(Dined 07/28/18 SA @ 8:30pm): I didn't quite find anything gourment about this food coach nor did I do a tango afterwards!
I recently enjoyed a viewing of "Blazing Saddles" during an Eat See Hear event at The Autry Museum when I had my first eating encounter with Piaggio Gaucho On Wheels Food Truck. Since I frequently attended, worked, or volunteered at the myriad of year-around events throughout Southern California, I was familiar with this food truck but opted for others that caught my attention which I hadn't tried before. Luckily, this truck's number was up, and I was down to try some Argentinean food. Would I be crying for Argentina after this experience!?
QUICK BIO
"The original Orange County Argentine food truck since November 2009, Piaggio's Chimichurri Truck has been serving empanadas, skirt steak tacos, chimichurri, sausage, and milanesa sandwiches, skirt steak and chimi fries, and dulce de leche to the public. It started with the empanada and is now the iconic item of Piaggio's food truck. Piaggio thrives in fusing his Argentine roots with the food culture of his adopted land. With Piaggio Gaucho On Wheels, he has taken the three main taste sensations from Argentina (the empanada, skirt steak and chimichurri), combined them with his expertise in cooking meats, and then blended all with the taco culture of California. The result is that Piaggio Gaucho On Wheels is delighting fans with taco, burrito and quesadilla creations, as well as introducing them to the lomito sandwich, the choripan made with traditional Argentine sausage, the chicken milanesa sandwich, his ever-so popular version of pulled pork, and the addicting chimichurri sauce. Piaggio can be found in Orange County or LA County doing what he loves best, living his motto: 'At your service!'"
PURCHASE
Asada Fries With Chimichurri & Fanta Orange Soda ($12.00 + $2.00): Grilled angus steak over fries, topped with chimichurri and dijonnaise/chipotle sauce, this was a sizable portion fit for at least two people...except I easily ate for two people! The fries albeit skinnier than I liked had a crispy outside and moist inside. The meat was good but definitely needed more of it spread around evenly and better shopped as you ended-up eating big chunks of it at a time unless you shredded it yourself. It certainly could've used more chimichurri as well as the dijonnaise/chipotle sauce as there was far too much exposed fries that had nothing on them, so I squirted Sriracha sauces all over. Portion size was a positive, but the rest of the meal needed more work so it simply wasn't a tray of "glorified fries" https://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?select=Z59hfkwebl-f2gtg2GCPFA&userid=8jVT2inwc8GIQ6sH2UG9Vw.
SERVICE
This two-person crew kept both the order and pick-up lines, respectively, moving without any bottlenecks or issues I saw. The lines weren't too crazy, so I received my food in less than ten minutes. With smiling faces and happy interaction, it was an easy transaction.
PARKING (Varied; FREE this instance)
Being a food truck, they were at the beck and call wherever the event was held. In this case, the venue was at The Autry Museum which had plenty of onsite parking around the entire place as well as across the street at the Los Angeles Zoo. Another option was to hire a driving service like a taxi, Lyft, or Uber.
ATMOSPHERE, DÉCOR, AMBIENCE
Your standard self-sufficient food truck with exterior menus https://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?select=edvR59EwXeIxwteTEMJztA&userid=8jVT2inwc8GIQ6sH2UG9Vw, order and pick up windows, an area for condiments, napkins, and utensils, no designated seating area, and natural lighting was prevalent during the daytime while electric street and truck lighting glowed at night. There were no TVs nor background music https://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?select=LWAGbg9dGSwRuhMAmutsGQ&userid=8jVT2inwc8GIQ6sH2UG9Vw.
ATTIRE
Totally casual, so I would normally be in a t-shirt, boardshorts, and flip-flops.
OVERALL
I felt the Piaggo Gaucho On Wheels Food Truck had potential and I would consider trying them again since I loved Argentinean food. However, I needed more of the specialty ingredients (i.e. asada, chimichurri, dijonnaise/choptle sauce) on my fries instead of them acting as if they were an accent or garnish. In addition, the prices were just a tad high (if they were rolled back $1.00-$2.00, that would be better for what you got). I found fairly good value based on the prices, service, and experience noted above (TOTAL paid experience was around $14.00 BEFORE any discounts and/or tip). And, they accepted my credit card of choice...AMEX! 3.5 STARS read more