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First Look at the Kimchi Taco Truck, Planning a Brooklyn Store As Well

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We first heard about the Kimchi Taco Truck back in October, and now partner Philip Lee, a former manager for BR Guest, tells us it’ll hit the road as soon as next week, though more likely the week after. Not only that, but Lee reveals he’s just signed a lease near Grand Army Plaza and will open a brick-and-mortar location when the weather turns. Sure, Korean tacos have become a national trend, and New York already has the Korilla truck, but Lee is banking on the bona fides of his chef-partner Youngstun Lee, a Momofuku alum who also worked in the BR Guest organization (as a chef at Ruby Foo’s) in addition to opening his own “kimchic” experiment, Persimmon.

After several months of research in Los Angeles and San Francisco, Phil Lee (no relation to Youngstun) has concluded that “a lot of the people who start up these trucks, the flavors don’t mesh that well. You can just slop kimchee on top of cheesesteak, but it doesn’t work — you have to make sure it gets sautéed properly and so forth and so on.” And yes, the truck will be serving kimcheesteaks along with occasional specials such as kimchee rice balls, kimchee ramen, and kimchee fried rice. As for the kimchee itself, Lee says it’s been “extra aged” for eight months, and though it will be prepared in a special climate-controlled “kimchee facility” at the new Brooklyn location, most of the other ingredients will be prepared aboard the truck. Follow it on Twitter for news of a launch date, and expect it to go from midtown to downtown five days a week, for lunch only at first, with nighttime service eventually coming to Brooklyn and Queens.

Kimchi Taco Truck menu [PDF ]

First Look at the Kimchi Taco Truck, Planning a Brooklyn Store As Well