I was walking on Veteran just outside of my apartment talking to my lovely girlfriend, Alana, on the phone. I had been sluggish all day. Then, I saw the Kogi truck, that Korean BBQ Taco Truck so loved by this blog, driving down the street. I still haven't gotten to eat one yet, mind you. I've seen it a few times. Once, I showed up a couple minutes too late. So you can imagine my excitement when on a completely regular day, a kind of crappy day even, I see it drive by. Thankfully, there was a red light at Veteran/Gayley, and I got to ask him where he was parking. "Gayley/Kelton," the driver told me. It was so great just to ask him that, to even think the thought, "where is my food going?" I was thrown into a frenzy. I ran inside, got my shoes, and hurried over to the spot. A small crowd had gathered, and someone was parked on Gayley to save a spot for the truck. After pulling off on to Kelton to do what looked like some quick repairs, Kogi pulled into the spot, the driver told everyone that it would only be another five minutes. Ten minutes later, things took a turn for the worse.
The police showed up.
Apparently, it's illegal to park a taco truck less than 100 ft from an intersection, and for some reason, taco trucks can only stay in residential areas for thirty minutes (a law was passed last year that prohibits trucks from parking anywhere for more than an hour). Why wouldn't you want this in front of your house? WHO MADE THS HEINOUS LAW?! I had a fantasy that while the officer was writing the ticket, the Kogi driver would disappear into the back of the truck only to return with a pair of tasty tacos that the officer would then take a bite of, rip up his tickets, and shout, "hey, you guys aren't so bad after all! Tacos all night!" Of course, it didn't happen that way.
The officer wasn't malicious, really. I mean, he understood he was disappointing some people, but he handed the ticket to the driver with a wry smile, calmly explained the laws to him, and told him that he could park somewhere else.
Anyway, the crowd tried to keep the dream alive. We found a potential spot up Veteran. I even tried to get one of my house's parking permits so that it could pull into the huge spot in front of 415 1/2, but the truck never came. I was on the phone with Alana the whole time. "You're like a hunter," she said. "You're chasing your food." I loved hearing that. I mean, not like I was really hunting for the food. I had no idea what was for dinner, nor was I even particularly hungry for it, until the truck passed by. But at that moment, I knew. The decision was made for me. I got hunted, sort of.
Too bad I didn't get to eat one. I didn't get the fairy tale ending. I mean, I could just go to the stationary Kogi and grab some tacos there, but why? One day, my dream will be fulfilled. I will see my dinner driving by, follow it, and get served hot bbq tacos from a truck. It can't happen any other way.
1 comment:
There's a nationwide crackdown. Read this LAtimes article.
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