Irvine: Swinging Kitchen, Piaggio on Wheels

A popular Wednesday night spot is the Irvine Lanes, better known as “OC Dindinagogo”. Martin was meeting up with friends, so he grabbed some food to go, and didn’t let me take any photos.

I stayed behind to chat with other foodies, and to try the Tofu Lettuce Wrap and the Pork  Bellies Lettuce Wrap from Swinging Kitchen. I also went to Piaggioonwheels and ordered an Argentine steak taco and a Caprese empanada.

Caprese empanada & Argentine skirt steak taco from Piaggio
Tofu lettuce wrap & Pork Belly lettuce wrap from Swinging Kitchen
Advertisement

Irvine: Ranchan Ramen

My sister Becky is my weekly guest blogger, reporting on food trucks

from the Teller & Michelson lunch lot in Irvine, CA. 


Today’s truck gathering included BOTG, Lime Truck, Dos Chinos, Rancho A Go Go, Burnt Truck, Lee’s Philly, Bakery Truck and Oh For Sweet’s Sake. Piaggio’s was unable to attend today due to a private event they were hosting.


Last week,a mysterious bright pink truck pulled up to the lot just as I was leaving. Today, I discovered that it was a new (just a month-old!) truck called Ranchan Ramen. They took over the previous WYSS truck up in Los Angeles.


As their name suggests, the Ranchan Ramen truck serves different kinds of ramen with various toppings (corn, bamboo shoots, etc) you can add for an additional charge. They also serve different types of skewers and other commonly recognized Japanese appetizers. I ordered the “Ranchan Special” ramen and a side of their gyoza.


Ranchan Ramen is definitely experiencing common problems for a new truck. For starters, the very nice girl who took my order below wasn’t very familiar with the menu, and had to confirm with Eddie or Enrique when customers asked about their food. Then, there was a mix-up in the orders to where four of us waiting for our food had to wait a little longer before our orders were corrected. Eddie did apologize for the delay and I wasn’t in a rush to get back to the office, so it was not much of an inconvenience for me. I do wish them the best and hope they are able to work out the kinks as quickly as possible.

Ranchan “Special” ramen



Ranchan Ramen gyoza



Los Alamitos: Shortstopbbq

I remember when this food truck gathering was the hidden gem of Tuesday nights. Looks like the secret is out, and even local fire & law enforcement have come to support Los Al DinDinagogo.

I stopped at Shortstopbbq and ordered a modified Holiday Frites, which is fries topped with smoked turkey covered in a honey bbq sauce and topped with a dollop of creamed corn, instead of the usual cheese.

Martin ordered a half-n-half, which is also not on the menu. It’s a half of the tri tip and half of the pulled pork sandwich.

Pulled pork topped with creamed corn
Tri tip with bleu cheese slaw
A modified Holiday Frites: Fries topped with bbq smoked turkey and a dollop of cream corn