Girls In Tech

Years ago I’d see “roach coaches” rolling by construction sites and feel my stomach turn – not any more. Recently, LA has experienced an explosion in gourmet food trucks serving every type of food, including mexican, korean, bbq, contemporary american, desserts, ice cream, and various fusion cuisines. With the advent of Twitter, the roach coaches have morphed into gourmet food trucks as high-end fare has gone mobile. Twitter has aided in this explosion by allowing the trucks to Tweet their exact location to hungry eaters in real time. The “mobile restaurant” phenomena has taken off so much that a web site dedicated to the tracking of food trucks on Twitter also recently launched – Find LA Food Trucks – http://www.findlafoodtrucks.com/.

These mobile, kitchens-in-transit use Twitter as a real-time GPS tracking system – just without the GPS. At any time of day or night you know exactly where to find them. This level of accessibility has made these roving vehicles social-networking juggernauts, sometimes drawing upwards of 300 to 800 people (and a bevy of Twitter followers) each time it parks (often several times in a day).

Here is a list of my top 5 favorite to follow – and of course, to eat!

The Kogi BBQ Truck - Yumo-o!

Calbi BBQ (@CalbiBBQ): Followers – 2,190

Calbi is deliciously fresh, high quality Korean BBQ marinated beef, chicken and shrimp served in the traditional style of Mexican tacos and burritos.

Border Grill (@BorderGrill) Followers – 3,011

Border Grill is a Mexican restaurant concept in LA serving gourmet tacos, quesadillas, ceviches, and more from “Too Hot Tamales” chefs Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger. It also offers their Twitter followers special deals by using the secret code – like “sweet tooth” for a free brownie.

Kogi BBQ (@kogibbq): Followers: 46,006

Kogi is the Korean BBQ taco truck that has spawned it’s own burgeoning cyber-hippie movement affectionately referred to as “Kogi kulture.”

Sprinkles Cupcakes (@sprinklesmobile): Followers: 7,251

The Sprinkles trucks dolls out delectable cupcakes made famous by their flagship store in Beverly Hills delighting celebrities and hardcore epicureans alike.

Nom Nom Truck (@nomnomtruck): Followers: 3,950

Nom Nom truck is a mobile food truck that serves “Banh Mi”, or Vietnamese Sandwiches, and other Vietnamese-inspired dishes.

Also, The Grilled Cheese Truck has yet to officially start rolling around town but when it does, you can expect to find me there for sure!

Christine Kirk is a PR representative and social media explorer for luxury brands including travel, real estate and food/beverage, at Murphy O’Brien Public Relations in Los Angeles. She also holds the position of PR Manager for the Los Angeles chapter of Girls in Tech. She can be reached via e-mail at ckirk@murphyobrien.com or on Twitter @luxuryprgal.