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Mobile Cuisine: Tabe BBQ

I've never eaten at a food truck before. Correction, I've never eaten at a food truck that had a name other than "the roach coach." It was a long time ago, when I spent a dismal summer temping between real jobs. Even with the current popularity, variety, and improved quality of food trucks, that traumatic season made me wary.

But times change, and so does "mobile cuisine", as it's now called. So when I heard that there was a good Korean/Mexican fusion truck in my neighborhood on Wednesdays, I threw caution to the wind and walked up Towne Center Drive in University City to find it.

There it was, Tabe BBQ, in the 8000 block of Towne Center Drive, and a line was forming even as the guys were setting up the awning and putting out signs.

Tabe's has a small, but devilishly intriguing menu; the usual tacos, burritos and asada fries are stuffed with Korean bbq beef, slow roasted pork, teriyaki chicken or spiced portobello mushrooms. Sliders, rice bowls and salads are also available. Prices range from $3.25 for a taco to $13 for a monster burrito, with most around $6-$7.

I chose the Tabe Asada Fries ($6.50). It's a big mound of crisp shoestring fries, dusted with five spice powder and topped with a generous helping of spicy shredded pork, melted cheese, sour cream and roja salsa.

Wow, it's just plain yummy. The fries are perfectly cooked, hot and fragrant, with juicy tender pork shredded just right. The pork is deliciously spicy, and the cheese has been browned a bit, adding a nice caramelized flavor. A decadent calorie bomb, but who cares? Sometimes you have to stop and smell the french fries.

Tabe BBQ

Various locations during lunch and evenings from Tuesday - Saturday, check their website for details.

Menu

Credit cards accepted.

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I've never eaten at a food truck before. Correction, I've never eaten at a food truck that had a name other than "the roach coach." It was a long time ago, when I spent a dismal summer temping between real jobs. Even with the current popularity, variety, and improved quality of food trucks, that traumatic season made me wary.

But times change, and so does "mobile cuisine", as it's now called. So when I heard that there was a good Korean/Mexican fusion truck in my neighborhood on Wednesdays, I threw caution to the wind and walked up Towne Center Drive in University City to find it.

There it was, Tabe BBQ, in the 8000 block of Towne Center Drive, and a line was forming even as the guys were setting up the awning and putting out signs.

Tabe's has a small, but devilishly intriguing menu; the usual tacos, burritos and asada fries are stuffed with Korean bbq beef, slow roasted pork, teriyaki chicken or spiced portobello mushrooms. Sliders, rice bowls and salads are also available. Prices range from $3.25 for a taco to $13 for a monster burrito, with most around $6-$7.

I chose the Tabe Asada Fries ($6.50). It's a big mound of crisp shoestring fries, dusted with five spice powder and topped with a generous helping of spicy shredded pork, melted cheese, sour cream and roja salsa.

Wow, it's just plain yummy. The fries are perfectly cooked, hot and fragrant, with juicy tender pork shredded just right. The pork is deliciously spicy, and the cheese has been browned a bit, adding a nice caramelized flavor. A decadent calorie bomb, but who cares? Sometimes you have to stop and smell the french fries.

Tabe BBQ

Various locations during lunch and evenings from Tuesday - Saturday, check their website for details.

Menu

Credit cards accepted.

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4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
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