Recently, I’ve been spending a lot of time with Bill Esparza aka StreetGourmetLA. We met last year at Jonathan Gold’s Cocktail Party, and ever since then I’ve wanted to tag along on one of Bill’s many “street food” adventures. I’ll be writing a full post about my “non valet” evenings with Bill soon, but first a look at my new favorite food truck!
Ta Bom Brazilian Food Truck is owned and operated by Ilse Marquis and her twin daughters, Jaquelin & Juliana Kim (gorgeous girls… part Brazilian and part Korean). When Bill sent out an email recently to organize a tasting for a few bloggers, I was thrilled that I was available to join the fun.
In Portuguese, Ta Bom means “It’s Good!”, but the food that came out of Ta Bom truck wasn’t just good… it was FANTASTIC. I even broke my “no carb” rule for the afternoon! Honestly, I’m not very familiar with Brazilian cuisine, and mostly thought it would be a beef fest or something (which I would LOVE). Thank goodness I had Bill there to explain that the bites we were devouring, were some of the most authentic Brazilian flavors he’s experienced outside of Brazil. The recipes are from the southern state of Santa Catarina, and if you haven’t tried it yet, follow Ta Bom on Twitter and chase this truck down now! 
COXINHA: Croquette filled with shredded chicken and cream cheese
PASTEL: Spicy Cheese Pastel (Pepper Jack) – Crisp pastry with melted pepper jack cheese
PASTEL: Ground Beef Pastel – Crisp pastry with seasoned ground beef filling
HAMBURGAO: The ultimate hamburger topped with scrambled eggs, bacon, potato stix, corn, mayo, lettuce, tomato and thousand island
CACHORRO QUENTE BRAZILIAN HOT DOG: Beef sausage, topped with ketchup, mustard, mayo, corn and potato stix. (LOVED the crunchy potato stix. I’ll be trying to recreate these on the 4th!)
GISELLE WRAP (SALPICAO) – SPINACH WRAP Special blend of chicken, fruits and vegetables
PASTEL: Banana Nutella Pastel – Crisp pastry with sliced banana filling and sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar
Guarana Antarctica (my first try… loved it… will have to try with vodka!)
Bill inside the truck with Ilse, Juliana and Jaquelin
Ta Bom Crew Member Cesar Coutino (from Chiapas Mexico)
The Truck (and Matt!)
Great fun eating with:
Don’t forget to follow @Ta_Bom
Ta Bom on FaceBook
All my Ta Bom Truck photos on Flickr
Look for Ta Bom at the upcoming LA Street Food Fest!
