Knockout Taco Truck

Sad to hear this truck closed down. With such a glut of Me-​too food trucks, Knockout Taco was definitely one of the tastier taco trucks. They had a good mix of traditional tacos and specialty tacos. WhIle I don’t usually go hunting for tacos, these were definitely worth a shot.
Unfortunately, a lot of those tacos clocked in around 3 or 4 bucks, and that’s just too much for a taco. But you get what you pay for, and these were definitely delicious. Hopefully the braintrust behind KO Tacos finds success cooking their grub in another way.

Took the time to drive over to 31^st and Ocean Park one day for lunch. Knew the Knock Out truck would be there and was looking forward to trying as much as I could.
Was very happily rewarded.
1. Started with the Pork Belly which is sweet and delicious.
2. Potato next which was fluffy and a perfect follow to the Pork.
3. Spicy Shrimp next and I will warn you now that they are in fact very hot. I eat fire regularly and I liked these but they are no doubt hot.
4. Cooled down with the Tuna Poke which were okay. My least favorite. Just a little bland. Maybe to light a flavor for after the Shrimp.
5. Rolled Carnitas for desert. Tasty and a classic flavor.
So, look, it’s a taco truck, and a darn good one. The food is clean and each taco has an interesting combination of ingredients. It’s not the classic Los Angeles Mexican Taco truck selling Baja Norte street tacos but should qualify as a contender for the next generation of taco trucks I hope stick around for the long haul.
Cash only. CASH ONLY.

Friday night was my second visit to the Knockout Taco Truck. I really enjoyed my first visit so I anticipated with happiness that my second visit would be just as wonderful. And it was!
Like with some of the other reviewers here, I am really taken with the «global tacos» menu. First visit I had the Jalapeño Teriyaki Chicken taco, which was tasty with julienned cucumbers & jalapenos and the Hawaiian Tuna Poke, which was my immediate favorite. The combination of avocado, raw tuna, onion, togarashi & cucmber is amazing!
This time I had the Blackened Shrimp, which sent me gulping for soda right away. This puppy is hot! The grits were okay, but the fire that came from the sauce on the shrimp was peppery good.
I also had the Habanero Albacore Tataki, which was nowhere near as spicy as the blackened shrimp, but was sweet and mildly spicy and very good with crunchy apple, jicama and diced tuna.
Favorite is still the Hawaiian Tuna Poke. I’ll always at least get one when I see this truck.

Yay! I’ve passed by this truck a few times and didn’t think to try it until working late one night, took a stroll to The Brig and this truck was there. Checked out the menu was intrigued… hmm? Global Tacos… well, ok then.
Nice dude took my order and in a few minutes my tacos were ready…
BBQ Pork Burnt Ends taco — very tasty, crispy ends with tender meat. thought it would be dry, but wasn’t. the bbq sauce was tangy and nice.
Habanero Albacore Tataki taco — light crispy shell, cool alabacore tataki with a habanero salsa/​sauce. didn’t have the kick i was expecting from a habanero but the taste was fresh and flavorful.
I’ll be back to try more of their global tacos!!!

When I say I LIKE to be burned. I mean I REALLY like food to be SO hot that you feel a rush of heat STRAIGHT to your head. It’s literally UNCOMFORTABLE for a moment. If you’re lucky, sometimes longer. Yes, ’tis true. I LOVE THE BURN.
When I saw the sign on Knockout Taco’s display next to Blackened Shrimp say «VERY SPICY,» I thought to myself. «To whose standards?» I can’t count how many times I’ve been warned about the heat, I get EXCITED and then disappointment follows.
For a FIRE EATER — Knockout’s Blackened Shrimp taco did the trick. I was VERY impressed. HUGE grilled jumbo shrimp in a soft corn tortilla blanket SMOTHERED in HOT HELLISH salsa. LOVED IT!
We were at the Long Beach Street Food Festival and sampling many dishes. We also ordered the Habanero Albacore Tataki taco. It was VERY tasty and different. It was MORE refreshing and cool. It had apple chunks inside of it. It reminded me of a taco filled with ceviche, perfect for a HOT summer day.

I didn’t find this truck all that great, even when I came in with an open palate and no expectations. I tried the Carne Asada and Pollo Asado tacos and was highly disappointed. It was bland and the meat was dry. By the end of the last bite, I thought I paid too much ($ 2.50 each) for what I got. Consider my mind not blown, and a repeat visit is highly unlikely.
[TIP] Cash only.

PUNCH ME RIGHT IN THE FU*KING FACE… is EXACTLY what I would expect ANY of my friends and family to do to me 4 – 5 years ago if I told them I just paid FIFTEEN DOLLARS for FOUR tacos… and I probably would have thanked them.
Nowadays…for some reason… it almost seems normal…
First Fridays at SpeedZone in Industry is the spot for my introduction to the KO tacotruck after a particularly grueling 11+ hour work day at the clinic…
TACO DE PAPAS ($ 3)
Two of my fave Unilocalers Michelle T and Ciara G talked this up so much I HAD to get it. Spiced yukon gold potatoes, lettuce, red salsa, pico de gallo, cheese, crema mexicana in a fresh fried shell. Amidst the obvious absence of meat… this was not bad at all. Crunchy fried shell, tasty almost creamy potatoes mixed with the shredded cheese topped off with rich crema and semi spicy hot sauce… if I ever develop some strange meat allergy… I’d get this again.
BLACKENED SHRIMP ($ 4)
Well cooked shrimp with BACON, cheese grits with a spicy cajun salsa in a soft shell. 3 decent sized shrimp bathed in a nice hot sauce which I really liked… the taste of any bacon or cheese is somewhat masked by the cajun salsa… but I enjoyed the taco and the nice lingering tongue burn from the heat.
BBQ PORK BURNT ENDS ($ 3.50)
Baked beans and southern style cole slaw in a soft shell. You get some «saucy» beans along with the tender pork pieces topped with a nice cool cabbage slaw. Unique flavors, very tasty.
KURABUTA PORK BELLY ($ 4)
Filipino sisig with sawsawan sauce in a soft shell. I loved the char on the pork belly pieces and it went great with the sawsawan (finely chopped tomato, onion, jalapeño and peppers with lime, vinegar and soy sauce) Great flavor I really enjoyed… just a little light on the pork belly.
For overall price, quantity and quality I’d say it’s not quite worth a PUNCH in the face… but definitely worth withstanding a proper, well placed SLAP or two.

I ordered the carne asada taco, taco de papas and the pollo asado tacos. I didn’t care for the pollo taco as it was not all that great. The carne asada had much more flavor and the taco de papas was decent. Not sure I would try them again. If I did have them again, I would recommend the care asada.

For me, this is the perfect food truck. Gourmet tacos, by a great chef, with two menus… traditional inspired tacos, our whacky ones.
So results in tons of diversity from spicey ahi tataki, to tuna poke, burnt pork ends with beans, pork belly, traditional fried taco with shredded beef, and others.
Also, I think this is BY FAR the best gourmet taco truck, particularly blowing the korean/​asian ones like Kogi and Galbi out of the water.
It is pricey however, and I see they take lots of hit on ratings for that. Tacos are between $ 2.50 and $ 4.00 based on how ‘You Fancy, Huh?’ your taco & meat are. But tacos were big enough that 2 was enough for me to be satisfied.

I was at a recent Sigalert already full from two other trucks but i wanted some food for the road. Naturally i went for the shortest line and overheard some people talking about the poke and pork belly tacos and how bomb they were. You can call it eaves dropping, I call it insider info and boy did it pay off! After I got the tacos, it took only one whiff before I decided I wasn’t full anymore. The tuna poke taco was crunchy and soft and spicy and… and… and… glorious! Then came the sisig taco in it’s sawsawan sauce! FML I only ordered one of these things. I swear to you that this a meat dish that will revert vegetarians. My new favorite taco truck!

Kurabuta pork belly taco description: Filipino sisig with sawsawan sauce in a soft shell. I had no idea what that meant at first, but I quickly learned it means filipino awesome with awesome sauce in a soft shell. Why didn’t they just say that in the first place? Really, this is a must try taco. Crispy porky belly (that was a typo, but I’m keeping it) with all that sisig and sawsawan stuff. Just say yes.
I decided to balance out my global taco with an authentic taco. There’s a lot of stellar comments about the taco de papas, so I tried it. Unilocalers, you disappointed me. Maybe I’m just not a taco de papas kinda gal, but I thought this was boring. Great crispy shell, but it was very one dimensional. Kind of like mashed potatoes in a taco shell. No thanks. There’s a lot of cheese on it, but I couldn’t taste it. Only potato! Definite taco regret here.
Authentic tacos are about $ 2.50−3 and global tacos are a hefty $ 2.50−4. The pork belly is worth it! I’d give this truck 3.5 stars, and I’ll round up for that pork belly. When is Unilocal gonna get with the program and offer half stars!

I only had a few bites of their carne asada taco, but it was good! Hubby liked it, and wished he ordered more of them. Seems like the oddball tacos are the ones to try though.
I’m giving them four stars for taste, and for their awesome truck decorations (see pic). The graphics are hilarious! I’d so buy one if it was a bumper sticker.
As for best tacos ever… I don’t think so, but they weren’t bad either!

3.5 stars
I was a little early for work and hungry, and saw this truck parked close by, so I decided to check it out. It was a bit pricey for a taco. On the bright side, it was unique. $ 4 for a shrimp taco and 2.50 for a chicken taco.
Food:
1) BLACKENED SHRIMP TACO — Blackened shrimp, bacon and cheese grits and spicy cajun salsa. This taco is actually pretty spicy and the shrimp was well seasoned. As I bit into it, the bacon and cheese grits oozed out and it complemented the shrimp really well. It was awesome. ⁴⁄₅ stars!
2) POLLO ASADO — the chicken was pretty dry and tasted like an average chicken taco. Consisted of cotija cheese, salsa, chicken, onion, and cilantro. I’ve had much better chicken tacos elsewhere. ³⁄₅ stars
I was lucky because they just opened up and I was the only customer there. If I had to wait more than 10 minutes, it definitely wouldn’t be worth it.

Hot Damn! I am a now a proud follower of the Knockout Taco Truck! When the KO guy asked if we liked it spicy, he wasn’t kidding when he suggested the Blackened Shrimp Taco ($ 4). Hence the name of the truck I guess. But seriously people, spicy in an understatement. Someone needs to call up Webster at the dictionary factory because a new word needs to be invented to describe how spicy this was… and it was definitely very tasty.
Now onto my favorite taco of the night: Imagine 1 really big fry all dolled up in spices, enrobed with lettuce, salsa cheese and a crunchy taco shell ($ 3). And then you’d have the Taco de Papas (a potato taco)… or 10 in a perfect world. If love came in the form of a taco, this would be it. (Thanks for the tip Ciara G!)
I’ve already scoped out their location for lunch today, which happens to be nowhere near me… Sigh.

A few months ago I visited the KO truck taking lots of pictures but never ended up taking my review past the draft stage. So today seeing them on Lankershim in NoHo, figured I’d leave the camera in the car and just do the damn review!
The carne asada and BBQ pork burnt ends tacos will both be haunting me until my next visit. And that’s a good thing.
The tenderness of the carne asada mixed perfectly with the salsa, cilantro and onion to create an amazing taco. I actually went back for a second order of these and debated on taking another to go for later.
Usually anything with the prefix «BBQ» is worth trying and the pork burnt ends lived up to my expectations. They took a great meal of pork, beans and slaw combining them into a taco which should be followed religiously.
Bill C. wasn’t kidding when he started his review «the undisputed world champion of tacos» as I’d back him in that corner.
Service is very friendly with tacos coming out as quickly as possible too. Not that I would mind a wait as they would totally be worth it.
Shame on me for waiting so long to return but my next venture into the ring will be much, much sooner!

Habanero albacore taco. WHAT!!!
It’s pretty much ceviche. And it’s crazy good. When it comes to the regular meats they’re just alright. But when you go crazy and try something different like blackened shrimp taco and the habanero albacore taco that’s when you find the specialty.
For some good fish and shrimp tacos follow this truck and try them.

Pork belly special taco FTW!!!
(see the pool of grease?)
Ciara G is a huge fan and let me try their potato taco she always raves about and i can see how she loves them! Now THAT’S a potato taco!!! The hard taco shell is perfect and the potatoes are nicely seasoned and they give u a good amount of fixings in it too. It was a tad bit too spicy tho. i’m such a wuss!
Before we left the TruckNToys event, i had to grab another potato taco of my own to go and also try the pork belly special taco. Dude and i really loved the pork belly taco– it was a soft taco and the pork belly was really tasty! Perfectly charred and fatty, it was a perfect greasy snack.
Shrimp taco got two thumbs up by foodtruck King Bill C!

Ever since my first visit to KO I was immediately hooked and CRAVED their Tacos de Papas (potato tacos).
I follow them like a mad woman on twitter but I just always seem to miss them or they are never near where I am and at that point I’m either too hungry or too lazy to drive. When I saw that they were to be at the Brig one cold night, I was starving and had tacos on the mind so I was on my way.
Walked right up and went back and forth on what I wanted. Chris chatted me up about the Pork Belly Special.
I knew I wanted the Potato Tacos so I ordered 3 to start and one Pork Belly. Chris shattered my hunger when he told me that he only had one potato taco left. I almost cried. Almost. But I took it for what it was and decided to venture out and try some other new ones. Teriyaki Chicken and Shredded Beef were the winners.
In the end I was the winner bc all three new tacos I tried knocked it out of the ring with deliciousness. This was probably the only time I was super happy that my favorite item was 86ed.
I do not seek out many food trucks but KO is one that I do. Especially since Chris rocks and responds to twitter tweets and that Potato Taco craving takes over and gets the best of me.

Blackened Shrimp Taco — Shrimp, Bacon, Cheese Grits, Cajun Salsa
For $ 4, this is a muy delicioso taco! The shrimp melts in your mouth. The salsa is pretty spicy though, it kicks you at the end.

THE UNDISPUTED WORLD CHAMPION OF TACOS — -
At least that’s according to the guy who designed the graphics on the Knockout Taco Truck. I am not willing to concede that title yet, bit if there is some sort of Tacolympics every four years you can sign me up as a judge.
And I think Knockout Taco will do OK in the Light-​Heavyweight division. I met up with them for lunch yesterday at CBS, and ordered a blackened shrimp taco ($ 4.00), and the rolled carnitas (2 for $ 5.00). They are the two most expensive treats on their 10-​item menu.
The shrimp was nothing short of awesome. Three large shrimp filled the taco shell, leaving barely enough room for a little bit of bacon, and Cajun salsa. the menu says it came with cheese grits, which to be honest I didn’t even notice. The shrimp and salsa was so wonderfully overwhelming.
I also tried the Carnitas, which are served as rolled tacos. They are literally bursting with pork, and topped with avocado salsa and crumbly Cotija cheese. Again the chef nailed it.
Patsy, the order taker cashier was wearing a tank top that said «MY TACO CAN KICK YOUR TACO’S ASS». She’s probably right.
«Gourmet Food Truck #52 on my never-​ending quest to try every truck in So Cal»

I heard about KO Tacos from a twitter post. I had anxiously awaited this truck. I wasn’t sure when I would see it. (Their website and twitter isn’t updated as often as it should be). I was glad to have found it on Main when I was walking with friends at DTLA Artwalk.
I remember seeing Chris Goosen’s picture from an article I read. I also recognized him from the times I visited Bottega Louie when they first opened. It gave me a great chance to chit chat with him about his new endeavour. This truck is his new passion. He is putting all hsi creativity and hard work into his menu. It shows.
I already ate a bunch of food at Artwalk. I was pretty full but I wanted to try some of KO Tacos. I would normally do a complete flight of tacos if I was trying out a new truck, but instead I barked at Chef Chris to give me his unusual tacos! Most of the menu ‘read’ as normal status quo tacos, so I got the Hawaiian Poki and the Habanero Tuna. Only after I order those two did I see that each taco of pastor carnitas etc has Chef Chris’ unique spin.
I was very pleased by the 2 I did try. Firstly, I love a cooked tortilla on my taco. Whether its handmade and grilled or packaged and fried. I think it always adds a texture and taste that adds to a taco experience. KO Tacos are fried, I believe — Awesome. The proteins of the fish were fresh and chilled. I didn’t expect them to be that temperature. Talk about a great summer food. The poki was firm clean and fresh to the mouth. Its a winner. The albacore with habanero and apples had a sneaky heat that snuck up on you. It wasn’t mind blasting but it definitely puts a smile on your face. The apples were a surprising texture.
Knockout Taco definitely has potential. Its well worth visiting. Its a very different taco than a roach coach and its not just another fusion taco truck. Check em out.