The smell, the comfort, the sloppy yet mouthwatering food that comes fresh off their char-grilled stove – food trucks have been a Los Angeles staple for generations.
With a rich mixture of cultures and tastes, food truck hotspots in LA like Smorgasburg and First Friday on Abbot Kinney showcase the hype behind food trucks.
The question is, does the LA Mobile Catering food truck at Citrus campus center mall really live up to the hype?
As a firm believer in the saying “don’t knock it until you try it,” I set out to answer the question, is the Citrus food truck really worth giving a try?
To try and keep the rating as neutral as possible, I asked for the most popular item on the menu, the California Burger, and rated it out of 10 in the categories of truck design, order process, food taste/presentation and food quality.
Design: 7.5
The food truck can be slightly intimidating when first seeing it.
The truck is larger than the typical taco truck found on the street, almost resembling an RV.
Although the size of the truck may be slightly bigger than usual, this plays off well as it gives more space for the truck to showcase its other items.
To the right of the truck, under the order window, there’s a drink and snack bar. These are both great additions to either add onto a meal, or to save for later as a snack.
There are multiple menus located right underneath the order roof, making good use of the space provided by the truck. However, the font sizes of the items are small, which is disappointing in comparison to how large the truck is.
Along with the menus below the roof, photos and clip art of food from the menu were placed around the truck. This not only gives the customer a chance to see what they’ll be eating, but also builds the anticipation to order.
Order Process and Pricing: 10
One appeal to food trucks is passionate employees who pour love through the form of customer service into their business, which LA Mobile Catering definitely embodies.
Once it was my turn to order, a nice worker named Amanda greeted me with one of the biggest smiles and asked what she could get for me.
Once I asked Amanda what the most popular meal was, she wasted no time listing option after option, including her favorites, along with the best qualities of each item. I eventually decided on the California Burger with fries.
The total came out to $14.62 with tax included, which is $4 less with tax included than a Smashed Avaocado N’ Bacon from popular restaurant chain Red Robin which is similar in almost every ingredient.
Food Taste and Presentation: 8
Immediately after the smell of the food hit my nose, I knew that I was in for a treat.
The burger and fries came in the typical, yet iconic, food truck plastic/paper white box.
Once opening the box, the size of the burger and amount of fries was eye-catching. The food filled the entire box, not taking any space for granted.
The California Burger was served on a seeded white-bread bun, with a beef patty. The patty was topped with avocado, bacon, lettuce, tomato, cheese, pickles, onion, mayo and mustard.
The fries, which were slightly smaller than steak cut, were seasoned with a type of cajun spice seasoning.
This burger’s taste resembles closest to that of a homemade burger. The seeded bun further adds to the nostalgic taste of the burger, making it seem like a backyard-made family burger.
To couple with the burger, the fries provided just the right amount of zest and tanginess to them. I would recommend having them with either ketchup or ranch due to the fries being slightly spicy, along with a drink.
The only real flaw in the taste of the burger would be the lack of seasoning of the burger patty. However, the almost heavy seasoning of the fries more than makes up for it.
Food quality: 6
A large majority of the dissatisfaction from the food truck at Citrus College came from the quality of the food.
Also, the cheese of the burger was not fully melted. This led to occasionally having bites of unmelted cheese, instead of the stringy texture best known with cheeseburgers.
The style in which the burger was cooked wasn’t terrible, however, I do believe that it would have tasted a lot better if it was charred for longer.
Although the cheese and patty were not top notch, I do believe that it is important to point out that the rest of the ingredients were fresh and complemented the burger well.
However, the most disappointing aspect of the burger was how it left my stomach feeling.
I ate the burger on an empty stomach, however I don’t believe I should have.
The burger gave me stomach pain for about two days after eating it.
I’m not sure why exactly the burger gave me pain, considering how the majority of the ingredients seemed fresh. But the pains were a slight turn off.
Would I eat again: No
After giving the LA Mobile Catering food truck at Citrus College a try, it would take some convincing to try it again.
Despite the burger being decent, I don’t believe the taste is worth enduring the aftermath of stomach pains.
However, if I were to ever try it again, it would have a semi-full stomach.
