Gourmet Mobile Dining on the Peninsula

While I haven’t written that much lately about gourmet food trucks, I’m still a devoted truck chaser.  In doing my weekly research, I accidentally discovered an event in Rolling Hills Estates on the Palos Verdes Peninsula sponsored by Peninsula Educational Foundation.

The scene upon arrival

The scene upon arrival.

One of the trucks I follow included the event flyer and I was amazed to find out how many trucks would be nearby.  The list included:

Wow!  With the exception of Vizzi and Nonna’s Kitchenette, I’ve experienced food from all of the other trucks.

Local students volunteer to help support the event.

Local students volunteer to help support the event.

The event was located at the Promenade on the Peninsula.  A section of the parking lot behind the Marmalade Café was sectioned off for the trucks.  The event was run by the Peninsula Education Foundation and a portion of the truck’s receipts went to help the local Palos Verdes schools.  It was nice to see a lot of families present; even young children.  What I liked more was the fact that some of the local students donated their time to help out at the event.

margheritz wood fire pizza

Margherita wood fire pizza.

Cousins Maine Lobster already had a line at 5:30!

Cousins Maine Lobster already had a line at 5:30!

Kids love pizza and so my daughter was drawn to Urban Oven.  They feature Napoletana wood fired pizza.  So what is Napoletana pizza?  Napoletana Pizza is based on the use of simple ingredients: type “00” Italian flour, San Marzano tomatoes, fresh yeast, mozzarella, herbs, and purified water.  My daughter ordered the margherita pizza.  They also have quattro formaggi, pepperoni and prosciutto grape.

The carne asada and pulled chicken soft tacos from Hang 10

The carne asada and pulled chicken soft tacos from Hang 10.

My wife picked up food from 3 different trucks. She ordered the basic soft tacos from Hang 10 tacos (carne asada and ‘pulled chicken’).  She then ordered 4 empanadas from Chambalache and capped it off by purchasing an apple cobbler from Sweet Wheels.  My daughter was rather disappointed that we didn’t wait around to order their famous beignets.

In case you didn't know, Vizzi is listed in Zagat's top 10 food trucks in LA!

In case you didn’t know, Vizzi is listed in Zagat’s top 10 food trucks in LA!

garlic shrimp, bourbon pork and kung pao soft tacos

Garlic shrimp, bourbon pork and kung pao soft tacos.

Confit potato w/ horseradish, bacon and green onions

Confit potato w/ horseradish, bacon and green onions.

The Vizzi Truck is well established; in fact, it’s 3 years old this month.  I’m not sure how I managed to miss the truck as it used to be a semi-regular at South Bay DinDinAGoGo.  Their menu is quite ambitious and I felt like ordering everything.  I ended up ordering 3 tacos: kung pao chicken, honey glazed ‘Maker’s Mark’ bourbon pork tacos and garlic shrimp tacos.

So what was our impression of the food?

My daughter enjoyed the margherita pizza.  While we ordered our food to go, she ended up eating her pizza before we left the event.  I asked her whether which pizza she enjoyed more: Urban Oven or TJ’s Wood Fire Pizza.  She said hands down – TJ’s and I agreed with her.  TJ’s crust is so light and crisp; it’s hard to describe the entire experience.

Beef, Chicken, Spinach and Ham & Cheese empanadas

Beef, Chicken, Spinach and Ham & Cheese empanadas.

Based on my wife’s reactions, I’d say that she enjoyed the empanadas:  beef, chicken, spinach, and ham and cheese in that order.  The beef was rather tasty; full of vibrant spices, olives and chopped green peppers.  I think her second favorite was the apple cobbler.  It was freshly baked and the top was super crispy.  They included ‘to go’ cups with caramel sauce and whipped cream.  The caramel sauce, she said, put it over the top!  Despite packing the food ‘to go’, the food traveled well.

My Vizzi ‘smorgasbord’ did not disappoint.  Each of my three tacos was amazing.  The thought of kung pao didn’t do anything for me, but the additions made it quite tasty: pickled onions, drunken red cabbage, panela cheese, chimichurri crème and chili sauce.  The garlic shrimp taco was accompanied with tarragon remoulade, cabbage and chimichurri crème.  By far my favorite was the pork taco.  The Makers Mark bourbon must have made the difference.  Full of flavor and it did not have any hint of bourbon.  Included was melted brie, apples, roasted corn and diced tomatoes.

Apple Cobbler before the caramel sauce and whipped cream was added.

Apple Cobbler before the caramel sauce and whipped cream was added.

This event is held on the 2nd Thursday of each month at this location.  It’s unfortunate that we don’t have more regular events in the other South Bay beach cities.

Information about the Peninsula Educational Foundation may be found at http://www.pvpef.org.

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Follow Bryan on twitter for the latest and greatest in food trucks and street food. @btsunoda.

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