NRA Dispatches: The Kogi BBQ Truck and Cheap Booze

Even if you’re sick to death of the NRA show, muster together a last gasp to hit up the Korean Pavllion (booth 6848) today at 11 a.m. for a taste of Los Angeles’s cult-favorite Kogi BBQ Taco Truck. Chefs Roy Choi, Mark Manguera, and Caroline Shin will distribute samples of their Korean-fusion tacos loaded down with pork, short ribs, and chicken. [KogiBBQ]

What other restaurant wonderment has the show brought to our attention?

• Dry-aged pork chops just might be the new dry-aged beef, if Minnesota’s Compart Family Farms has anything to say about it. [Tribune]

• Rick Bayless of Frontera Grill agitated for the tomatillo, not the tomato, as the ideal salsa foundation vegetable. [Chicago Foodies]

• Carol Wallack and Sola won the NRA BBQ Challenge. [@cwallack/Twitter]

• Beer and spirits are no longer considered recession-proof, which means lower prices and broader selections for consumers. [Floored]

• In order to survive, restaurants need to provide more than just good food. They must also give customers an above-and-beyond experience, whether it’s molecular gastronomy or flight-harnessed wine stewards. [Hotels Mag]

• Technology is taking over: an eerily intelligent “Rational Self-Cooking Center” demonstrated its ability to make perfect fried chicken without actually frying it, and paper coupons are being eclipsed by codes you can carry on your phone. [Chicago Foodies]

• Lower attendance (thanks, economy!) had a silver lining: with fewer spectators and lower-rung business types clogging the show floor, buying and selling was easier for industry attendees. [QSR]

[Photo: a BBQ chicken Kogi taco, via their official site]

NRA Dispatches: The Kogi BBQ Truck and Cheap Booze