A big shout out to everyone who braved the gray weather and crowds to check us out at the Seattle Mobile Chowdown III last week. It was off the hook fun.

The madness of crowds, some people waited in line over 2 hours to get a taste of the Koifusion! But we know it was worth it because some people ate, turned around, and waited in line again for another dose. We love you all, man.

Seattle’s got a much smaller cart scene than Portland and most of their trucks are mobile (we think it’s the laws there or something), but it was cool to see all their different carts and eat their food. Some people were billing the event as a Seattle vs. PDX thing, but we think that’s way off the mark. I mean, Portland has over 400 carts and Seattle has well, about 1/10th of that. Hmmm, maybe we should invite the Seattle carts down to PDX next time to show everyone how AWESOME the PDX cart scene is?

Anyway, fun was had by all, it was a great road trip. We met some cool people and we hope to go back next year. In the meantime Seattlites, if you find yourselves down in our ‘hood, swing by. As always you can find us on twitter @koifusionpdx or check us out at our new restaurant/bar Koifusion@1 located at 1300 NW Lovejoy in Portland’s Pearl District.

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:

Marination Mobile
Anita’s Crepes
Skillet Street Food
Kaosamai Thai
Hallava Falafel
El Camion
Top Pot Doughnuts

The event runs from 10 am to 3 pm. The event is free, but you’ll need to bring $cash-money-money$ to purchase food from the carts.

Mobile Chowdown III is located right by Safeco Field at Occidental Ave. S, Sodo – Between Edgar Martinez Dr. and Massachussetts St. pretty close to I-5 and downtown. FREE Parking at the Safeco Field garage on Edgar Martinez Drive.

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.

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!

Keep your eyes peeled for these additions to our classic design about town, maybe even in sticker form.  But you didn’t hear that from us…

And in the spirit of pictures saying more than words, check out some of the TwitPics our awesome K-Twits  have been throwing out!

"My mouth was not big enough for the k-slider." @makilac

"J and I are having our own afterparty." @sicklittlejag

"K-dog." @artnchicken

"Lunch from @koifusionpdx (at College and 6th from 12-2 today)" @BoboPuppyhead

As long as there’s a hungry Tweeter, KOi will be there to pose for a photo op.

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…

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.

Thanks for listening!

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:

Thanks for sharing and keep the photos coming!