Marination on KING 5’s New Day Northwest

Check it out Kamala show viewers how to make a kalbi beef marinade and Seattle Magazine showed the audience Seattle’s Best Sandwiches and Marination’s Kalua Pork Slider was included!

Best Fusion Tacos – 2010

By Jason Sheehan, Seattle Weekly, August 4, 2010

“Best” and “fusion” are two words not often found in the same sentence. At least not in the sentences I write. In almost every case, fusion is what happens when chefs or owners don’t really know what they want to cook, so they end up cooking everything poorly rather than a few things really well. Marination Mobile, though, is an exception to that rule. Actually, it’s the exception to a lot of rules, but the fusion rule is the big one. And the results of that exception are Mexican/Korean/Hawaiian tacos that gleefully jump over borders and across canons without ever being weighed down by the repetition and mediocrity that defines most attempts at quote/unquote World Cuisine. Virtually everything on the short, sweet menu at Marination has fans who’d weep buckets if it ever went away, but the kalbi tacos? Those are special—the perfect expression of everything good about fusion: short ribs marinated in chef/owner Kamala Saxton’s kinda-secret, fully awesome version of the classic Korean preparation, folded inside warm corn tortillas, then topped with nothing but slaw in an idealized Mexico-gone-Far East mashup of flavors. They are simple and complex at the same time, show a complete disregard for any stodgy notions of how food is supposed to taste, and (the best part) come to you on wheels—provided, of course, you’re in the neighborhood that Marination Mobile is cruising on any given day. —Jason Sheehan Locations vary.

Fresh Faces!: Street Eats Spambassador

By Jessica Voelker, Jess Thomson, James Ross Gardner and Christopher Werner, Seattle Met, August 2010

KAMALA SAXTON has had enough of that princess Portland wearing the street-food crown. “It’s time,” she says. Time, that is, for Seattle to claim that distinction as our own. Marination Mobile, her collab with Roz Edison, has done much to help that cause. From the moment the Korean—Hawaiian food truck took to the streets in June 2009 it was a hit; today 200 customers per day line up for Spam sliders and quesadillas perked up with kimchi, the spicy fermented cabbage concoction from Korea.

Food fad that should fade “I want the stuff on shelves today to sound like urban myth to the next generation. ‘Grandma, did people really eat stuff loaded with high fructose corn syrup? Ewwww!’ ”

The next big food thing will be “BBQ joints. In fact, any kind of joints. Places you pass by, and think, People in there are having a damn good time.”

Seattle’s 48 Best Sandwiches

By Allison Austin Scheff and Lorna Yee, Seattle Magazine, August 2010

We’ve been recognized for our Kahlua Pork Sliders in the Pulled Pork category. Hip, Hip, Hooray!

Grillaxin’: Rolling Seattle’s Streets with Marination Mobile

By Leslie Kelly, Seattle Weekly Voracious, July 15, 2010

Ever since it first hit the streets about a year ago, Marination Mobile has been on fire. It was named best food truck in the nation in a Good Morning America viewers poll in November. This movable feast is the dream of Kamala Saxton and her business partner, Roz Edison, who are on the hot seat in this week’s Grillaxin’ Q&A.

SW: When did you start cooking?

Kamala: A year ago, when we opened. We’re not trained chefs. We’ve never been to culinary school. We’ve never held a cooking position. We hired people who know what they’re doing. We are basically home cooks. One of my favorite jobs ever was working at a deli in Palo Alto, Calif., but that was a long time ago.

SW: Was that where you grew up?

Kamala: I grew up in Hawaii, on Oahu and then moved to California. Then Seattle, then Boston, then back to Seattle.

SW: What was your inspiration for rolling out Marination Mobile?

Kamala: I’ve always been in love with street food, especially when I’m traveling. I wanted to try something different, but a restaurant seemed like a huge endeavor. And my passion was in street food. Kogi had opened in L.A. and I thought Seattle could use a Korean taco truck. I asked Roz if she was interested. She ran numbers. We met with friends who have background in the food industry in Seattle.

SW: It seems like this happened just as the whole street food scene was revving up, right?

Kamala: I think our timing couldn’t have been better. I also think even if we started today, our timing would be good. Seattle still has a huge market for street food. I think the market could support the additional trucks. I’d love to see 20 more trucks in Seattle.

SW: When you designed the menu, what were some of the challenges you faced working in such a tight space?

Roz: The menu isn’t constrained by the environment. But the process in which we prepare the food is. We knew what we wanted to feed our customers. We knew the kinds of flavors that would appeal to a broad audience. It’s just a question of speed, especially at an event like we’re at today. Obviously, there’s a lot of logistics to think about, but it works. We have a very talented crew and we’re creative with our solutions. It all comes together.

Check out more Grillaxin’ in part two and three!

It’s a Seven-day Work Week for Staffer with Delicious Side Business

University Week, July 8, 2010

It’s a good thing Roz Edison loves her work, because she does it seven days a week. Or to be more accurate, she does two jobs in the course of seven days. Edison works two 10-hour days at the University, where she recruits students for the Construction Management Program in the College of Built Environments. The rest of the time she is the co-owner of a food truck called Marination.

Of the first job, Edison says, “I love building, I love construction, I love design, I love being in this college. I love working with students who are excited about a major that they initially don’t know much about. I introduce them to something that’s really great.”

And of the second, “It’s a little fatiguing but it’s quite enthralling to start your own business. We have such incredible customers. They’re pretty energizing. It’s an exciting business to be in.”

Edison’s dual life began by chance, when she and a group of friends were talking about a famous taco truck in Los Angeles called Kogi. That business sold Korean tacos, and the group noted that no such thing was to be had in Seattle. Soon they were asking each other if a similar business could succeed here. Edison and her business partner, Kamala Saxton, decided to give it a try.

For the complete piece click here.

100 Reasons to Love Seattle

Seattle Met, July 2010

72. We Have the Best Mobile Food Cart in America

Oh, how the Roach Coach has evolved. Mobile food-service trucks such as Marination Mobile now purvey curbside cuisine from every part of the world in every neighborhood. From within its tin-can walls come kimchi quesadillas, kalua pork tacos, and other succulent fusings of Korean and Hawaiian food. “Our customers are great,” says co-owner Roz Edison. “They stand in the rain, wind, and cold for our food.” They also stand up for it. In November, Marination’s fans vaulted the little truck to a first-place victory in Good Morning, America’s Best Food Cart in America contest. Not bad for a truck that hadn’t even been rolling for a year.

Anthony Bourdain Interview on KUOW

KUOW (NPR), June 25, 2010

Anthony Bourdain mentions Marination Mobile during his interview on NPR as a place to try in Seattle. Listen to his thoughts about dining in Seattle around the 50 minute mark. We love you Tony!

Hear it here or here.

Happy Birthday, Marination Mobile

Seattle Met Nosh Pit, June 15, 2010

It ain’t easy being a street vendor in Seattle—just ask Kurt Dammeier of Maximus/Minimus—so its great to see one of our signature slingers chalk up one year.

Today Marination Mobile, the cart where Hawaii meets Korea and genius deliciousness ensues, celebrates its first birthday. To commemorate the eventful year, owners Roz Edison and Kamala Saxton are handing out free dessert this afternoon. You will find M-squared in Belltown at 2500 First Ave 11-2pm.

Here’s to many more, Marination!

Happy Birthday to…Marination Mobile

Seattle Weekly Voracious, June 9, 2010

Okay, so I didn’t plan this, but Marination Mobile (mentioned just a few minutes ago as serving one of Seattle’s Essential Dishes) is also celebrating a birthday. A big and important one, too. As of Tuesday, June 15, Big Blue will have survived its first year in the restaurant business.

The first year? That’s the worst one for almost any start-up. Year one is where everyone is still getting their legs under them, where menu and cuisine and prep and production are all still coming together. In many cases, restaurants never even make it to their first anniversary (even fewer see number three), but making it that far is a major milestone and bodes well for the future.
To celebrate (and to give a little back to all those who’ve made Marination one of the best known food trucks in the region), they’re going to be giving away free desserts to anyone that comes looking for a little Korean-Hawaiian fix on that special day. On June 15, Big Blue is scheduled to be slingin’ tacos and sliders in Belltown (at 2500 1st Avenue) from 11am to 2pm, so that’s where the party will be.

I’d mark your calendars now just so you don’t forget.

Seattle’s Essential Dishes

Seattle Weekly Voracious, June 9, 2010

Kalbi Tacos at Marination Mobile:

Is it weird that one of the most famous, most nationally-known restaurants in Seattle isn’t a restaurant at all, but a marinated meat stand on wheels?

Nah… Not when it’s Marination Mobile you’re talking about. This truck has gotten more national ink than probably any actual brick-and-mortar restaurant in the city. I knew the name Marination Mobile before I ever even thought about coming to Seattle. And people–neighbors, locals, tourists, whoever–go looking for it now like Frodo searching for the One Ring.

Though food trucks might be huge right now (and maybe even past their crest in terms of zeitgeist popularity), Marination is one of the few of them actually prowling the streets of Seattle. And there are many, many grubniks out there who daily thank the food gods for that.

Virtually everything on the short, sweet, Korean;Hawaiian-Mexican menu at Marination has fans who would weep buckets if it ever went away, but the kalbi tacos? Those are special. They are the perfect expression of everything that’s good about fusion and street-eating–short ribs, marinated in Kamala Saxton’s kinda-secret, fully-awesome version of the classic Korean preparation, folded up inside warm corn tortillas, then topped with nothing but slaw in an idealized Mexico-gone-Far-East mash-up of flavors. They are simple and complex both at the same time, show a complete disregard for any stodgy notions of how food is supposed to taste, and (best part) come to you on wheels–provided, of course, you’re in the neighborhood that Marination Mobile is cruising on any given day.

Marination Mobile Colonizes Columbia City

Seattle Met Nosh Pit, May 12, 2010

Marination Mobile, the roving purveyor of happy Korean/Hawaiian food, has added a Sunday location to its schedule. The big blue truck is heading to Columbia City.

Starting Sunday, May 16 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Marination will be dishing its kalua pork sliders and kimchee quesadillas at the Rainier Plaza parking lot at Rainier Avenue and South Angeline Street.

Make Your Own Kimchi.

KING 5, March 31, 2010

Marination’s co-owner, Kamala Saxton, was on KING 5 morning news teaching viewers how to make kimchi at home.

Marination Mobile is on the Cover of Seattle Magazine!

Seattle Magazine, April 2010

Seattle Magazine honored Marination Mobile with the title of Best Street Food!

Mobile Chowdown 3: Seattle vs. Portland Street Food

By Jay Friedman, SeriousEats.com, March 15, 2010

Portland’s got the goods, but Seattle’s gaining momentum.
Somewhat sunny skies and serious street food brought out throngs of Seattleites to Mobile Chowdown 3 this past weekend, hosted next to Safeco Field (home of the Mariners). The event was free, but you had to pay for bites from each of the carts.
As opposed to the first two Chowdown installments, this one had a throwdown element to it—three food trucks drove up from Portland to Seattle to participate. The lines were especially long for these visiting Portland participants, as Seattleites wanted to see what was special down south in this street food mecca.

Kimchi Quesadillas: KOi Fusion (Portland) vs. Marination Mobile (Seattle)

With Kogi and Korean fusion food being big in the food truck world, I knew this would be the battle royal at this Mobile Chowdown. Situated at opposite ends of the venue, the long lines were testimony to the popularity of these two vendors, with people waiting upwards of 90 minutes while watching menu options fade away. (Groans filled the air when anyone walked out of a truck with the dreaded magic marker of death.)

Portland is hot on KOi, and I can see why. With Bob Marley blasting through the speakers, the vibe was positive and the workers were friendly. The kimchi quesadilla was hearty, especially with the addition of meat (beef bulgogi in mine). Sesame cabbage, pico de gallo, bean sprouts, cucumber and cilantro added additional taste and texture.

Unlike other places which shred their kimchi, KOi’s quesadilla had larger pieces to satisfy fermented food lovers like me. It was pungent, with the garlic, ginger and chili all punching through the tortilla.

Marination Mobile did Seattle proud in winning the title of best food truck in the country on Good Morning America in November, and they were part of my top ten list of food experiences in Seattle and beyond last year. Like KOi, Marination does Mexican-Korean fusion, but with Hawaiian influence. How popular is Marination? It’s likely that more people were in line for spam musubi than for Seattle Mariners tickets across the street. (Not a knock on the Mariners; in fact, the franchise was a co-sponsor of the Chowdown.) So with Marination operating through the winter, why were so many Seattleites waiting for food from their local truck?

Some were seeing the truck for the first time, but others said, “It’s simply that good.” No need to convince me.
While I do think there can be more oomph in Marination’s offerings (I’d like them to up the spice level), there was nice balance in the quesadilla’s flavors. The kimchi played nicely with the Kalua pork, and the cheese was more prominent than in KOi’s. A smattering of slaw and jalapeno slices on top added crunch and zing. And the nonya—as in “none (of) ya business”—helped finish the dish in fine fashion.

It’s Seattle vs. Portland at mobile food showdown

KING 5 Evening Magazine, March 11, 2010

Enjoying Korean Food Without Knowing it

By Matthew Amster-Burton, The Korea Herald, March 10, 2010

“If only someone would just drive up, park next to me on the street and serve Korean food in a familiar format! When I heard about a truck in LA serving Korean tacos, I was jealous. My gogi (meat) envy didn’t last long, because Seattle got its own Korean taco truck, Marination Mobile, within months. Marination serves Korean-Hawaiian-Mexican fusion: pork bulgogi and kalbi tacos, spam burgers and kimchi quesadillas. In November they were named the best food cart in the nation by Good Morning America. My favorite Marination taco is the pork bulgogi, with tender chunks of pork and a cooling slaw-although I wish the pork were a little less sweet and more spicy.”

To read the full article click here.

Food Trucks for Lunch

KCPQ (Fox 13 Seattle), January 8, 2010

Fox 13’s Kaci Aitchison went around town to visit Seattle’s food trucks. Check out Marination around the 3:40 mark.

Food That Moves You: Meals on Wheels

Southwest Airlines Spirit Magazine, January 2010

Marination Mobile is included in an article about taking taste buds on a culinary journey:

YES! We Won The Best of 2009 as part of DailyCandy’s Sweetest Things.

We were honored when we were nominated for DailyCandy’s Sweetest Things competiton, but we were even more honored when all our amazing fans voted and made us number one! Check it out on DailyCandy’s site here.

Quick Bites and Carts that Reach New Heights

By Jay Friedman, Gastrolust.com, December 31,2009

But the best food truck now roaming the streets of Seattle (and about the only mobile truck operating through the winter) is Marination Mobile. Take the wonderful forms of Mexican food, and amp up the flavor with Korean and Hawaiian influences, and it’s a whole new ball game. Tacos are just two dollars, and they’re available in four varieties–trust me when I say kalbi beef is the best.

What impresses me most, though, was the Kalua kimchi quesadilla. Oh, I enjoy the fermented veggies in the kimchi fried rice bowl ($5), with a fried egg adding its usual magic. But in the quesadilla, kimchi elevates what I usually see as a throwaway dish to something spectacular. The kimchi has more zing than in the fried rice, playing nicely with the Kalua pork, and a smattering of slaw and jalapeno slices on top finished the dish in fine fashion.

And in case you’re wondering, the spam sliders are surprisingly delicious.

Marination Mobile is proof that curb cuisine is catching kimchi-like fire in Seattle. How hot are the Marination mavens? They recently won Good Morning America Weekend’s national Best Food Cart Challenge. Great job, Marination! And here’s hoping 2010 brings us even more great street food…

The Top 10 Dishes of 2009

By Jonathan Kauffman, Seattle Weekly, December 29, 2009

Light a candle for Saint Lawrence, patron saint of cooks, because Seattle’s food scene seems to have weathered the apocalypse. Openings continue to equal or outnumber closures, and restaurants have scraped by on promotions and happy hours. This year saw more farmers markets, supermarkets (both Western and Asian), and bars selling $10 cocktails. And, just as every Seattle food writer has sworn for a quarter-century, I swear the food keeps getting better.

The majority of dishes—cocktails included!—that made my annual Top 10 list were appetizers, sides, and small bites. I couldn’t tell you whether that reflects the spirit of the age or simply my 2009 tastes, but when I look over my gut, these are the dishes its steep swell evokes most strongly, in no particular order:

Aloha slider, Marination Mobile, locations vary, marinationmobile.com, twitter: @curb_cuisine.

Street food blew up this year; all around the country, fooderati have been chasing down taco trucks and food carts with the fervor of matsutake hunters. In Seattle, only a few trucks have made it through the permit hazing process—the city and the county health department haven’t exactly fostered a street-food-friendly environment—but luckily the initiates include the Marination Mobile. I like Kamala Saxton’s Korean-Hawaiian-Mexican spicy pork tacos, but crave her aloha sliders: tangerine-sized soft rolls filled with an inch-high pile of slow-roasted, soy-marinated, tender-as-a-People-profile kalua pork set off by Marination’s lime-bright cabbage slaw.

The Best of 2009: The Explosion of Cheap Eats

Seattle Magazine, December 2009

Marination’s kimchi quesadillas are featured in Seattle Magazine’s Best of 2009 issue! Check it out:

WooHoo! Marination Wins Best Food Cart in the Country on “Good Morning America Weekend!”

Marination beat out three other food carts to win the title of Best Food Cart in the Country. Good Morning America Weekend anchor, Ron Clairborne, visited Seattle’s sauciest food truck on Wednesday, Nov. 18 to taste Marination’s signature dish, the spicy pork tacos. On Sunday, Nov. 21, “GMA” announced that Marination had taken home the win!

Click here to see the “Good Morning America Weekend” announcement and here are some photos of the “GMA Weekend” visit:

Here’s some of our other press:

Press:

Print/online

• Serious Eats – Street Food Profiles
• Seattle Weekly – Marination Wins GMA Challenge
• Seattle Times: All You Can Eat – Good Morning America
• Eat All About It – Street Food Winter Shut Down (Not Marination)
• Fremont Universe – Marination is best street eats in the country
• The SunBreak – Inside the Marination Mobile
• DailyCandy – The Weekend Guide
• Magnolia Voice – Mobile Chowdown
• The Stranger Slog – Coming Soon: Mobile Chowdown!
• Seattle Metropolitan Nosh Pit – Street Eatin’
• Northwest Asian Weekly – Marination Mobile Cruises with Curbside Cuisine
• Seattlest – Dishin’: Kimchi Quesadillas at Marination Mobile
• Vital Juice Everywhere – Moveable Tweets
• The Stranger – Taking it to the Streets
• West Seattle Herald & Ballard News-Tribune: Fancy food truck finds upscale niche
• West Seattle Blog:  “Street food” update: Marination Mobile headed for High Point
• Jungle City (Japanese web site, we’re reviewed on Thursday, June 25th)
• CHS: Capitol Hill Seattle – Marination Mobile Debut – 4 Stars for the Spam Musubi
• MyNorthwest.com – Hawaiian-Korean taco truck hitsSeattle streets
• SeattleMag.com – Marination Mobile Rolls Out
• The Stranger: Slog – For Your Stomach’s Consideration
• DailyCandy Seattle – United Marinations
• Seattle Times: All You Can Eat – Street Food Keeps on Truckin’
• Seattle Magazine Blog: Marination Debuts This Week

TV

• KING 5 Evening Magazine – Curbside Cuisine Coming to You
• KING 5 News
• KOMO 4 News

Radio

• KOMO 1000 – SideDish

Marination serves spam sliders!

By Lara Papadakis on Examiner.com, November 9, 2009

Two words that together make you feel funny: SPAM and SLIDE. Unless of course you’re standing in front of the menu at Marination, another favorite of Seattle’s new wave of street food vendors. Because somehow, the girls behind the truck handle their spam with love and precision, creating a new classic out of a cult classic.

Interesting combinations come easily to co-owner Kamala Saxton, who is of Hawaiian-Korean descent. She draws heavily from the two cultures to whip up new itineraries for your tongue, then brings you home in familiar envelopes like white mini buns, tortillas or hawaiian sweet rolls. There’s the aloha slider, with Hawaiian kalua pork. Sweet and wonderful. Or the kalbi beef taco, with hunks of pungent Korean beef short rib meat, rolled into a cornmeal sleeping bag. Gamey weird-good. And of course the strangely attractive spam sliders. Everything is topped with their distinctive slaw, adding a refreshing crunch to every bite.

Let’s talk about the kimchee fried rice. It’s just rice, right? It’ll assume its typically underdoggish role in your meal, right? Stereotypes like these are exactly what earns this spectacular bowl the Surprise Favorite Award. The key to its success? Saxton is only HALF-Korean. Giving her enough perspective to understand that kimchee can be overwhelmingly kimchee-like to the rest of us. There’s just enough in here to keep things interesting, without being indulgent, plus an addictive toothiness to the rice, all christened by the generous outpouring of yolk from the egg on top. Scrumptious.

If that isn’t enough to roust you out of your Seattle wintry hibernation cave, just you and your internet, know this: everything is basically $2. Well, enough things to make it absolutely worth the trip. More than once. More than twice. You get the idea.

Marination is braving the winter months, unlike a lot of other vendors. But you’ll have to track them down, they relocate all the time. Follow their Twitter feed at @curb_cuisine.

Food Trucks: Maximus/Minimus Take the Winter Off

By Alicia Arter on SeattleMag.com, October 29, 2009

Food trucks are big in Seattle, but now two favorites are closing down during the fall and winter. Maximus/Minimus told Seattle Magazine today that they will send the pigmobile to the barn from October 31 to April 1, 2010. Skillet garaged its Airstream eateries on October 19.
Lower sales in the wintertime were cited as the reason for interrupting our meals-on-wheels expectations. Skillet is still around for box lunches, catering gigs and parties, and has a few more appearances until November 1.  Maximus/Minimus is looking at a possible extreme makeover in the next few months. Their veggie sandwich was so popular that the joke around their office is that they’ll be back in April as a huge metal grain of barley.
So what’s to eat mobile-wise? Here are a few places:
Marination Mobile remedied drippy weather concerns with a new tent and a sunny frame of mind. Big Blue (their truck) will be serving their Hawaiian/Korean deliciousness at the Sounders game Thursday night at Safeco Field rain or shine. marinationmobile.com

Mobile Food Chowdown in Seattle

By Julia Bainbridge on Moveable Feast on Conde Nast Traveler, October 9, 2009

As I mentioned in an earlier post, Seattle Chef Chester Gerl found his street food soul mate somewhere within Bangkok’s web of side streets. But what about his own town’s meals on wheels? He might be surprised by Gert’s BBQ or Skillet’s poutine. Those gourmet food trucks—along with Maximus Minimus, Parfait Ice Cream, and others—will come together Saturday for the Seattle Mobile Food Chowdown. There’s no entrance fee; just pay for your food. And if you want to hang out for a bit, we’re told you should bring your own lawn chair.

When: Saturday, October 10, 11am-3pm
Where: 1616 W. Bertona (Interbay)
Twitter: Yup, it’s everywhere. Follow @mobilechowdown for updates on the event. Post your own tweets about the chowdown using the #mcd hashtag.

Seattle Mobile Chowdown

By Thrillist Seattle , October 7, 2009

A half-dozen of the city’s finest street food purveyors are gathering for this one-day parking lot feast, including Maximus Minimus (pork sandwiches with eponymous sweet or spicy sauces), Skillet (bistro-style grub via its iconic Airstream), Marination Mobile (Korean/Hawaiian numbers like SPAM sliders with signature slaw), and Parfait, who, through handmade ice creams like Dagoba Chocolate, will ensure your diet matters not.

Mobile Food Chowdown

By Karen Johnson on SeattleMag.com, September 30, 2009

Marination Mobile participates in Mobile Chowdown:

“With so many options for gourmet street eats, it’s nearly impossible to keep up with what’s new—let alone what’s best. Haven’t sampled one of these gourmet meals on wheels yet? Head to the Seattle Mobile Food Chowdown on Saturday, October 10 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and taste the finest in Seattle mobile food from some of the city’s finest mobile food purveyors including: Marination Mobile, Skillet, Maximus Minimus, Kaosamai Thai, Gert’s BBQ, El Camion and Parfait Ice Cream.

What: Mobile Chowdown — a gathering of some of Seattle’s favorite food trucks.
Who: Marination Mobile, Skillet, Maximus Minimus, Gert’s BBQ, El Camion, Parfait Ice Cream
When: 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 10
Where: 1616 W. Bertona (Interbay)
Cost: No ticket fee for the public; just the cost of the food they order
Bring your own: If you want to hang out a bit, byo lawn chair.

On Twitter? Follow @seattlemag or @mobilechowdown for updates on the event. @mobilechowdown followers can participate in a trivia contest: One question a day Oct. 1 – Oct. 10 about participating food trucks or prize providers. The prize is a dinner for two at Tilth Restaurant, a night at the Sorrento Hotel–a great date package–plus a year-long subscription to Seattle mag. You can post your own tweets about the chowdown using the #mcd hashtag.”

Seattle’s Street Food Supremacy

By Ben Barna on BlackBookMag.com, September 23, 2009

“Seattle isn’t known for having cutting-edge eats, especially not in trucks that themselves are pretty unconventional. But here are three food trucks which we highly recommend to road trip it over to NYC, and spend the weekend parked in front of our apartment. We’ll split the gas.

Marination: Anything that calls itself “Seattle’s sauciest food truck” is an automatic winner. The marriage between Korean and Mexican food has long been a staple of L.A.’s famous Kogi truck, but this slick truck takes Korean classic and infuses them instead with a Hawaiian twist. Their SPAM slider (the unofficial national food of Hawaii is topped with their signature coleslaw and slider sauce, while their Kalbi (tender short-ribs marinated in all sorts of saucy goodness) is a must-try. Kimchi quesadillas are folded over jalapenos and kalua pork, and the tacos can be stuffed with innovative meat options like the ginger tofu chicken.”

To read the full article click here.

Eight Great Street-Food Vendors in Seattle

By Matthew Amster-Burton on Gourmet.com, September 22, 2009

Seattleite and Gourmet.com contributing writer, Matthew Amster-Burton, takes an inside look at Marination Mobile and other Seattle food trucks:

“Marination Mobile: The Korean-taco craze has finally hit Seattle (we had heard about L.A.’s Kogi BBQ for months, I tell you!) in the form of Marination Mobile, a slick, custom-built truck that announces its coordinates via web and Twitter. The sweet and beefy kalbi taco is the winner here, and there’s also Hawaiian food in the form of kalua pork and spam sliders. But more spice, please. We can take it! Multiple locations (marinationmobile.com; Twitter: @curb_cuisine)”

To read the full article click here.

Keep on Food Truckin’

by Howie Kanh in GQ, August 2009

Marination Mobile is in the August issue of GQ! Check it out:

Click here to read the full and easier to read article.

Marination Mobile Review

by Jonathan Kauffman in Seattle Weekly’s “Best Of” issue, July 29, 2009

There seems to be no more reliable business plan in Seattle these days than selling food off a truck—especially if you’re giving something down-home a little upscale twist. And the Spam items at Marination Mobile already have homesick Hawaiians and post-bar drunks memorizing the truck’s schedule. For the traditional Spam musubi of Hawaii, Marination takes a giant slice of grilled Spam and lays it over a rectangle of nori-wrapped rice. It looks like a cartoon-sized piece of sushi. For its sliders, the cooks grind up the Spam and bind it with egg, onion, and milk before forming patties, much like making a meatloaf. Throw it on a soft pull-apart dinner roll with slaw and “nonia” sauce (as in “none-ya business”), and you’re enjoying a perfect specimen of late-night or on-the-go grub that will turn any Spam-questioning haole into a convert.—Maggie Savarino

Marination Mobile is in the August issues of Seattle Magazine and Seattle Metropolitan Monthly:

See full pieces here and here.

Marination Mobile Review

by Jonathan Kauffman in Seattle Weekly, July 22, 2009

Eatin’ Good on the Sidewalk – The traffic’s getting pretty thick for Seattle’s newest street-food vendors.

MARINATION MOBILE

Concept: Shiny blue-and-silver truck with windows along the full length, as close to an open kitchen as these carts get, serving Korean-Hawaiian tacos, quesadillas, sliders, and a laid-back vibe, even at 1 a.m.

Locations: All over the place—for example, Belltown for lunch on Tuesday, Fremont lunch on Wednesday, at Pike and Broadway Thursday through Saturday nights (for now); more locations to come.

for SoDo today! 11am–2pm – 1701 First Ave. South – behind Seattle Design Build.”

Highlights: Marination’s clearly trying to reproduce the success of Kogi’s Korean BBQ tacos in L.A. (see sidebar), but there are enough novel twists that it’s not strictly a copycat. The kalbi (beef shortrib) and pork tacos—soft corn tortillas loaded up with tender grilled meat soaked in classic Korean marinades, frilly cabbage-carrot-sesame-cilantro slaw, and a smear of sriracha mayonnaise—are far better than the phrase “Korean taco” would lead you to expect. In fact, this may be the best street-food treat to hit Seattle since taco trucks arrived, dispensing carnitas and salsa roja. Not far behind the tacos is the Aloha slider, a tiny sweet-roll bun with smoky, oven-roasted kalua pork and the bright crunch of the slaw. The tacos and sliders all cost $2; consider ordering five. Apiece.

Bonus: For its late-night Capitol Hill customers, Marination makes a Spam slider, which is even more satisfying after four or five beers. So I hear.

Read full article here.

Two new reviews – one for the carnivores and one for the herbivores:

Pig Out – Chasing Down Seattle’s New Pork-on-Wheels Mobiles

By Dominic Holden in The Stranger, July 7, 2009

• “Taco-truck traditions, like corn tortillas, are given a generally elegant Korean bent, such as the kalbi beef tacos ($2), which taste like sweet bulgogi steak”
• “the aloha sliders, with thick ribbons of slow-cooked kalua pig and sliced picked jalapeños on sweet rolls, are divine.”
• Read full article here.

Marination Mobile Review

by Michael Natkin on Herbivoracious
July 09, 2009

• “Marination’s truck makes a good impression from a distance – shiny and clean, with cool graphics. Not that you eat the truck, but it makes you think that anyone who cares enough to keep the vehicle looking that good might be pouring some love into the food too. You’d be right.”
• “…the tofu tacos are vegetarian and delicious. The tofu is marinated (of course), grilled, and topped with a tangy slaw and slices of jalapeno, with limes to squeeze on and Sriracha sauce available if you want to spice them up. Three tacos make a good light lunch, and will only set you back $4.50 total – can’t beat that!”
• Read full post here.

In Seattle the Food Comes to You

by Travis Mayfield, June 18, 2009

Another food truck debuts: KOMO/4 was on the scene Wednesday when Marination Mobile, a new food-mobile starring Hawaiian-Korean food, made its first rounds. The truck was so popular with curious customers that it ran out of food after only two hours.

Following in the footsteps of the Kogi Truck in Los Angeles, food trucks like Marination Mobile have been popping up all over the nation. And also taking a cue from Kogi, Marination is on Twitter to let its customers know where it is and when.

Click the image to watch the story:

Best SPAM Conversion

By Maggie Savarino on Seattle Weekly’s Voracious
Tuesday, May. 26 2009 @ 10:20AM

OK, first let me say that the Marination truck is a thing of brutish beauty, a giant steel blue hulk of a food wagon, with the bumper of a tank and tricked out side windows that allow for a complete open kitchen view. I got lucky and was able to sample part of the menu at a staff tasting on Friday night. I came away stuffed, with plans to tattoo the truck’s time table on my inner forearm. (highlights after the jump…)

Tacos: The menu features kalbi beef, tofu marinated in the same kalbi style (might even top Baguette Box tofu), miso ginger chicken, and a pork that isn’t quite asador, isn’t quite barbeque. That pork sauce had my favorite style of heat, like a bass note that seemed to slowly build after the first bit. The tacos come with a signature nunia sauce. WHen I asked what it was, I got “none ya bizness.”

Sliders, kahlua pork and Spam: Traditional, melt in your mouth Hawaiian slow-cooked pork can’t go wrong. Marination grinds Spam and makes a type of meatloaf mixture for more of a patty, and the effect makes all the difference. (The truck will also serve Spam musubi.)

Kimchi quesadilla: Kimchi and pork with a Mexican cheese blend, the pro move of this little number is the fried cheese caked to the outside of the tortilla Kimchi fried rice with a soft cooked egg: I christen thee the official drunk entrée of Capitol Hill. The portion above is half the size of what Marination will serve.

So you wanna have your own food truck? The bar just got raised,son; but by all means, the more the merrier. Marination’s inspection is today, so if all goes well look for the truck as early as next week.

Marination Gets Ready to Roll

Check out this video from Marination’s friend, Greg Johnson, of Chef and Father:

Korean tacos come to Seattle

By Rebekah Denn on Eat All About It
Wednesday, Apr. 29 2009 @ 4:31PM

Every time a friend visits Los Angeles lately, I’ve been asking about Kogi, the amazing taco truck that’s almost singlehandedly causing trendspotters to call Korean food the next hot thing. I went so far as to figure I could rustle up enough contributions, along with other curious Seattleites, to lure the Kogi trucks to Seattle for a day, and wrote asking if they’d consider a Northwest road trip. The lovely and polite answer: They’re flattered, but don’t think their trucks would survive the drive. We’re still talking options, but that’s a long introduction to say I was absolutely thrilled to learn of Marination Mobile (http://www.marinationmobile.com/) , a Korean-Hawaiian taco truck opening soon on our own Seattle streets.

I talked today with Kamala Saxton, who is founding the venture with partner Roz Edison. In the truck kitchen will be Catherine Calleja, most recently of Yarrow Bay Grill. The first good sign: When Saxton answered the phone, she was busy cooking up a batch of kimchi fried rice, which will be one of the items sold on the truck, complete with a fried egg on top and a garnish of green onions, furakaki and sesame seeds. Other planned menu items: A kalbi taco, a spicy pork taco, braised tofu, and “Aloha Sliders” of kahlua pig on Hawaiian sweet rolls. And, says Saxton (whose heritage is both Hawaiian and Korean), she will not forget the Spam. Tacos start at $2, and nothing will run more than $5.

The business owners took a big step forward today, Saxton said, with approval of their plans from state L&I. Their truck is being custom-built in L.A. — they wanted one with huge popup windows that would allow everyone working to interact with customers — and it should arrive in about two weeks. They’re hoping to launch at the end of May, and will start out in SODO, Fremont, and Capitol Hill, with possible spots in the works for Beacon Hill and West Seattle. They got advice from Skillet Street Food’s Josh Henderson, who Saxton calls “the LeBron of street food.”

While Kogi was an inspiration, Saxton said the true genesis of the business was their love of food — in all their travels, the foods they have been most excited to taste have been street food — and from her roots in Hawaii. “This was the food I grew up on,” she said, and the “lunch truck” tradition she was familiar with. “We really have been doing this for years,” she said, and one of the hardest parts of the learning curve has been quantifying her recipes rather than just dipping ladles and marinating and grilling. Saxton and Edison both have backgrounds in public education, including charter schools, and Edison will continue her part-time work at UW in addition to the startup, while Saxton does consulting and “full-time-plus” on the truck.

The truck is almost here, the recipes — including a “very distinct slaw” that they’ve had fun developing — are in place, and now they’re eager to get going. “We’re thrilled about this new venture,” she said, “and being outside in Seattle in the summertime and being close to the people we serve and the people we’re working with.”

Want to stay posted? Besides watching this space, you can find them on Twitter at @curb_cuisine.

Marination Mobile Korean Hawaiian Truck in May

By Maggie Dutton on Seattle Weekly’s Voracious

Wednesday, Apr. 29 2009 @ 4:43PM

Two months ago Kamala Saxton and Roz Edison decided to chuck it all and build a dream, and that dream is a food truck, Marination Mobile. Not your average food truck, the pair will serve foods as diverse as tacos, miso ginger chicken, kimchi fried rice with fried egg on top, Kalua pig sliders, and SPAM sliders. I have had the honor of eating Kamala’s authentic Hawaiian kalua pork, and I am psyched, nay, bursting with happiness. Kamala said, “We want to keep things fun. I love the idea people being able to get a bowl with a scoop of rice, a scoop of macaroni salad, and a pile of guava ribs. We’ll definitely have options for vegetarians as well, but this is a chance to share our idea of comfort food.”

After little luck finding a builder for their truck in Seattle, they flew down to LA and had theirs built from scratch. “Even the builder said he’d never seen a configuration like ours before,” said Kamala. She adds, “Roz is the operations side, and she gave us a great flow and big windows so that, unlike other trucks, you’ll be able to see everything going on inside. That was important to us.”

The truck just passed the all important permit inspection for L&I. Permits willing, look for the truck the end of May, Thursday through Saturday on Capitol Hill (author note: yesssss!), and a day in Fremont and SODO. They also hope to get a permit for one of the large parks, possibly Magnuson. In the meantime, visit @curb_cuisine on Twitter for teasers and progress reports.