Truckin'

Sam Choy Opening Pineapple Express Truck in July

Sam Choy's Pineapple Express truck
Sam Choy’s Pineapple Express truck Photo: Pineapple Express via Twitter

One doesn’t have to look very far to get their hands on Pineapple Express around here, but Sam Choy doesn’t wanna hear that. The burly James Beard winner, whose name rings synonymous with Hawaiian cooking and the poke contest he created, is opening the Pineapple Express food truck in L.A. this July with help from friend and consulting chef, Jeff Mora, who cooked for The Lakers until recently. The truck will serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner, as well as enable local night-owls, with conscious and creative Island dishes bearing an authentic backbone, whether in a sandwich of slow-cooked, tea and banana-leaf-wrapped Kalua pork rubbed in Hawaiian sea salt and served on King’s Hawaiian rolls, or a chopped salad of bok choy, romaine, red and Napa cabbage, edamame, and candied macadamias called “Maui Wowie.” What else?

We’d like to pretend our devotion wasn’t already captured by that Kalua pork sandwich, but Choy is also going big on poke, of course, with several renditions of the sweet, slick raw fish dish. Choy will offer poke in slider form, in wraps, and bowls, and even in a poke parfait. The truck promises to go local, grass-fed, and sustainable as far as it can.

And as you can expect from a Hawaiian food truck with a weed reference in the name, there’s plenty of Cheech-and-Chongy humor coming along for the ride. In addition to the Maui Wowie, you’ll find Choy’s firecraker rice with “magic mushrooms,” a sauce called “da kine,” and a tropical fruit sauce named for the truck’s titular herb strain. Basically, it should fit right in.

Choy’s Pineapple Express is due to hit the streets in July, with both menus and an opening date still to be finalized. Soon, you’ll be able to track the truck’s movements on Twitter and through its website. After all, it’s been awhile since we looked forward to a new food truck this much.

Sam Choy Opening Pineapple Express Truck in July