Kogi truck rides on to more accolades; Viet Noodle Bar makes the Bon Appetit grade

The Kogi truck is one food trend that shows no sign of stalling out.

Kogi truck founders Caroline Shin-Manguera, Mark Manguera, and Roy Choi have been honored with a Bon Appetit award "for being true innovators as grassroots guerrilla restaurateurs."

When it comes to the intersection of food and technology, we love following Kogi, L.A.'s Korean barbecue taco truck; each day, fans are alerted to its location via Twitter and the blog kogibbq.com. Founded by Mark Manguera, Caroline Shin-Manguera, and Roy Choi, Kogi is for the kalbi lover on the go. With the grill helmed by pedigreed executive chef Choi, expect multi-culti innovative weekly specials like Brie-stuffed French toast and kimchi puerco pupusas in addition to stalwarts like short-rib tacos and spicy beef tacos. Not in the mood to track down the truck? Kogi has found a bricks-and-mortar home in Culver City's Alibi Room. But we love Kogi most of all for bringing high-concept, creative cuisine directly to the streets. Find out the rest of the winners of the 12th Annual Bon Appetit Awards here.

Also in the Bon Appetit spotlight: The Viet Noodle Bar tops its list of the nation's Top 10 noodle joints:

For many, their first taste of Vietnamese food is pho. This satisfying soup is made with various meats, seafood, and rice noodles. At this Atwater Village noodle bar, pho comes topped with ingredients like organic chicken and cilantro. 3133 Glendale Boulevard; 323-906-1575; vietnoodlebar.com

--Rene Lynch

Photo: the Kogi truck; credit: Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times

Sampler Platter: Pane e Vino and stylish burgers

Midweek roundup of food bites featuring a burger shaped like a shoe, a documentary about food stamps and a local band's foray to a noodle bar.

• Blackburn & Sweetzer digs into Pane e Vino's bar menu.
• New documentary “Food Stamped” explores whether you can eat healthy on food stamps. The Ethicurean
• Forget burger porn. Get a load of burger fashion. Fork in the Road
• What members of Castledoor ordered at Viet Noodle Bar. Atwater Village Newbie

-- Elina Shatkin

Photo: Los Angeles Times.

Sampler Platter: Malt loaves, lobsters, luxury burgers and 'Food, Inc.'

Malt loaves, luxury burgers, tobacco regulations and the evils of agribusiness in today's roundup of food news.

• "Food, Inc.," an upcoming doc about the influence of agribusiness on America's food supply, is generating tons of buzz and has so far scored 82 on Metacritic (but based on only four reviews). David Edelstein of New York magazine: "The sheer scale of the movie is mind-blowing.... It's the documentary equivalent of 'The Matrix': It shows us how we're living in a simulacrum, fed by machines run by larger machines with names like Monsanto, Perdue, Tyson, and the handful of other corporations that make everything."
• Man finds dead mouse embedded in a "malt loaf." With photo. BBC
• 10 most expensive hamburgers in the U.S. -- includes Spago and Taste. Forbes Traveler
• Sen. Edward Kennedy's bill giving FDA regulatory power over tobacco products is about to pass. Boston Globe
• Atwater Village Newbie posts rumors that the Atwater Village Farmers Market may be in jeopardy because Wells Fargo may start opening on Sundays.
• Yellow lobster caught in Canada is a 1-in-30-million rarity. Associated Press
• Norman Brinker, who created Steak & Ale and Bennigan's  and transformed Chili's into a fast-casual juggernaut, dies at 78. WFAA

-- Elina Shatkin

Photo: Fiona, a rare yellow lobster (rare because she's yellow before she's been cooked) sits among ordinary lobsters. Credit: Julia Cumes / Associated Press

Sampler Platter: BBQ in Westwood & Atwater Village, ramen in NY and more

It's Monday, but this food news might make you feel less blue ...

• Westwood Brewing Company "will try to shed its college bar label as it converts into a "serious" BBQ joint." Eater LA
• We've heard that the lines are long for Bigmista's Barbecue at the Atwater Village farmer's market, and Atwater Village Newbie confirms it.
• "Momofuku is a gentrified abomination of a ramen shop with food peddled to New York diners who really ought to know better." The Rameniac
• The Locavore's dilemma: What to do with the kale, turnips and parsley that overwhelm your community-supported agriculture bin. Slate
• Polish member of Parliament fails drunk-driving test. Claims he ate too many apples that fermented in his stomach. Metro UK
• Tonight at the Astor Center in N.Y., Le Bernardin chef Eric Ripert and and New York Times writer Christine Muhlke will be doing a big event around their new book, "On The Line," a behind-the-scenes look at how Ripert's famed restaurant runs. The Feedbag

-- Elina Shatkin

Photo:  Hannah Geddis, 30, savors Memphis-style baby back ribs at Gus's Barbecue in South Pasadena. Credit: Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times