In order to continue my quest to eat at every food truck in DC, I trekked all the way out to Navy Yard, risking the rain sans-umbrella, in order to sample AZN Eats on their debut day. I was rewarded with some pretty tasty food that's a nice new addition to the scene here. This seems to be a very professionally run truck, who thought out most things prior to launching, but still has just a few steps to go in order to reach the pinnacle with trucks like Benethiopia, Pi, and PORC.
For starters, the menu consists of 4 options: Kalbi, Bulgogi, Spicy Pork, and Chicken Teriyaki. There are no descriptions or prices for any of the items, which is fine with me because I'm familiar with them all and don't really care how much things cost when I decide I want them, but for the line of people in front of and behind me this obviously caused quite a bit of confusion. There are also no vegetarian options, but I could care less about that. Pricing runs $7 for all items except the Kalbi, which is $8, and everything is served with a large quantity of rice, steamed vegetables, and a side of picked daikon.
I decided to do my usual routine of ordering multiple dishes, and split them between today and tomorrow, eating half of each. I started with the Kalbi, which are marinated short ribs (sometimes also known as galbi) that are then grilled and usually chopped up with scissors. They do it pretty authentic on the truck, and quite a few people were curious why they were cutting the meat that way. The meat is somewhat tender when you get it, perhaps just a bit overcooked, but the flavor is extremely mild. The vegetables are a nice addition here since the meat definitely needs something to help it out.
The Spicy Pork was my other choice, and it definitely delivered a bigger flavor punch than the Kalbi. Although, when I compare it to the spicy chicken I get from the Yellowvendor truck it's nowhere near as potent, and unlike that truck there's no option to make it even spicier. The daikon slaw does pare exceptionally well with this though and bouncing back and forth between the two provides a nice contrast. For anyone who may be borderline about what you can handle when it comes to spicy, don't worry, this is mainly just spicy in flavor and not really in mouthfeel.
As for what really needs to be improved on this truck, aside from the obvious deficiency in menu clarity, let's begin with the ordering process. All orders are written down on a ticket that's given to the people preparing the food, however no # or name confirmation is given to the customer. With only 4 menu items, this obviously results in a lot of people standing by the window not sure whose order is actually being called out, as they simply say "bulgogi order" or "spicy pork" etc... I wound up getting my food before 4 or 5 other people who were ahead of me because I was the only one who wanted to take what was handed out...hopefully it was mine. The preparation of the food could use a bit more efficiency as well. The lady in charge of one half of the lunch box uses chopsticks to pull out vegetables almost individually, causing things to slow down significantly. I understand if you want to be authentic in some aspects, but c'mon use a spoon and speed that process up. As for the box itself, it's really nice and sturdy plastic container similar to what S'abora Street uses, but they don't give you any napkins, and even though they use chopsticks they give you a fork instead. Finally, zero condiments are offered for you to add to your order, such as Sriracha or soy sauce that are pretty much common at all Asian style food trucks, a major disappointment.
I still want to come back and see how their bulgogi stacks up against the competition at Yellowvendor, and overall I'm pretty pleased with the value and how much food you get, especially since it's pretty balanced between meat, vegetables and rice. read more