KoJa Kitchen: A food truck to follow
On one of my lunch time walks in Downtown Oakland, my colleague and I passed a few food trucks parked on 12th Street. I always get excited about food trucks, but this one particular truck caught my attention because of the large LCD monitors displaying their menu. KoJa Kitchen was the name. We didn’t plan to eat there this time around. I went ahead and asked a customer what she thought of KoJa Kitchen. She said she had already bought her lunch before she realized KoJa was here, so she now has two lunches. She even offered her first lunch to us. I didn’t accept her lunch, but that is a pretty good praise to waste her first lunch so she can have KoJa.
Koja Kitchen was part of the recent Eat Real Festival in Oakland. I remember the lines being really long. I decided that I better follow KoJa Kitchen on twitter so I could know when it would be parked again on 12th Street. This time I planned ahead with my walking partner that a walk and a stop at KoJa Kitchen was in order this past Thursday.
We each got a Kalbi, or short rib KoJa. Amazing chunks of Korean BBQ short ribs were laced between two discs of rice patties in lieu of a bread product. My colleague and I agreed that they were scrumptious. Although the rice patties were unique, it was the meat that shined.
We shared an order of the kamikaze fries. These criss cross fries were layered with minced bulbogi, or Korean BBQ beef, sautéed onions, kimchi, and green onions. Surprisingly with all the condiments on top, the fries stayed crisp and were delicious.
I remember the KoJa Kitchen customer, who had two lunches, got a dessert too so we tried the mochimisu. It is a tiramisu with chocolate mochi. I really like traditional tiramisu, but the texture of this one with the mochi didn’t really work for me. I can pass on dessert next time because there will be a next time. Follow KoJa Kitchen on Twitter.