Tofu-Chili Kimchi Tacos… Via Twitter

Whenever I’m traveling, I’m eager to try the foods of a new place no matter where they’re served; seat me at a restaurant with white-linen tablecloths or an oilcloth-covered table in a plastic lawn chair, and I’ll eat whatever is in front of me. But my favorite kind of eating doesn’t involves seating at all, the al fresco dining offered by a street vendors is my choice way try authentic eats.* Of course, this kind of dining can also be elusive, as it’s apt to pack up and drive away, or move to another corner without warning. So I was psyched to learn that a new form of traveling food truck has emerged in Los Angeles. Both the LA Times and the New York Times have reported that Kogi Korean BBQ has created a brilliant business model which enables the hungry masses to track their truck via Twitter (@kogibbq). The New York Times piece describes the craze:

The food at Kogi Korean BBQ-To-Go, the taco vendor that has overtaken

Los Angeles, does not fit into any known culinary category. One man

overheard on his cellphone as he waited in line on a recent night said

it best: “It’s like this Korean-Mexican-fusion thing of crazy

deliciousness.”

All of which makes me think that the Twitter idea for street food make

a lot of sense.

I still wake up at night craving the cinnamon and sugar

churros, complete with a creamy caramel center, that I stumbled upon

while in Cabo San Lucas last year. When I sought them out later in the

week, I was unable to find them, and left Mexico longing for another

taste. So far, in my preliminary look on Twitter, I’ve been able to

find the Rickshaw Dumpling Bar Truck (@RickshawTruck), which will more than satiate your dumpling needs in New York and Brooklyn (yum!), and the Treats Truck (@TheTreatsTruck) that serves up cookies and pastries throughout Manhattan. There’s also Wafels & Dinges in NYC (@waffletruck), and the Goodie Truck in Pittsburgh (@TheGoodieTruck). I’ve also come across a list of restaurants using Twitter (updates on specials mostly seem to be their tweets) and the great app Urbanspoon (@urbanspoon) can be followed on Twitter too.

Know of a street food vendor that has a Twitter account or one that you think could benefit from one? Where have you found some of your favorite streetside

eateries and which do you most crave?  

*Eating street food does have its risks, of course, so make sure you’ve asked some locals –

and visitors – to find out whether the food will agree with you.

Read More: The benefits of traveling while Twittering.