The nom nom truck is a food truck operating in LA and San Francisco that specializes in banh mi (Vietnamese sandwiches). It was one of the earlier food trucks in the LA scene, following right on the heels of the iconic Kogi truck that is often credited with starting the whole food truck scene.
You may have seen nom nom truck on Food Network's Great American Food Truck Race season 1, where they did pretty well!
It's run, in part, by Jen Green, an old friend from my UCLA days. Back then, we were both pre-meds working at the eye clinic to get some clinical experience. We both got into med schools, Jen in UCSD while I went to Case Western in Cleveland. Sometime, during Jen's med school career, she was convinced to try selling her banh mi (turns out that in addition to being good at medicine, she's good at cooking). It was a huge success, and she's now in the process of putting together quite a food empire!
Jen was nice enough to invite Jane and I to meet her in Santa Monica to sample some of her fine cuisine.
On her recommendation, I got the grilled pork and deli special banh mi.
Disclaimer: I modeled the sandwiches pretty poorly... though I did manage to take one good pic on the top of this blog entry. In all honesty, I was very anxious to eat because it smelled so very good.The freshly grilled pork is fantastic, cooked perfectly to have a satisfying crispy carmelized exterior with tender piggy goodness. Topped with pickled vegetables, jalapeno and cilantro and served on specially sourced bread with a generous dollop of homemade mayo... it's a perfect sandwich that satisfies the soul.
The one issue with the grilled pork is that unlike traditional banh mi, it doesn't automatically come with a spread of pate (which it turns out you can ask for). The deli special banh mi, however, does. In addition to pate, it has a variety of homemade deli meats including head cheese. This is definitely a flavor that will satisfy even the most ardent banh mi traditionalists. Having enjoyed many a banh mi myself (including in Hanoi), I would say these are probably some of the best sandwiches I've had in a long time.
For our gluten-sensitive readers, including my own tastybutton, they also make the same food in taco form (with corn tortillas!). They're also pretty fantastic and a perfect way to try the cuisine without eating too much. As a note, the bread is 50% rice flour, in case you wanna give it a try.
Talking with Jen, who was kind enough to hang out though the truck was very busy with the lunch rush, it was clear how much care and thought went into making these sandwiches. She talked of taking classes in bread making in Vietnam to see how it was done, and when I had mentioned the idea of using gluten free breads for Jane-types, I was surprised at how much she already knew of the options (she's tested a few brands but hasn't found anything that were deemed good enough.)Anyhow, if in LA, I'd highly recommend nom nom truck for a meal. It's delicious, satisfying, and a great deal!
I finish with a pic of Jen and my enormous head.
Thanks Jen!!!
-JK
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