ESS NOT FUSION.
March 5th, 2010
HeLLo, heLLo mah loveLies — this is probabLy my last post before heading off to Cusco, but just know that AzuL’s-soon-t0-be-Naranja’s manager YoungHo is gonna take reaL good care of you in my absence.
Now, onto the topic of the day: ESS NOT FUSION.
I can see the confusion over the fusion labeL — there are a lot of Korean fLavors. There are a lot of Mexican fLavors. And sometimes some trashy American fLavors mixed with some SaLvadorean infLuences. It’s confusing. But just know that our food is not confused: it knows EXACTLY what it is. And I’ll expLain it via a recent correspondence with an intrepid undergrad reporter:
Hi, my name is Diana B. and I’m a reporter for UCLA’s newspaper, the Daily Bruin. I’m doing a trend piece on Asian/Mexican fusion food and I was hoping I could speak to someone from Kogi about their food and its popularity. My deadline is this weekend, so the soon I could talk to someone, the better.
Thank you!Diana B.
She’s courteous, she’s friendLy — a littLe lazy, with waiting untiL the last minute for a story, but then again, who’s not when one’s stiLL sLugging through 12 other credits in coLLege? Much love to Diana B.! (( H U G )) You reminded me to address something that’s been bugging me since day 1.
It wasn’t super aggravating to be caLLed fusion and trendy, it came with the territory — but when it’s been a year and a haLf and just about everyone’s caLLing you something you’re not, there’s this compuLsion to set the record straight. PeopLe can stiLL caLL it fusion if they want to, but I just wanted to say my piece and leave it at that.
Anyway, it was like naiLs on a chaLkboard when she put KoGi in the context of fusion, trendy and popuLar.
Now I know what hipsters feLt circa 2003: “No, Mom. I’m NOT emo. I am Cory Kennedy. I am Cobrasnake. I am American-AppareL-meets-IKEA — I am NOT EMO. There is a DIFFERENCE.” UnfortunateLy for them, it took a good 5 years or so for most peopLe to catch onto that very difference.
So I get it: “If it waLks like a duck and it taLks like a duck…”
BUT WE’RE NOT THAT DUCK. We’re more of that goose that comes after the “duck, duck, duck…”
HopefuLLy my response expLains what I mean a bit better:
Hi Diana,
Sorry to hear about the deadline, as we’re declining all press requests for the next few weeks since all of our energies are being poured into our new restaurant. That’ll open…. hopefully SOON.As for our food, it is definitely not fusion and it’s not a trendy thing.
It HAPPENS to borrow a lot from Korean and Mexican ingredients or execution and, for some reason — good and bad — it’s got caught up in a lot of public attention.
Here’s why I think fusion or trend doesn’t fit us:
TRENDS come and go, they’re for people who are pop culturally A.D.D. and trendy food caters to that really short attention span. A short attention span doesn’t necessarily care about what the food quality is, as long as what it’s tasting is really popular at the moment.
The way we approach KoGi — we’re in it for the long haul. We’ve put everything on the line in the interests of bringing really great food from excellent sources and price it so that it’s affordable to just about anybody. We’re not using crap meat — we KNOW where our meats come from. We don’t just put meat and sauce on a tortilla and call it a taco. We actually CARE about how it’s structured in terms of texture and how the flavors come together.
We want it to be the best thing you’ve ever tasted. Whether or not that happens, is up to you — but in the meantime, we are going to bust our asses day and night to get it right as much and as often as a mom and pop operation can.
FUSION implies you take 2 disparate things and FUSE them together. You join two things together with duct tape, you can see where one thing ends and the other begins. It’s fascinating, and yet it’s not natural. Like French Japanese or Korean Italian. Those cuisines didn’t come together through a natural affinity, a natural progression over time. For example: Mexican Italian. I’ve seen it done and done well — but it’s that European element that’s usually utilized to “elevate” a food and make it more marketable as a “serious” cuisine. Moreover, the intention behind fusion is usually to catch someone’s attention, to spark or speak to a trend.
We didn’t go in here thinking, “Let’s bring Mexican and Korean together because it’ll be weird and cool.”
The thing is, Mexican Korean flavors coming together is only a natural progression. For generations, Chicanos and Koreans have lived side by side in K-town. Tortillas are commonly found in supermarkets around here — and it wasn’t uncommon to bring a bag of those Mission tortillas to a Korean barbecue in the height of summer. What do you think happened when those Korean peoples ran out of rice?
That’s why we don’t call it fusion.
But what we do call it is Angeleno.
The thing is, THIS is what Los Angeles tastes like. To us 2nd and 1.5 generation Asians living in LA County anyway.
And look, it’s not like it was hard to make the flavors get along in a taco. Koreans and Mexicans like to use a lot of chillies and garlic and onions and similar cuts of meat. We both eat rice. We both eat beans. They just happen to come together in different forms.
Now, we don’t use rice or beans (it’s cheap filler!!!), but we do use that kind of flavor profile and execute it with the same kind of heart and family-oriented spirit that we both happen to share.
I don’t know if you can use any of this, but I just wanted to explain why I’m not comfortable with the label “trend” or “fusion.” Because it’s not what we are.
All the best on your piece, though!
Love and tacos,
Aliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice
Yah. So hopefuLLy that expLains it aLL in a nutsheLL!
KOGI — NOT FUSION. But we wiLL gLadLy accept “AngeLeno.”
Love and tacos,
Aliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice
@KOGIBBQ ON TWITTER
March 5th, 2010
Wow, that was an awesome explanation. I got goosebumps on my arms when I read:
That’s why we don’t call it fusion.
But what we do call it is Angeleno.
March 5th, 2010
WHOOOOOOAAAAAA!!!!!
You’re not fusion?!?!?!?!?
Thx, I already put 3 kimchi quesadillas and some hi-octane smuggled salsa verde in the power unit of
my DeLorean – all so I could go Back – to the future and be the first in line way back in what, November ’08 and get me some-no-waiting-1:30ish(am), lip-smacking kogi-before-it-was-kogi
goodness!!!
oh, that’s not what you meant by fusion….
nevermind & love,
slpyhd
March 5th, 2010
THANK YOU! for making this clear…. hate it when people get it mixed up. love you kogi, see you this weekend.
March 5th, 2010
i hate the word angeleno. id rather say, its L fucken A.
anyway. you make a good point. i dont think its a trend wither.
good luck on the restaurant and thanks for closing right before i got to K1 in gardena yesterday.
March 5th, 2010
either*
March 5th, 2010
word! Westside/CA love. culinary spotlight on the cultural diversity here in the west. nowhere else like it on the planet & no Kogi BBQ truck either… love from the OC- where there is also a lot of different cutlures livin in harmony despite the stereotype. C ya a Brewbakers tonight! Shalom.
March 5th, 2010
Fusion IS Angeleno tho – this entire city is all about Fusion. All those burger stands that sell Pastrami burritos – that’s fusion. Oki’s Dogs – fusion. Louisiana Fried Chicken and 99 cent Chinese Food – that’s also Fusion. The fact is, Los Angeles has been doing what the rest of the world calls “fusion” so long that we’ve stopped noticing it. So you guys do have a “Fusion” because you were raised in “Fusion” – Koreatown, LA. You’re just bringing the fusion of your neighborhood to the rest of the LA area!
As for trendy – I’m sorry good food is always in style, and y’all make good food. As long as you keep making them bomb-ass shortib burritos you will have a steady client base, and you can become an institution like Roscoes and Pink’s. I know u can always count on me to make Kogi’s a regular part of my diet.
March 6th, 2010
I am starting an asian style taco place in Alabama, mostly korean style like kogi’s and some vietnamese and chinese style as well, also we will be selling korean bbq over the rice combos and vietnamese sandwiches with kogi style meats. At this time we are in negotiation stage with the landlord, and I would like anybody to help me with a cool name for this restaurant. thanks. peter.
ps. thank god for kogi.
March 6th, 2010
Nice essay. I get it. 40 something years of Mexican food plus 10 years eating Galbi teaches me what you discuss. I love your K/M Angeleno food. Please come to Chino!
March 7th, 2010
Thanks, Keep up the Good work
March 7th, 2010
SLyvia — ahaha. It doth fLatters my ego that you got goosebumps.
CeciLia — love you too! (( H U G ))
Senor SLeepyhead — you art such a loveabLe NUT. As aLways.
Mark from Torrance — I stand corrected. Our food is L-FUCKEN-A. Most definiteLy.
DizzLe714 — You OC kids are somethin eLse.
Send my love to Jae. You know it’s his last week on Naranja??
Matt — I guess it’s what we’ve come to personaLLy define as fusion. CaLL it whatever you like, kid. I’ve taken a shine to you. You caLL it fusion, I’ll caLL it “L-fucken-A”.
Mian — the name wiLL come to you. It’s okay to make it personaL. It doesn’t have to be cute and cLever, just cuz it’s Asian.
shotgunner — What? Chino HiLLs is caLLing for us? Give us a few weeks. Let’s see if we can make it happen — permitting that our permits are good for the good city of Chino.
Trenton — de nader.
(( H U G ))
MUCH LOVE TO Y’ALL FROM LIMA!
Be good to YoungHo when he bLogs in my absence and send him lots and lots of comments! Heeeeeee.
March 9th, 2010
well said well said! you’re awesome, alice. i love the push to creating something solid instead of a duality clash. loving it. and kogi, thanks for being you.
March 10th, 2010
I was thinking about this the other day, LA may have more culinary diversity then any other city in the world with the only true rival being New York. Don’t forget, LA is still a relatively new city in the scheme of things and tastes like Kogi’s may just be the first of many styles to be swirled together in the mixing pot of this city.
With a little luck and time “Angelino” or “L FuckenA” or whatever can develop a culinary tradition and possibly even become it’s own genre like Cuban food or Spanish food. I’d love to go to Rome some day and see a small Angelino style restaurant on a street corner. It’d be great for this city to be known for something more than just the 500 Hollywood celebrities that keep making a bad name for us. Keep it up Kogi.
March 10th, 2010
Is YoungHo permanently going to Naranja?? =( He’s my fav~~ And I don’t go to that area at all…..
March 10th, 2010
I think its funny that there is a debate. You could call food poop, but if it tastes good we will buy it. Fusion, Angelino, who cares! I chase delicious food. And Kogi’s got that in droves!
March 10th, 2010
@A. I understand, with his K-Pop star bone structure and boyish charm, Young ho’s been a sensation for all you Kogi fans out there. But, he has even harder shoes to follow because as much as you’ll miss Young ho, there’s even more people who are going to miss Jae once he moves out of Naranja and into our new restaurant.
But don’t worry, we’ve got Duke who’ll take over the Roja night shift. I have a feeling he’s going to be the new favorite of the LA Kogi managers.
March 14th, 2010
[...] the LA Korean taco truck that put this stuff on the map, really doesn’t like to be called fusion but apparently that label doesn’t bother the folks behind [...]
March 15th, 2010
Never met Jae, but I will look forward to seeing him at the new restaurant. Yes, I’m a fan of YoungHo. =(
March 16th, 2010
[...] a huge fan following in Los Ångeles through a daily series of tweets. While Kogi’s founders reject the “Korean/Mexican fusion” label often applied to their “Angeleno”-style cuisine, the [...]
January 13th, 2011
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September 3rd, 2011
[...] as Alice Shin, Kogi’s Creative Director once stated, “The thing is, THIS is what Los Angeles tastes like.” I really do believe that. A [...]