Trends

The Times Arrives Late to the Korean Taco Party

Dennis Lee at S.F.'s Namu.
Dennis Lee at S.F.’s Namu. Photo: Noah Berger/NYT

First there was Kogi, then there was Koi Fusion in Portland, Hankook Taqueria in Atlanta, Kung Fu Tacos in S.F., West Coast Tacos in Indianapolis, Oaxaca in Brooklyn, Taco Chino in Chicago, and a legion of Kogi imitators in SoCal. Now that California especially is already tiring of the trend, the Gray Lady deems Korean tacos worthy of a few column inches — the same month that Roy Choi appears in Food & Wine’s Best New Chefs. “It’s a 21st-century paradox,” writes the Times, “that Korean food, still considered exotic by many Americans, has begun to gain widespread acceptance, when wrapped in a Mexican flatbread and topped with taco truck embellishments.”

It’s with no shortage of irony that Namu in S.F. now has “real Korean tacos” on the menu, which aren’t Mexican at all, but feature kalbi and sesame rice topped with kimchi remoulade and daikon salsa, folded into toasted seaweed pouches. Shouldn’t the Times admit their slowness to this trend when they have to include an example of second-wave backlash?

The Tortilla Takes a Road Trip to Korea [NYT]
Earlier: How to Market Any Eatery Using Korean Tacos [Grub Street LA]

The Times Arrives Late to the Korean Taco Party