Kogi, has taken a fixture of California cuisine culture, the taco truck, and added a Korean twist and a big dose of Twitter.
"Roach Coaches" as their popularly known, have seen a duo of Korean BBQ-inspired trucks added to their ranks in Los Angeles.
But it's not only the master chef created menu and great food that has brought Kogi it fanatical following and fame. They have "Tweeted" their way to international stardom and are showing restaurateurs how to find new customers during a recession.
It certainly worked. The only way you can find out where the Kogi trucks are going to be is through Twitter. But it's more than glorified tracking device, locals describe the phenomenon as more like a "roving party."
Or as brand director Mike Prasad says, " We wanted to create a single place where fans could gather. We had to create a home for them. Twitter was a natural fit." The plan worked. Since launching in November, Kogi has attracted more than 15,000 followers on Twitter (http://twitter.com/kogibbq).
So how did the romance that led to the marriage of tacos and Korean BBQ begin?
According to founder, thirty-year-old Mark Manguera, he was sitting with his 25-year-old sister-in-law, Alice Shin, one night after the restaurant was closed. They were sharing some Champagne and tacos when the taste of L.A.'s most ubiquitous street food caused him to have a drunken revelation. "I'm biting into my taco and it dawned on me, 'Alice, wouldn't it be great if someone put Korean barbecue on a taco?,' " recalls Manguera, who is Filipino but married into a Korean family.
All of us that travel in circles populated with chefs and winemakers have heard and/or come up thousands of "great new restaurant/food product ideas."
But Manguera followed through. He got a taco-truck and brought in former RockSugar chef Roy Choi as a partner, and he enlisted friends and family to begin blogging, branding and Twittering on his behalf.
The result: The Kogi Korean BBQ roving vehicle which has become a social-networking role model, drawing 300 to 800 people each time it parks and creating a Deadhead like group of cyber-followers affectionately known as "Kogi kulture."
And wine pairing ideas, gang? Tweet your twittering, whispering tip monger at
http://twitter.com/winewhisperer
