Grilled Cheese Truck to roll out in early October in Los Angeles

It seems so obvious, it’s hard to believe no one thought of it sooner. Of course Los Angeles needs a grilled cheese truck. Thanks to Dave Danhi, it's about to get one.

Capitalizing on the success of two hot food trends -- nouveau food trucks and gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches-- Danhi plans to launch the Grilled Cheese Truck in early October, provided the permitting and inspection process runs smoothly.

For its initial rollout, the Grilled Cheese Truck will feature a menu of four to five standard sandwiches, including a plain grilled cheese sandwich on your choice of wheat or white bread; a caprese made with heirloom tomatoes, buffalo mozzarella and fresh basil; and a California melt made with smoked turkey, avocado, bacon, tomato, Monterey jack and cheddar. There will also be a specialty sandwich of the week (perhaps a triple-cream brie with brown-buttered apples and sage on walnut-raisin bread) and one or two dessert sandwiches (perhaps vanilla-poached apricots with mascarpone or goat cheese). Sides will include fresh tomato soup, house-made sweet-and-spicy pickles and either tater tots or fries (he's taking votes via Twitter). The menu is still in flux. He's trying to keep the price point for every item under five dollars and may serve the specialty sandwiches as sliders.

Perhaps the most unlikely aspect of the Grilled Cheese Truck's gooey road to fruition is that the man who started it admits he's never much cared for grilled cheese.

Nom Nom Truck rolls out banh mi mobile today

The trio behind the Nom Nom Truck, which begins its first week of service today, are only in their 20s, but even before they launched their banh mi mobile, they were busy being entrepreneurs.

Marisa Chien, 23, was still a sophomore when she started a jewelry business out of her dorm room. David Stankunas, 27, founded and runs websites selling novelty knit caps and poker-themed bling. The most culinary-minded member of the group, Jennifer Green, 24, is currently a grad student in ophthalmology. The three met at the UCLA HAPA Club.

I had a chance to talk with Chien and Stankunas a few months ago while working on a story about the new wave of food trucks in Los Angeles. They tell me that the Nom Nom Truck had a relatively short trip from conception to inception and was, unsurprisingly, inspired by Kogi.

"I consider them the godfather of the mobile food truck movement," Stankunas says. "I started hearing more about them, and I applied [that idea] to something I've been wanting to do for a long time in West L.A.: Vietnamese sandwiches."

Bellying up to Kentucky Fried Chicken's double down

We were dubious when we first read that Kentucky Fried Chicken was coming out with a new sandwich that does away with the bread in favor of two fried fillets. And that the "sandwich" part of the sandwich involved was made of cheese, something called Colonel's sauce .. and bacon?

Could that possibly be true?

After all, this was the fast-food chain that seemed to be going all healthy on us, setting off stampedes for its new grilled chicken offerings.

We lobbed a call to a media representative. And the rest is a good news-bad news story. First, the good news. The sandwich does indeed exist, and it is called the double down. It is made of two Original Recipe fillets, bacon, Swiss and pepper jack cheese and something called the Colonel's sauce.

The bad news? The sandwich is only being tested in Providence, R.I., and Omaha, Neb. But if it does well  -- and really, why wouldn't this sandwich do well? -- it could head out West. 

-- Rene Lynch

Photo: Kentucky Fried Chicken

Philly cheese steak truck to roll through L.A.

South Philly-style cheese steaks will be the next item joining Los Angeles' ever-expanding roster of nouveau food trucks. The South Philly Experience is set to roll out  in two to three weeks -- if all goes as planned for cousins Jonathan Salvatore and Scott Springfield. The pair now live in Santa Monica but grew up "just across the bridge from Philly" in south New Jersey.

As its name suggests, the South Philly Experience will offer South Philadelphia-inspired sandwiches: meatball subs, chicken cutlets, pulled pork with broccoli rabe and, of course, cheese steaks. Made on bread that will be shipped from the popular Amoroso's Baking Co. in Philadelphia, the sandwiches will cost $8 to $11. 

"Out here, we can't find the sandwiches we're used to back home," Salvatore says. "Our sandwiches will all have homemade, authentic, fresh ingredients. There's nothing frozen or pre-made about them." 

You can also get a side of French fries, and to please East Coast transplants hungry for a treat that's rare in Southern California, dessert will come in the form of Tastykakes. Specifically, the truck will sell Peanut Butter Kandy Kakes, Butterscotch Krimpets and chocolate cupcakes.

-- Elina Shatkin

Photo: Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times

Official details on Hollywood's Mercantile and District emerge

George Abou-Daoud is on quite a winning streak. With the Bowery, Mission Cantina and Delancey under his belt, the N.Y.C. transplant has created some of Hollywood’s most inviting taverns. Now, he's poised to strike again with Mercantile, slated to open at 6600 Sunset Blvd. in early September. And this time he’s bringing along critically acclaimed chef Kris Morningstar (Blue Velvet, A.O.C., Patina) along for the ride.

“It’s equal parts gourmet marketplace, daytime café and nighttime wine bar,” says Abou-Daoud, who describes the space as having an “urban-country, old-world feel with high ceilings, original brick walls, raw wood accents and a carbon steel-topped bar.” There are also glass cases displaying charcuterie, cheese, salads and sandwiches as well as shelves stocked with wine, dried pasta, olives and mustard.

Expect a menu of classics with an “artisanal spin.” For example: a pumpkin-seed butter and preserves sandwich served on country white bread; or a Reuben made with pastrami, Gruyère, house-made sauce and sauerkraut slaw on Russian rye bread.

In addition, Abou-Daoud promises a global selection of wines, with glasses starting at $7.

What about District, the restaurant opening next door to Mercantile? Abou-Daoud and Morningstar are opening that together too, and they say to expect seasonal bistro fare and creative cocktails. We’re especially curious to taste the sea urchin and bay scallop gratin.

-- Alexandra Le Tellier

Photo: Abou-Daoud's Delancey and Mission Cantina reside next door to each other, just as Mercantile and District will. Credit: DeeDee DeGelia for Metromix

Sampler Platter: Classic Julia Child, CandyCots, bacon cheddar, insane sandwiches and amazing food art

Regarding the bacon cheddar cheese in the photo, all we can say is: Why didn't someone think of this sooner? And now, a dose of food news to kick off your week.

• Food as spectator sport: Michael Pollan ruminates on the concurrent rise in the popularity of cooking shows and the decline of cooking in American kitchens. New York Times
• Glasgow chef claims chicken tikka masala originated in Scotland. Indian Express
• How to make the ketchup at Umami. Plus, 15 delicious versions of the classic hamburger in Saveur magazine's "Burger Bible" issue.
• Totally amazing Mona Lisa, made from 3,604 cups of coffee with varying amounts of cream. The Daily What
• With “Julie and Julia” set to open Aug. 7, PBS serves up a slew of classic Julia Child cooking shows: cheese souffles, elegant eggs, roasted veal chops, sweetbreads and more.
• Gastronomy digs newly opened Cham Korean Bistro, an antidote to the "mostly soulless chains" that dot Pasadena.
• Eating L.A. digs Ricardo's Fish Tacos stand outside Le Barcito in Silver Lake.
• The Rubix Cubewich: the sandwich equivalent of a Rubik's Cube. Insanewiches
• An oldie but a goodie: "Sandwiches That You Will Like." WQED
• CandyCots, a brand of new super-sweet apricots, might be the next fruit craze. Brand X

-- Elina Shatkin

Photo: Rob Takata / For The Times

Sampler Platter: pelted by sandwiches, blue food dye & Iron Man's donuts

If a British synth-pop band attacks another British synth pop musician and doesn't say anything about it for 20 years, did it really happen? Apparently it did.

• We know this much is true: 20 years after terrorizing 80s pop star Howard Jones by pelting him with sandwiches while backstage at a Belgian awards show, the members of Spandau Ballet have apologized. The Press Association
• Can blue food dye protect your spine? Possibly, if you're a rat. U.S. News & World Report
• Sunnin, a much-loved Lebanese hole-in-the-wall in Westwood, will re-open on Aug. 1 in greatly expanded digs right across the street. Eater LA
• Reports from Comic-Con say that "Iron Man 2" opens with Robert Downey Jr.'s character eating donuts while perched in the middle of Randy's donut hole. TMZ
• The nation's obesity-related health costs could be as high as $147 billion. NPR
• Little Next Door gets a bar. Blackburn + Sweetzer
• Nanotechnology is the new genetic modification in the food science world. Boston.com
• Top TV & movie chefs. Chicago Tribune

--Elina Shatkin

Photo: Howard Jones (left) was once pelted with sammies but not the innocent pan bagnat at right. Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times.

Sampler Platter: Fried chicken, type-A sandwiches and summer salads

Thank goodness it's Friday's food news roundup...

• Guests taking the 10-finger discount at restaurants. Squid Ink
• The secret to your inner self is located in a sandwich. Chicago Tribune 
• "If the human tongue has a secret password, then [the McGriddle] is the code. How the preference for bacon wrapped in sweet pancakes is an unfortunate side effect of human evolution." We're doomed. Science Blogs 
• KyoChon's fried chicken is coming to the Glendale Galleria. Tropico Station 
• 101 summer salads. (To eat after your McGriddle.) New York Times 
• Cocaine-laced Skittles. News4Jax
• Comedian Michael Ian Black shills for Klondike with a series of amusing videos.
• Invent your own potato chip in Kettle's Create-a-Chip Challenge.

-- Elina Shatkin

Photo: Fried chicken wings with cabbage salad and pickled radish. Credit: Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times

Sandwiches gone global: Finding ethnic L.A. between two pieces of bread

As soon as you place your order at Pita Pocketsin Northridge, a cook slaps a soft round of dough onto the wall of a blazing tandoor-like oven. After a few moments, a bubbly disk of laffa, catacombed with air pockets and rich with yeasty char, is ready to be filled. Next a counterman slathers the chewy flatbread with lemony hummus, then loads it with grilled vegetables or juicy marinated kebabs.

The hefty hand-held feast -- just one culture's take on the sandwich -- doesn't quite fit the dictionary's narrow definition: "food between slices of bread," but in L.A.'s sandwich universe this stuffed laffa has lots of delicious company.

Take pav bhaji, the Mumbai street vendor's answer to burgers. The rich vegetable curry, mounded onto slider-style buns, draws droves of homesick expats to Little India's snack shops. Mexico's mighty pambazo, a chile-sauce-drenched roll heaped with chorizo and potato filling, then drizzled with crema, is finding its way onto more and more menus. And gua bao, a steamed round of flatbread folded over great slabs of juicy roasted pork -- the Chinese equivalent of a towering pastrami on rye -- was rarely found outside Taiwanese dives and Chinese bakeries until its recent appearance at Take a Bao in Century City, where the fillings run to spicy Thai peanut chicken and pomegranate glazed steak.

To read the full story, filled with delicious details and a gorgeous gallery, click here.

-- Linda Burum

Photo credit: Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times

Mozzarella, saucy tofu and the sad facts about counting calories

 

More L.A. Times Food news:

From Travel: Italy's Campania region is where fresh mozzarella roams. Near Naples is where you'll find the real thing: silky-soft cheese from unpasteurized buffalo milk. Eat it on its own and, preferably, as soon as you buy it.

From National: All Kelley Coffman-Lee wanted to do was broadcast her love of tofu to the driving public.
So the Colorado vegan applied to the state's Department of Revenue for a vanity license plate for her Suzuki SL7 carrying the message: ILVTOFU. Request denied. Why? "It could be misinterpreted in a way that suggests that she likes something other than tofu," explained revenue department spokesman Mark Couch.

 

From Health: Counting calories is a tough math problem.  Losing weight is nothing but a numbers game. If the number of calories burned is greater than the number of calories consumed -- bingo! Weight loss.

-- Rene Lynch

Photo credit: Susan Spano / Los Angeles Times