Food Truck Quickie: Ta Bom

When my office moved, I moved away from a lot of my favorite lunch places including the one I lovingly referred to as my secret spot.  I’m dying for a Mendocino Farms sandwich! I also moved away from Drago Centro which unbelievably I’ve already lost my Foursquare mayorship. It’s only been 6 weeks! I suppose I’ll have to do some happy hours and dinners soon to make up for it!

The food scene at my new office building is somewhat dismal for a foodie. There’s a Subway, Mitaki–a terrible Japanese joint, a Trimana Express, a Starbucks and a Patina Market Cafe. I have only eaten at the Market Cafe and the Japanese place. I know there’s another Japanese place nearby but I am not fond of it either. I find the surrounding higher-end places a bit too expensive for an average lunch and the chain-y restaurants at nearby LA Live too horrible to contemplate except for The Farm and Fleming’s but again, not really your quickie lunch. I’ll save the rest for happy hour. I don’t think it’s open for lunch yet but it’ll be a very long time before I step foot into WP24.  The Danish bakery, Hygge, is great but I can only eat so many sandwiches. I could walk over to the Fashion district and eat at places like Wood Spoon but getting there and back would eat up half my lunch hour. I can’t do that every day.

So food trucks have been the answer. This week, I’ve eaten at 3 food trucks so far including one of my faves, the Manila Machine.

On Tuesday, my coworkers started buzzing there was a Brazilian truck parked out front. I asked if it was the Ta Bom truck and it was. I rushed out there but not before consulting a few blogs on what to get.

I ordered the hamburgao which is a thick patty topped with a fried egg…and potato sticks. As well as your usual cheese, onions, tomato and lettuce. Oh, and don’t forget there’s grilled corn as well. Wha? Yeah, all that. I thought it was great. Unfortunately for my coworker who ordered the exact same burger was way more undercooked. Mine came out about medium and hers was closer to rare than medium rare. She being not the food truck warrior I am decided not finish her burger.

I wonder if anyone else thinks these seasoned fries from Ta Bom taste exactly like Jack in the Box curly fries? I don’t eat fast food but every now and then I get a terrible craving for these fries. I consoled myself these would be healthier because JitB has yet to convert to a more heart-healthy oil.

We also got a pastel with banana and nutella. I would like to try the ones with meat next time which are reasonably priced at $4. I’ll probably also try the tacos as well if they are filled with yummy grilled Brazilian meat! I am wondering though if there is any chance of getting a Korean-Brazilian fusion taco (or has that been done to an excess?).

Ta Bom Truck

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