Korean tacos are a fusion

Fusion cuisine

Fusion cuisine combines elements of various culinary traditions while not being categorized per any one particular cuisine style, and can pertain to innovations in many contemporary restaurant cuisines since the 1970s.-Categories and types:...

 dish popular in the U.S. State

U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...

 of California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

, often as street food

Street food

Street food is ready-to-eat food or drink sold in a street or other public place, such as a market or fair, by a hawker or vendor, often from a portable stall. While some street foods are regional, many are not, having spread beyond their region of origin. Most street food are both finger and fast...

, consisting of a Korean-style filling, typically bulgogi

Bulgogi

Bulgogi is a Korean dish that usually consists of marinated barbecued beef, although chicken or pork may also be used. It is listed at number 23 on World's 50 most delicious foods readers' poll complied by CNN Go in 2011.-Etymology:...

, placed on top of small traditional Mexican

Mexican cuisine

Mexican cuisine, a style of food that originates in Mexico, is known for its varied flavors, colourful decoration and variety of spices and ingredients, most of which are native to the country. The cuisine of Mexico has evolved through thousands of years of blending indigenous cultures, with later...

 corn tortillas. Korean burritos are a similarly themed dish, using larger flour tortillas as a wrap.

Background

Although nearly any savory dish can and has been used as filling for a taco

Taco

A taco is a traditional Mexican dish composed of a corn or wheat tortilla folded or rolled around a filling. A taco can be made with a variety of fillings, including beef, chicken, seafood, vegetables and cheese, allowing for great versatility and variety...

, burrito

Burrito

A burrito , or taco de harina, is a type of Mexican food. It consists of a wheat flour tortilla wrapped or folded around a filling. The flour tortilla is usually lightly grilled or steamed, to soften it and make it more pliable. In Mexico, refried beans or meat are sometimes the only fillings...

, or sandwich wrap, and other restaurants have occasionally served dishes they called Korean tacos, the enduring popularity of the dish is generally traced to the use of Twitter

Twitter

Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...

 by the proprietors of the Kogi Korean BBQ

Kogi Korean BBQ

thumb|right|240px|A Kogi BBQ truckKogi Korean BBQ is a fleet of five fusion food trucks in Los Angeles famous both for their combination of Korean with Mexican food and also for their reliance on Internet technology, especially Twitter and Youtube, to spread information about their offerings and...

, a food truck

Food truck

A food truck, mobile kitchen, mobile canteen, or catering truck is a mobile venue that sells food. Some, including ice cream trucks, sell mostly frozen or prepackaged food; others are more like restaurants-on-wheels...

 in Los Angeles, California

Los Angeles, California

Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...

, to announce their schedule and itinerary. The idea of making Korean tacos came to owner Mark Manguera after an unsuccessful search of Los Angeles' Koreatown

Koreatown

Koreatown is a term to describe a Korean ethnic enclave within a city or metropolitan area. Similar terms may include Little Seoul or Little Korea.-Beijing:There are more than 150,000 Koreans living in Beijing...

 for carne asada

Carne asada

In Mexican cuisine, "Carne asada" is an item that consists of thin beef steak. The meat can be marinated by rubbing with olive oil and salt or with spice rubs such as lemon and pepper or garlic salt, lime, or Worcestershire sauce, before being cooked on a grill. The meat can be served alone or...

 tacos. In its first year of operation, Kogi generated an estimated $2 million of revenue.

Korean taco trucks later appeared in Portland, Oregon

Portland, Oregon

Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...

 (the "KOI Fusion" truck), Austin, Texas

Austin, Texas

Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...

 (the "Chi'Lantro BBQ" truck)http://www.chilantrobbq.com/, and Seattle, Washington

Seattle, Washington

Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...

 ("Marination Mobile", whose spicy pork Korean taco earned them Good Morning America's Best Food Truck in America). In San Francisco the dish was popularized in 2009 by Namu Restaurant's Happy Belly food cart

Food cart

A food cart is a mobile kitchen that is set up on the street to facilitate the sale and marketing of street food to people from the local pedestrian traffic. Food carts are often found in large cities throughout the world and can be found selling food of just about any variety.Food carts come in...

 in Golden Gate Park, later moving to a farmers market food stand at the San Francisco Ferry Building. The dish's popularity lead mainstream fast food chain Baja Fresh

Baja Fresh

Baja Fresh is a chain of fast-casual Tex Mex restaurants founded in Newbury Park, California in 1990 and headquartered in Cypress, California. The chain emphasizes fresh ingredients, and each restaurant features a self-serve salsa bar....

 to test market Korean tacos as a menu item in California, with plans to introduce the dish to hundreds of locations nationwide.

In April 2010, Food & Wine

Food & Wine

Food & Wine is a monthly magazine published by American Express Publishing. It was founded in 1978 by Ariane and Michael Batterberry. It features recipes, cooking tips, travel information, restaurant reviews, chefs, wine pairings and seasonal/holiday content and has been credited by The New York...

magazine named Roy Choi, the chef of the original Kogi's, one of its annual "Best New Chefs". It was the first time a food truck

Food truck

A food truck, mobile kitchen, mobile canteen, or catering truck is a mobile venue that sells food. Some, including ice cream trucks, sell mostly frozen or prepackaged food; others are more like restaurants-on-wheels...

chef had been nominated for the award.