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Consider this post a big middle finger directed at an unidentified party.  According to RestaurantsATL, the super awesome mega-sized King of Pops mural is apparently gone, up and vanished like a fart in the wind.  The mural was located in the parking lot of Buddy’s Gas Station, which has long served as home base for The King.  Smack dab in the middle of Poncey-Highland, this mural served as a call to arms … it said: “Stop, look at me … there is deliciousness to be had.”

It was fun, it was colorful, and it made me happy and it made the people happy!  According to RestaurantsATL, this is the work of our fabulous city government.  They are of course, enforcing some very serious, totally legitimate city ordinance. Interlude:

Gas Station Employee: I’m starting to picking up your sarcasm.
Richard Hayden: Well, I should hope so, because I’m laying it on pretty thick.

Mayor Kasim Reed (@KasimReed) happens to be a pretty big supporter of street food … so I hope this catches his attention and something is done to restore order in the universe.  If something doesn’t happen in the near future – don’t be surprised if an online petition shows up on this blog!

On a more positive note, I recently noticed that KoP is now at Sheik Burritos … you can get all your KOP news via their twitter feed and their website.

UPDATE: Steven Carse (the King himself) will be on TV tonight – you should be able to catch him on Channel 36 during the 10 o’clock showing and 11Alive sometime between 11pm and Midnight.

[image with permission from RestaurantsATL]

In my brief flirtation with Los Angeles food trucks, I manage to sample, or at least attempt to sample, four diverse offerings that each presented some insight into the current state of street food in LA.  I already waxed foodetic about Kogi, whose food may not be worth the 45 to 60 minute wait that can sometimes come with some of their Korean tacos; but, who provides a real value with pretty good grub from an insanely well run truck (or trucks as the case may be).

So against that standard, I was able to frame two other food truck meals and one “are you freaking serious?” failure of epic proportions.  We’ll start with the solid, get to the just okay, and wrap it with a serious cry for one truck to get their shit together.  Hopefully, in 1500 words or less! #ICanBeVerbose

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LA is the mothership of the current food truck rage that has seeped into America’s largest metropolises and bustling college towns.  In fact, Roaming Hunger, where we track food trucks from all over the country, is based out of Los Angeles.  So it’s no surprise that street food has become somewhat old hat in the city of Angeles whereas in other cities, it’s still starting to find its way into our culinary lexicon.

If you get into a discussion about food trucks, Kogi, a Korean taco truck pronounced with a hard g, is likely to get a mention or two.  Not only did Kogi BBQ and chef Roy Choi ignite the truck craze, but they did so by fusing Tex-Mex with Korean food sensibilities.  Now a little empire unto itself, Kogi’s story is synonymous with the story of the food truck and its conceptual growth.  On any given day in the Los Angeles area, you’ll find one of the Kogi trucks drawing a crowd.

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For the past few years, Atlanta’s Korean taco market has been dominated by Tomas Lee’s Hankook Taqueria and their hand in the cookie jar food truck spin-off Yumbii.  Recently, Lee expanded into Midtown Atlanta with the opening of Takorea, a near carbon copy of his concept from the backwoods of Westside.

Once you strip away the misguided name and the disjointed aesthetic of Takorea, what you are left with is a restaurant whose newborn reputation seems to vastly exceed the quality of anything that comes out of the kitchen.  Takorea is, in that respect, exactly like Lee’s other establishments: viable for Atlantans due to a lack of framework against which it can be properly judged.

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We at Roaming Hunger do our best to keep up with what’s going on in the food truck world (Follow us via @RoamingATL and @RoamingHunger).  Thankfully, our job is often times made a bit easier thanks to the work of guys like Todd Brock, the ATLien who moonlights over at Serious Eats.

Brock just posted a little food truck slideshow featuring some of his favorite Atlanta food trucks and street vendors.  In all, 11 vendors that encompass everything from popsicles to Korean tacos are featured.  Brock took it upon himself to snap a shot of each listed vendor and do a little write up in case you need the 411.  Check out who made the list after the jump!

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The intersection of Fort St and Irwin Street may not be the most welcoming intersection in Atlanta.  However, it has become a point of interest for yours truly.  You see, I drive on Fort St. quite a bit as it serves as an access road to I-75/I-85 thru Downtown.  Much to my own shame, I have perhaps stumbled upon something illicitly tantalizing only to pass it up (for reasons unbeknownst to me).

Here’s the low down: Numerous times during the last year I have passed by a complex that sits on Fort St just south of the Irwin St intersection.  During three of those drives, I have seen a small gathering of people huddled around a long smoker hitched to the back of a pickup truck.  A rolling barbecue pit no doubt, these are the elements of street food that do catch my attention so!

I have never been quick enough to pull out my camera nor smart enough to pull over and ask what’s what … but I’ve seen it with my own eyes.  Maybe it’s my version of sasquatch or perhaps proof that somebody’s Inceptioned my ass!

I have no recollection as to the specific times of my drive-byes (all were around 11pm though) nor even a guess as to what day of the week(s) it just so happened to be.  So what’s what people?  Has anyone else seen this?  Is it street food at its finest or random and semi-frequent gatherings that deserve no further attention?

Tonight (aka August 14th), the Food Network is set to debut season two of The Great Food Truck Race (10/9c on Sundays).  The street food/food truck themed television show rolled through cities across the country just a few short months ago.  After hours in the editing booth, it appears the competition is ready for public consumption.

Hosted by Tyler Florence, the show pits multiple food trucks from all over the country in a part race/part sales competition during which various wrenches are thrown at the competitors.

The internet’s best food truck tracking website Roaming Hunger was of course out in full-force during the show’s trek through the city of Atlanta, and admittedly late in the game stop for the contestants.  In case you missed it (or just want to reward me with some extra page views), we managed to both SPOILER LINK breakdown the trucks that showed up and what happened as well as provide you with BIG SPOILER LINK a detailed display of the food.  Anyway, more details on the competitors, as well as the TV trailer … after the jump!

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More than a few people have taken notice of Rattletrap Street Coffee.  The mobile outlet for Chambers, Pair & Donchey Coffee Company has a habit of showing up at a lot of the popular street food events here in Atlanta.  Now, Allies for Razorfish has put together this little ditty for your educational enjoyment.  If you haven’t visited with the Rattletrap gang, you can find them simply by following them on twitter via @Rattletrap_ATL!

Tex’s Tacos, an Atlanta Tex-Mex food truck, is set to open a restaurant (of sorts).  Anyone driving on Roswell Road during off hours (aka non-meal time) near its intersection with Irby Ave. is likely to see the bright orange/yellow/red Tex’s Taco truck sitting in front of a tiny little building on a tiny plot of land.  That’s 3173 Roswell Rd and it currently serves as the prep kitchen for Mac Helms and Harrison Jones, Tex’s responsible folk.

Helms informed Roaming Hunger via twitter that duo plans to start serving food out of that location in one to two months.  It’s a relatively small location, so we suspect that this will be a walk-up eatery with no more than a few tables; however, we haven’t got any more information than what Helms told us.  In the meantime, be sure to keep up with Tex’s Tacos over on their Roaming Hunger profile page, where you’ll find pictures, tweets, and a location map to help you keep track of Tex’s at all times.  You can also follow the truck directly via @TexsTacos

Back in early June, The Great Food Truck Race came storming into Atlanta.  The Food Network’s food truck TV show was filming the penultimate episode of their season two competition.  Well, TFN has just released  the trailer (aka preview) for the upcoming season.  So all you food truck fans, mark your calendar as the show kicks off on August 14th at 10pm/9 central.  Oh, and for all of you anxious fans, check out Roaming Hunger’s recap of the Atlanta stop as well as my review of what came off the trucks.