KalbiQ

ATTENTION FUTURE FOOD TRUCK OWNERS.
I’m not sure what happened to this truck, but I sure do miss it. If any of the owners or future potential food truck owners are reading this, just know that there are a ton of students who miss KalbiQ, and that UTC is ripe for a market of good Korean and Mexican food. The fact that they are able to fuse those two cuisines is just a testament of greatness. I love everything from the tacos to the fries, and you can add a variety of Korean-​flavored chicken/​beef/​other flavors such as bulgogi that makes for a delicious meal. The prices are decent for the large amount of food that you get. Best of all, I loved the convenience of great food just outside the Regents shuttle stop. It definitely is a great thing to have at the end of a long day.
Again, if there are any potential food truck people looking for a potential market, the Regents shuttle stop is a great place. Just know that KalbiQ has set a great standard for the quality of food, and all is good to go.

Well this truck made me do something I promised I never would… I joined twitter… just to stalk them.
Laugh if you wish, I wanted to keep my thumb on this little devil, lest it ever be in my area and I am unaware. We met one fine summer afternoon at the SD Beerfest, and I’ve been in love ever since. Although their product usually sells out pretty quick, get it while it’s hot people and you’ll be damn grateful you did.
Not only is is good, but its probably the best hangover cure I’ve yet to find.
YES TACOS! Korean, BBQ, spicy delicious-​ness. And their ‘carne asada bulgogi fries, fcuk yea America!
Happiness in my mouth. Sorry I’m knocking off one star folks, but I have to only because I never know where you’re going to be and I don’t particularly like chasing my food when I’m starved.

First gastrotruck I’ve tried in San Diego. I visited them a few months back when they were the only food truck that would even visit UTC/​La Jolla.
The flavors are yummy, but the prices are a little steep for what you’re getting. Also, the portions (we got tacos) are TINY. Luckily, we went for $ 1 taco Tuesday, so I didn’t feel TOO cheated out of my money. I really wouldnt pay more than $ 1 for those tacos.
The service was VERY friendly. The girl that took our order was very sweet and helpful.

I remember the first time I had KalBiQ– it was Summer 2010 and my friend and I were on the way back to my Arriba townhouse when we decided to stop at the KalBiQ truck to get some grub. My friend said they had delicious burritos, so I was down to stop and try it. OH MY GOD!!! This burrito was f-​cking AMAZING!!! Juicy Kalbi beef, perfectly crispy fries, fresh pico de gallo salsa, and a delicious sauce encased in a warm fluffy tortilla– heavenly deliciousness! After that, I was addicted. I ate KalBiQ all the time– all that summer and fall.
My addiction waned (as did my money) when winter came around and stopping going after awhile. When Summer 2011 came around, I suddenly got the KalBi-​Cravings. Needing my fix, I stop at the truck after class… and was kinda disappointed. The menu was different and no longer contained Kalbi Burritos, which should have been my sign that things were not gunna be as wonderful as I remember them being. I ordered the Moo Burrito, which sounded like a different version of my favorite beef burrito. And it was, and not exactly in a good way. The meat was tasty, not as good as Kalbi but still good. The fries were still perfectly crispy. The pico de gallo had been replaced with a lettuce, tomato mix– and I was not a fan. The lettuce just seemed so outta place in the mix. The burrito was still good– but it wasn’t really special. Nothing magical– especially considering it was $ 6.
I have gone back since and tried their tacos, which were a much better buy at $ 1 each on Tuesdays. I have also tried their other meats. The spicy pork has a yummy pineapple salsa and the chicken has a good cucumber salsa (they call it kimichi– it isn’t. No spiciness). I have also tried their Kalbi fries– eww. Their new Kalbi meat is waaaaaaay too greasy and gross. And not enough sauce and toppings for the huge amount of fries. Overall, I would still eat here on a Tuesday– but that’s it. Gone are the days I would rave about this place to friends and stop every the other day to get burritos. Just not the wonderful deliciousness it use to be. Life’s full of f-​cking disappointments, ain’t it.

Ordered the Short Rib with Fries ($ 7).
Here’s the lowdown:
–5 stars for well done (thin) fries… OMG!!! SO GOOD!!!
–3 stars for the short ribs… I needed more flavor/​marinade. It was tender, but super greasy and the fat juices were running down the corners of my mouth… I felt my skin became even more oilier than before…
–1 star for the spicy cabbage… It was just too spicy for me…
Overall = 3
I’d come back just for the fries…

caught up with KALBIQ at the FOOD TRUCKS and FUN event at BOOMER’s in VISTA. this is the first place we tried. the line was short and was anxious to try their fusion cusine brought to us by the fine folks at DEVILICIOUS.
we ordered SPICY PORK and BULGOGI TACOs to share — both were pretty good. little surprised by other reviewer’s comments about the chewiness of the meat. everything we got was nice and tender.

Order two Moo tacos (ribeye w/​kimchi slaw) at the Food Truck Festival for 2.50 each and it was BOMB! First timer here and didn’t even know KalbiQ is from San Diego lol anyways I’ve had korean tacos before from Tabe, but both have different flavors to their own creation which I like. Hopefully I will be able to try out more of the stuff on the menu mmm the bulgogi fries looks SO GOOD!

Finally got to try the «other» fusion taco truck from San Diego and with their new menu I think they may start having a Shaun Phillips type future. Going from being known as «the other guy» to «the man» with the Chargers. I gave the bulgogi burrito with fries a try and was really impressed how the bulgogi’s sweetness did not overpower the rest of the burrito. Although it’s a small burrito for the price, it was pretty darn good.

Alas, KalbiQ, our relationship was not meant to last. I had such high hopes for us, and envisioned our happy life together. But you tricked me with your LIES! What happened to your tacos, which used to be *reasonably* sized on Taco Tuesday? Why have they shrunk to the circumference of a tennis ball? — and to top it off, where is the FILLING in these tacos? I ordered two tacos, not four slices of miniature tacos with half a teaspoon of sauce. I certainly hope they aren’t this size for $ 2.50. The short rib burrito was decent, but relatively small for $ 6.
$.35 for credit card transaction fee? Your lives deceive me no more, as I am well aware it is illegal for merchants to charge a credit card surcharge in the state of California.
Sorry, KalbiQ, it’s me – not you. It just wasn’t meant to be.

Their food is not THAT great! For $ 2.50, I expect to have a little bit more in my tacos! I don’t eat a lot but even their 2 mini tacos aren’t filling for me at all! Their replica version of carne asada fries just didn’t do it for me either. I don’t know, but bulgogi along with the sauces that they put in there just taste a little too weird on fries. I really like their kim chi hot dog though, but for $ 6!!! Are you kidding me!!! Now, that’s just a rip off!
Oh, and they charge $ 0.35 extra for paying with a credit card. How nice of them to pass their fees on us…

Our hero was feeling like fusion food on a taco Tuesday, so he Unilocaled up KalbiQ and headed to the corner of Nobel and Regents. His first impression was that the food truck looked like an illegally parked bus with next to no parking close by. They were literally parked twenty feet away from a very busy intersection with no nearby parking lots for their customers. It came as no surprise to our hero to see that most of their customers were Asian UCSD students who’d just walked over from their dorms.
The tacos themselves are minuscule and can be devoured in two bites. By the time our hero go to the truck at 7:30 PM, they had run out of all but two flavors: bugolgi and pork. Despite having only two types of tacos, 3 out of 4 people in his party still got their orders mixed up and one person had to wait 20 minutes to get two tacos. The two types of tacos were fairly bland and not seasoned or marinated very well. It was rather surprising to see how a food truck that’s overstaffed with 5 people could mess up orders so badly.
KalbiQ seems like an entrepreneurial venture capitalizing on the latest trend of hip fusion food trucks like Kogi from LA and the forerunner of Korean tacos, Tabe, in San Diego. Although the concept of Mexi-​Korean mobile cuisine is a hit, these guys blunder it to the extreme on location, service, and taste.
PROS:
— Dollar tacos on Tuesdays attract university students galore.
CONS:
— Tacos are small and bland. These guys don’t even come close to the Tabe food truck for Korean tacos in SD.
— Only one type of hot sauce was available, which wasn’t very hot. The offerings here don’t seem to have any kick or heat in them.
— Ordering seems chaotic without any semblance of a line and a fair chance at getting your order messed up.
— Horrible parking situation nearby their taco Tuesday location at Regents and Nobel. The only close hope for parking is south of the stop along Regents.

I randomly found the truck parked out in front of my old apartment one day and I decided to try it.
I love carne asada fries so I decided to try out kalbi Q’s bulgogi asada fries. For the price, you get surprisingly a lot with ingredients you usually wouldn’t see in regular carne asada fries. I liked the combination of all the different flavors. kalbi Q’s bulgogi asada fries is a very interesting twist on your traditional korean bbq.
I’d say the only disappointment is the fact that kalbi Q is not an actual restaurant. it’s a truck with a window on the side that serves food. So its a bit inconvenient because majority of the time, I don’t know where the truck is. I’d have to randomly run into it again if I wanted something from kalbi Q.

I really couldn’t decide whether I should give it a 2 star or 3.
At times, it is good. However, at most of the other time, it is just mediocre. The first time I ordered the Bulgogi Burrito, and I instantly fell in love with the idea of fries in Burrito. Everything was so fresh-​tasting and seasoned well. The only complaint I had was the tortilla being too thick and that it sort of overwhelmed the filling.
The second time, I tried the Bulgogi Fries, which I picked simply because I thought it would be better worth my money if all I get is the filling inside the burrito. It is indeed true. It feels like you get a lot more for just a few cents more. You can just use a tortilla at home and make a couple burritos out of your fries if you want!
On my consecutive visits, I still ordered the Bulgogi Fries. It was disappointing when I noticed that their consistency was dropping. The fries were either overcooked or burnt to the point that the fries were hollow. The sauce were no longer in balance. It was either too much sour cream or too much of that spicy sauce they use.
I would still visit their truck once in a while if they so happen to be in the neighborhood.
Note: their food are definitely a bit on the heavier side.

Glad San Diego caught up to LA standards in terms of Korean taco trucks.
First noticed the KalbiQ truck a few months before they were up and running so I was quite eager to try it when they finally begun their operation.
Given that Korean style bbq is one of my favorite types of meat dishes and that, like many San Diegans, I love guacamole as well as salsa, I was excited I could have both combined in the form of Korean-​Mexican fusion cuisine delivered in a truck.
First visit, ordered two tacos: a bulgogi taco and a short rib taco.
Both were delicious. However, I enjoyed the short rib taco much more as the meat tasted better and was of higher quality. As expected, I was extremely pleased to be consuming Korean-​Mexican fusion for my first time.
Second visit, ordered the short rib fries.
Although appetizing in general as well as being quite large in size, the meal was slightly disappointing. Short rib meat atop the fries was much more inferior in terms of taste and quality than the meat on the short rib taco from the last visit.
In fact, I had to spit out several chunks of the meat because it was just chewy fat.
Other than the quality of the short rib on the fries, the guacamole was minimal and the actual fries themselves could have been much better. Unsure if the actual French fries were unappetizing because of the potato or the oil used (or both).
Sometime latter they started offering kimchi on top of each item for about 50 cents more per item. The kimchi was available grilled or regular.
Kimchi made the tacos even more appetizing.
Having eaten KalbiQ several times, I must admit I am a huge fan of the tacos, especially with grilled kimchi on top — however, must also note that, unfortunately, the meat on each taco is quite minimal.

2÷1÷11 Update:
They must have changed the tortillas because I took two bites and the taco was gone. Tiny tacos. Though I paid a buck each on Taco Tuesday, I would never pay full price for a KalbiQ taco.
With moderate to long lines on Tuesday and elf-​size portions, I won’t be coming back.
===
SUM OF THE PARTS:
Korean BBQ meets Mexican tacos.
PARTS OF THE SUM:
10% roach coach hype (though warranted at $ 1/​taco)
10% chintzy with the short ribs
50% flavor
10% delicious but chintzy toppings
5% but I guess that’s a good thing so you can taste the taco, not just guac
10% waiting in line with teh nerds
10% soft but respectable tortillas
25% excellent deal at $ 1/​taco on Teh Taco Tuesday
I haz public schooling but haz no regrets =D
They carry tacos, burritos, fries and even burgers. I went on $ 1 taco night and you should too since $ 2.50 for a short rib taco is a bit much.
I ordered 3 short rib and 3 bulgogi tacos. They are street-​style so they are small; I think 4 is good enough if you are hungry or get 6 if you have an Goliath appetite.
Like The Governator in a bad movie with an impending budget deficit that never gets fixed, I will be back (no contractions because, hey, I haz public schooling).

Regents and noble 4:00pm on Tuesdays. Taco tuesdays: $ 1.00 for all tacos.
I tried the spicy pork, kalbi, and bulgogi taco. Small street tacos that are topped with a small dallop of guacamole.
Spicy pork: not very spicy at all, which is good for me since I can’t take spicy food. Kalbi– nothing spectacular and comes with a spicy mayo sauce. Bulgogi– ordinary.
The tacos are small in size like mexican street tacos, but they do have a good amount of meat on them. I wish there was more onions or cilantro, or even shredded lettuce.
I have been to Kogi and that is much better, but I guess KalbiQ will have to do since there is no other Korean taco truck in SD. Even a couple of police men were there eating.
Come again? Probably only on Tuesdays. I don’t think I would be ok with paying $ 2.00 for a taco. I would probably try the fries next time as the people standing next to us were eating it and it looked pretty good.
They also accept both credit cards and cash.

My husband told me about this place and we decided to check it out on a Tuesday evening. We were excited to find out that their $ 2.00-$ 2.50 tacos were $ 1.00 for Taco Tuesday from 4 – 8:30PM.
They were pretty easy to find with following them on Twitter. We found them on the corner of Nobel and Regents where it seems to be their normal spot.
In regards to their food, everything we had was good. We had the spicy pork tacos, bulgogi tacos, short rib tacos and the bulgogi fries. My husbands favorite were the short rib tacos, while mine were the bulgogi fries and spicy pork tacos, but basically everything was good. It looked like there were new items coming to the truck too like chimichangas and burgers.
I would give this 5 stars, but it did take long to get the food. I guess I can understand it since I went during their Taco Tuesday special, but we got there at 6:25 and ordered around 6:50 and got our food about 10 – 15 minutes later. If not for the Taco Tuesday special, I’d probably go on another night if I wasn’t going their specifically for that.
FYI: They also take Credit Card which is a plus :)

After reading the reviews I found myself craving Korean BBQ from a truck. So, tonight I found myself pulling up to the KalbiQ roach coach, parking illegally in a red zone thinking I’d roll in, pick up my food and jet home to wolf in down. No surprise that there were 20-​some Asian students hovering by the truck. After ordering two bulgogi burritos, I waited 25 minutes for my food feeling extremely awkward in my business suit and heels amongst the sea of Asian UCSD students clad in sweatshirts and flip flops. When I eventually got my food I rushed into my illegally parked vehicle and rushed home to enjoy what was surely to be an insanely good meal. The food turned out to be good. The bulgogi burrito had marinated Korean BBQ meat, French fries, rice, raw onions and some sauce. One suggestion to KalbiQ owner — cook the onions with the meat and it would be better.
Bottom line: food is good, not amazing, kind of a cross between Mexican and Korean BBQ. Worth waiting 20 – 30 minutes on the sidewalk of a busy street with minimal legal parking nearby? Your call. If you go put on your college sweatshirt and old flip flops and you’ll fit right in.

I followed them on Twitter & saw that there were parked pretty close to my work (by UTC) on Friday. And everyone knows Fridays are lazy days at work, so we decided to go on an adventure to seek the Korean taco truck!
I’ve heard of these types of Korean taco trucks being plentiful in the LA area, but I’d never seen one here, until now. When we arrived at the truck, we could immediately smell the Korean bbq & I literally started salivating.
1 spicy pork taco & 1 bulgogi taco for me (they ran out of short ribs, sadly), hold the chipotle ranch sauce. They’re $ 2 each, not that huge in size, but booming with flavor! A good amount of well seasoned meat on a corn tortilla, topped with guac, onions, & cheese. These little babies could seriously do some damage to my summer bikini diet.
My coworkers ordered the bulgogi fries (delicious! It had perfectly crispy fries! Topped with a heaping amount of meat, cheese, guac, sour cream, chipotle ranch sauce. A grand amount for $ 5.50) and the bulgogi burrito (also gigantic, just like the fries, but rolled up in a tortilla! $ 5.00).
If you see me at the beach with a belly bulge, blame the taco truck!

Tell me why I had lunch during class. and was walking home from school, about to head to Minh Ky for an early dinner but spotted the KalbiQ truck and decided to have ANOTHER lunch right before my early dinner?! Because of this, I had 3 meals before 6pm –_–
I just couldn’t resist! I stepped off the bus and the smell of korean bbq instantly filled my nostrils. We turned the corner and THERE IT WAS, like it was waiting for me…
I wasn’t even hungry and was already about to get some egg noodle soup but I couldn’t resist ordering their fries! I loooove their fries! I’ve had the spicy pork and bulgogi and both are sooo good. The fries are extra crunchy and is PILED on with meat and other toppings such as guac, cheese, tomatoes, etc. Check out the photo, it’s pretty legit. And it’s only $ 5.50!
I dare say that I like KalbiQ even more than the Kogi Truck in OC… just because of these fries. They did a pretty good job pulling me in. I’m a fan!