, or parking too far away. Others said they were ordered to pack up and leave.
Police officials said the crackdown Wednesday was part of a one-day operation to clear the area of illegal vendors.”
So now you’re thinking, “KOi peeps, have you inhaled too many grill fumes? Of course we don’t want illegal vendors serving us food!” But the real problem came from one of the officers quoted in the article:
“Restaurants complain because the lunch trucks are taking their business, and they don’t have [proper] permits.”
KOi’s view? Food carts don’t “take” business from non-mobile eating locals any more than the stationary folk “take” from us. We know you’re making choices based on the food factors that are most important to you – whether it’s local, convenience of location, price, or degree of deliciousness. All we (and our food cart brethren) are out to do is meet your wants the best we know how.
Picture courtesy of a Miracle Mile customer's blog post on the issue - click on the pic to read it!
This also means we know you can’t eat KOi 24/7/365 (oh that it could be so…but we digress). You’re going to support other food vendors, and we think that’s great! A strong dining scene, from high end fancy places to food carts, makes a stronger economy overall. Portland has one of the most diverse food scenes you’ll ever come across, and we want to keep the community hopping as much as anybody. The cool thing is that YOU – not the cops and certainly not us or other vendors – get to decide what to support and what to eat. It’s all about consumer choice.
So, for the record, we want you all to know that KOi Fusion supports our mobile vendor peeps in LA. They create jobs, start independently owned businesses, and bring positive and active uses to somewhat stale and empty parts of the city. Food cart vendors also provide good food that is affordable to just about everyone. The City of Los Angeles should take note.
What do you think about the role of food carts in the PDX economy? Leave a comment and let us know!
WHEN? This week! Thursday 8/6 starting around 7:00 PM
WHERE? Lizard Lounge at 13th and NW Irving
If you haven’t checked out First Thursday in the Pearl yet, well…how long have you been in Portland? But really, petty insults aside, we’ve got a few very good reasons for you to check out FT this week.
1. KOi will be there (as if you didn’t know!)
The ultimate charmer doing what he does best
Trust me, it's a good trade.
2. Support the awesome folks at Lizard Lounge (@lizardloungepdx)
They lend us the space, and we try our best to deliver the goods. This month, they’re featuring Arsenio Torres (@arsenio77).
3. Feel the PDX love.
Widmer Brothers (@widmer_brothers) and Fifty Licks (@fiftylicks) handmade ice cream will be there to round out the fun, and that’s just in our corner of the bash.
Visit us and all the great artisans and food purveyors of First Thursday!
You be the judge! Come visit us TODAY (Tuesday) for our first go at our brand new location on 3rd and Ankeny (across from Voodoo Doughnuts).
Don't act like you've never been there before...
We’re serving up all your delectable KOi favorites (will it be a Bulgogi taco today? Or maybe a spicy tofu burrito?) and you’re just going to kick yourself if you miss the chance to pick up some Voodoo for dessert…
In case you didn’t notice, KOi was just all over the place yesterday. From Bo’s radio spot on KBOO to a great Fox12 news story, the K-truck was on the move.
Click above to see the story
We’ll post the podcast when it’s available, but make sure to support KBOO local radio in the meantime!
SCHEDULE UPDATE: We’re unfortunately closed for lunch today because of a few landlord problems, but we’re working hard to make sure we have consistent locations to serve up deliciousness on a regular basis.
Tune in this Wednesday July 15th, from 11 am-12 pm at KBOO(90.7 FM on your Portland radio dial) for a show dedicated to all things food carts. Koifusion’s founder and mad genius taco truck king, Bo Kwon will be interviewed along with other guests such as our friends over at Portlandfoodanddrink.com.
You can listen on the radio, through live streaming on KBOO’s website, or check back later in the week for a podcast archive.
A big shout out to Yelp.com and Portlandfood.org for the ongoing support! Also, many thanks to the Portland Mercury and the Open Source Bridge Conference for letting us roll on up to your playgrounds last week. Koifusion loves special events by the way, so if anyone out there wants us to come to one of yours, drop us a line here.
Thanks to all our Twitter friends and new customers as well, especially those of you who have taken so many photos and continue to send them our way. Special thanks to @Lucasd.
We’ll be posting photos later this week from the Portland Mercury event, and be on the lookout this weekend for Koifusion After Dark; photos posted from our weekly late night PGE Park escapades.
In the meantime, check out a sample of @Lucasd’s recent photos from our weekday PSU location and from the Open Source Bridge Conference held at the Convention Center last week:
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