LA Food Truck Reviews #1: Okamoto Kitchen

I've been meaning to publish a new post, and here it is.  My first food review on my blog in a long time!  I have recently taken to Yelp to post some of my reviews, but I figured that it was about time to get back into what I missed.  As such, I will try to review some of Los Angeles' Food Trucks, that I happen to stumble upon.

A few months ago, I read a Buzzfeed article on the "19 Best Food Trucks in L.A."  I followed all of their Twitter accounts in order to find out their locations, so that if I were ever in the area of any of them, I would stop by.  Over the months, I've continued to add more accounts to my list of notifications and when I stumbled upon @Okamoto Kitchen, I knew I had to follow.  Today I had the privilege to try them out as they parked by Eagle Rock Boulevard, 3 minutes away from Occidental College.  I ordered the Nom Bomb Sandwich and the Okamoto Curry Plate.

Okamoto Kitchen parked on Eagle Rock Blvd

The Nom Bomb Sandwich is a lightly fried-chicken (or tofu) sandwich with shredded cabbage, teriyaki sauce, tartar sauce and jalapenos on a toasted brioche bun.  It's like the menu says, both sweet and sour, due to the teriyaki sauce and the tartar sauce.  It is/was a good sandwich.  It tasted great, was very filling and had good texture as a result of the cabbage and the fried chicken.  It wasn't really "Bomby", or what I assumed it to be, spicy.  The jalapenos was not spicy at all, and while it did provide a crunch, I expected some more heat.  Maybe a different sauce combination, something that had a bit more kick.  This could be a spicy mayo mixture, or adding sriracha into the tartar sauce, or even something into the chicken.  I liked it though.  This was a good sandwich and would definitely order again.

Nom Bomb Sandwich (not a flattering photo I understand)

The Okamoto Curry Plate is normally curry with some rice and shredded cheese on top.  I opted for no cheese and added a Chicken Katsu to it.  As I was speaking with the owner, he described the curry as being extremely rich and deep.  He said it was their oufuu curry, a Japanese curry that has a more European influence.  Their base is a veal stock that comes together with spices and other ingredients to make this deep and rich thick roux.  It was amazing.  Not sweet, like Japanese curry that I'm used to/grew up with, but full of flavor.  It was very filling and very hearty.  Something I would eat on a cool day like it was.  It had a great subtle kick.  It wasn't overpowering, but I could feel the heat as I continued to eat.  I just wish there was a small palate cleanser with it.  Maybe some Beni shōga or pickled ginger, or even shibazuke, which is pickled cucumber and eggplant (though I may be biased to that choice as it is one of my favorites).  The curry did look a bit oily, but that's only probably because I didn't eat my curry until 30 minutes after purchasing it.  The beef chunks and the chicken was extremely flavorful and worked very well with the curry.  I would definitely order it again.

Okamoto Curry Plate (also not flattering, you can see the oil though)

All in all, it was a good meal.  I probably would've been satisfied with just one or the other, but I wanted to order what I thought were their flagship products and I came away deeply satisfied.  Next time they're around, I would be happy to stop by.  Their website is linked about and their Twitter feed is @Okamoto Kitchen.

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