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Joshua Weissman
I Tried The Best Street Food In America
I Tried The Best Street Food In America
Joshua Weissman
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34:55 · Mar 16, 2025
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America
has
always
gotten
credit
for
two
things
fast
food
and
fine
dining.
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America has always gotten credit for two things fast food and fine dining.
0:03
But in between those two worlds there's something
0:05
that doesn't seem to get any credit:
0:07
street food.
0:08
Everywhere else in the world street food is a way of life,
0:10
but here in America I think it's often underappreciated and overlooked.
0:14
Often times the best food in the world isn't served on white tablecloths,
0:18
it's served from carts, trucks and Tiny Family -run stalls.
0:21
And today I'm going to uncover what America truly has to offer.
0:24
So we asked you the audience,
0:25
which cities have the best street food in America?
0:28
After thousands of responses we have our top four: New York, Los Angeles, Portland,
0:33
and Austin Texas.
0:34
I'm going to the streets of every single one of these cities
0:37
but I'm not going in blind.
0:39
In each city I've got a local street food expert to guide me through
0:42
their top five must-try spots
0:45
and by the end we'll have our answer.
0:46
The city with the highest-rated street food average wins the title of best street
0:51
food city in America,
0:53
starting with New York City.
0:55
Everyone knows the New York food scene is insane.
0:57
I ate the food from 20 plus countries in a single day here.
1:01
and that's why I Enlisted the help of Julian moo AKA Muber eats,
1:04
one of New York City's most respected street food connoisseurs
1:07
and he's going to show us his top five New York City spots,
1:09
starting with uh grills on the sidewalk?
1:12
We're Irie jerk.
1:13
I will say this is one of those things where
1:14
if you're walking on the side of the street
1:16
and you smelled what we're smelling you got to at least ask yourself should
1:19
I?
1:20
And the short answer is yeah cheers.
1:26
Succulent fall off the bone.
1:28
The spice levels are wonderful.
1:30
It's a little sweet.
1:30
It's seasoned perfectly.
1:32
Salt levels perfect, texture super moist, zero dryness present.
1:36
I've had jerk chicken it's a little too overs
1:38
and I don't mean spicy I mean like they mask the flavor of the
1:40
chicken this you're getting
1:41
that like nice chicken fat flavor
1:43
and it's perfectly balanced with the smokiness there's the sweetness of the sauce on
1:47
there and there is
1:47
that jerk chicken spice
1:48
that you want in there
1:49
but it's not too overwhelming I've had smoked chicken at barbecue restaurants in Texas
1:53
that had less flavor
1:54
and less smoke than this chicken right here
1:56
and it's cooked in a barrel on the side of the street this is
1:58
extraordinary really good I would travel out to eat this I would come travel
2:02
all the way out to come sit on the side of the road
2:03
and eat this texture
2:05
if it's all Leg it's a 95 flavor I'm going to give it a
2:07
92 out of 10 I mean this is like crazy thank you oh my
2:11
god unbelievable you got to come to Texas yo you have to invite me
2:15
I never been yeah we'll take you the barbecue guys you need to show
2:17
them a couple lessons I'm ready I'm going to be back I'm bringing my
2:20
wife moving on an incredibly strong start for New York City proof
2:23
that NYC street food is not only served from a food truck
2:27
or a cart like our next spot belian llama party there's no dining in
2:30
it's just a window on the street P.S I've never had believing in food
2:34
and I'm pumped to see how it Stacks up
2:36
so we're at probably it's fine just a gun two shots fired it's all
2:41
good three shots fired oh it's fireworks it's fireworks please help we are at
2:46
probably my favorite place in all of New York City it's Bolivian llama party
2:50
they specialize in Bolivian food what we have right in front of us is
2:53
the beef saltena it's a mix of a soup dumpling
2:56
and an empanada wow look at this beautiful dough toasted in the bottom it's
3:01
braided by hand I mean I love it the ideal way to eat it
3:04
take a small bite out of here let some of
3:06
that air out you take a little sip of the inside
3:08
and then you pour a little bit of the hot yaha inside wow this
3:13
is really something this is kind of perfect for this weather too by the
3:16
way it's freezing out here we have this like hot juicy sort of like
3:19
beef stew in the center it's spiced nicely the sweetness of the crust it's
3:23
got some crunch there's some softness there's some chew from the beef little Pops
3:27
from the peas It's like a god tier like Michelin level Hot Pocket I've
3:31
never heard that before absolutely delicious texture of the pastry I've had a lot
3:35
of different types of pastries
3:36
that are similar to
3:37
that texture on the inside I would bring
3:39
that sore down just slightly cuz I wish the beef were a little more
3:41
tender it's pretty chewy
3:43
but you know maybe that's the vibe it just kind of is a weird
3:45
contrast so I would give it a flat eight for texture flavor the spices
3:49
the garlic the onion all the things
3:50
that were in there were just exactly where I wanted to be it just
3:52
felt like I was eating a grandma food in the best way possible that's
3:56
a 7.5 out of 10 for flavor didn't blow my mind
3:58
but it's still a strong score moving on we're in Midtown right now we
4:02
got Halal Guys but why are we at Halal Guys this is one of
4:07
if not the OG street foods of New York City it's crazy cuz they
4:09
franchised they like started in the street
4:11
and they got out of the streets
4:13
and went big time most of these places now have run
4:16
because Hal guys has walked
4:18
so it better be good one thing I I know a lot of people
4:20
are going to say this Halal is not a type of food it's a
4:23
way of slaughtering animals
4:24
and that is true
4:25
but in New York City it is a thing
4:27
that people say I'm going to the halal cart on the corner is this
4:30
one of the best still it's a New York Street Food icon that's why
4:33
it's in here but there's a surprise
4:34
which we'll get to after we try this this is the OG the Halal
4:37
mixed platter chicken and beef over rice white sauce hot sauce one of the
4:42
things I love about Halal Guys I'm shocked at how much they've expanded
4:44
and how well they've maintained just the quality of everything the texture the rice
4:48
isn't overcooked it's chewy the salt levels are good
4:51
and it's fatty like it's it's just like rich
4:53
and juicy and the meat is seasoned perfectly with salt it's a little spicy
4:56
from the hot sauce I mean this is great T is a nine
4:59
and I'm not going to them for this
5:00
but their paa has always not been
5:01
that good just give me straight up H will you can just let
5:04
but everything else is lovely flaver an 8.8 I don't like giving franchises love
5:08
but Halal Guys always delivers somehow some way we do have something to say
5:12
we can't finalize this
5:13
because we have another one there's a competitor on the block now we're at
5:16
the surprise location of Dell some people are saying
5:18
that like Halal Guys has falling off
5:19
and these are the new ones is
5:20
that right this is the Halal darling right now it is 25° fah
5:24
and people are waiting in a line for cart food
5:27
so this is lamb
5:28
and chicken I'm going to try get a little bit of everything spicy rice
5:31
too that's a big difference I got to be real with you guys slightly
5:34
less good in my opinion
5:36
because it's not seasoned
5:37
as well it's not spicy at all there's no spice at all in there
5:40
this one's missing a little flavor to me the other one was more flavorful
5:42
it was more fatty
5:43
so you're saying that this line we should see in front of Hal guys
5:46
instead or split 50/50 I think it should be split 50/50 this seems like
5:49
a personal preference thing personally it's not seasoned
5:51
as well with salt I don't taste any lamb the lamb is not
5:53
that flavorful I thought the beef was more flavorful than both of these combined
5:56
the chicken is under seasoned try both pick your favorite I don't give a
5:59
they're both delicious but I'm going to give this one to Halal Guys that's
6:02
the one we'll enter in the competition wow shout out to them on to
6:05
the next thanks to the video where we ate around the world in 24
6:07
hours I've had some of Queen's most famous street food
6:10
so I guess Julian had a little curveball for me we're in a parking
6:12
lot where are we we're here at Rockstar tick in for palal Korean Fried
6:16
Chicken it is hot Korean sweet chili sauc wing spice level two out of
6:21
what I think out of two oh
6:23
so max this is the spiciest SAU
6:24
that you have they br it to order everything is made fresh everything is
6:28
handmade homemade that's hard work these are Sauced beautiful this is exactly how I
6:32
would sauce mine coated it's got breading on every square inch
6:35
as it should be oh yeah super super super tender almost falls off the
6:39
bone and the sauce is not too sweet
6:41
which I really appreciate yeah it has a little bit of
6:43
that kick that you really want I would take it spicier honestly the spice
6:46
level is good for the average Joe
6:48
if you were to come here
6:48
and get a two out of two I think most people can handle this
6:50
spice but it's just enough heat to keep it exciting first thing I got
6:53
to say is the chicken not even considering the breading was unbelievably succulent perfectly
6:57
cooked the crispiness I like my wings crunchier usually I don't think I've had
7:01
wings with that thin of a crust from a Korean Wing texture I'll go
7:04
with the seven chicken flavor was super apparent it was very chicken Ford I
7:07
like that the sauce didn't overpower the chicken flavor flavor a seven
7:11
as well New York City going strong
7:12
but with three huge cities to come tend to get a boost from the
7:15
final spot Steinway Halal where we not only got this charcoal grilled chicken
7:19
but two kinds of rice two soups
7:21
and a salad so all of this is like what like 30 40 bucks
7:24
$15 wow look I tried everything with how cold it was outside it did
7:28
kind of hit emotionally
7:30
but the main event chicken I got to be honest bit dry heavily UND
7:33
seasoned in my opinion the meal itself from a value perspective is incredible
7:38
but texture and flavor really just kind of fell flat for me just slightly
7:41
above mid with a 5.5 on flavor
7:43
and texture sitting at around 5.5 is
7:45
that a terrible score I would count
7:47
that as mid we still have some insanely high scores making Julian's top spots
7:51
hard to beat but we're moving on to the place
7:53
that I reside Austin Texas we now move on to a new co-host to
7:57
represent Austin the David Douglas a prolific Austin food reviewer a buddy of mine
8:01
who also appeared on our
8:03
which country has the best breakfast video listen Austin is a special place to
8:07
me and I know it's in good hands with his help we are starting
8:10
with high expectations here the potato Barbo breakfast taco at Michelin bib gormand Las
8:14
Santa barbacha looking good they didn't skimp on beauty
8:17
and it's loaded the up
8:19
and this is always how it comes by the way that's busting I don't
8:23
how long you've lived in Austin
8:24
but I've been in Austin for the better part of 6 to 7 years
8:27
roughly the barbacco is succulent it's fatty the creaminess from the avocado plays well
8:31
the tortillas are so fragrant like
8:32
when you lift this up to your mouth the first thing you get before
8:34
you even bite it is the smell it's almost floral
8:37
so nice shoe on the tortilla is great I have always felt the breakfast
8:41
taco was a bit overrated
8:42
and I think that
8:43
if you really want a good experience you got to go to a place
8:45
like this I love it I mean texture wise such a simple thing tortilla
8:49
egg cheese meat avocado
8:50
and it's getting an 87 it's a crazy high number flavor the Barbara Kaa
8:54
by itself that's like a 9 and5 I do wish there was a little
8:57
salt on the Avo to help bring it together flavor I'm going with a
9:00
seven this is easily the highest best breakfast taco I've ever had in Austin
9:04
that's what I like to hear I'm very competitive
9:06
and I'm giving Austin the best chance
9:08
so I want to see these types of scores every place on that's my
9:10
hope that's my dream let's make
9:12
that dream a reality moving on welcome to kg barbecue holy dude they loaded
9:17
us up I have always wanted to go here I just want to be
9:20
really clear the line is always
9:21
so long and for obvious reasons I'm glad
9:24
that they're hooking us up today
9:25
though holy they don't mess around here I'm half Middle Eastern
9:29
and the flavors here are what I grew up with
9:31
but with Texas Barbecue Cooking style
9:34
so the ribs are made the same way you'd make Texas style ribs they
9:37
have a pomagranate glaze pomegranates on top Zar dusted mac
9:40
and cheese look look look look look at this look at this the chef
9:44
grew up in Egypt
9:45
when he visited here he fell in love with Texas barbecue years later he's
9:48
here the James Beard nominated barbecue spot crushing it those are the most balanced
9:53
ribs ever they're not too sweet they're not too salty they're like a little
9:56
spicy the zatar comes in for some fragrance mac
9:59
and cheese fire cooked nicely shells are nice the sumac pickled onions crazy
10:03
and the rice is fragrant it's cooked nicely welcome to the culture brother lamb
10:07
bacon ribs right here oh my God they're
10:09
so juicy Loosey take a little this chimmy Cherry put
10:11
that right there that is phenomenal
10:15
that is one of the best bites of lamb I think in the city
10:18
anything you badly associated with lamb is replaced with fat
10:20
and flavor it's not gy it's just Smoky salty delicious melts in your mouth
10:25
super succulent look at this juicy lamb chop whatever there soic in this lamb
10:29
from as a God said this is
10:31
so perfectly seasoned with salt
10:32
and just flavor and smoke
10:34
and it's juicy this feels like the marriage of Texas
10:36
and Egyptian food together putting on a sauce would be wonderful
10:40
but it's so good on it own it doesn't need it you never get
10:42
barbecue that's balanced like this where you have a little bit of everything overall
10:45
experience for texture was incredible
10:47
but it did fall just a bit
10:48
because the sliced brisket was not great I'm not going to lie David said
10:51
it was an off day
10:52
but I'm still going with a strong nine there's
10:54
so many options here I think it still deserves
10:56
that I mean it's a Onslaught a flavor spices sweet sour tart salty fatty
11:01
acidic I mean what the else is there you could possibly want in one
11:04
meal what would have already been a nine I'm going to give a 9.3
11:07
out of 10 on Flavor we might have a winner on our hands
11:09
but there's only one way to find out moving on we are at desata
11:12
what I think is the most addicting Taco in Austin we've done a breakfast
11:16
taco but the taco scene in Austin is
11:18
so developed you really need to experience both
11:20
and discata does things differently they actually cook their tacos in one giant stew
11:25
that are made out of discs
11:27
and they render out five different types of neat this is beautiful Cheers Cheers
11:34
wa dude what the why haven't I been here I didn't know
11:37
that Austin did tacos like this yes I've been shoting on Austin's tacos scene
11:40
for way too long I'm from Los Angeles I think the best tacos in
11:43
America do not come from Texas I think they come from Los Angeles
11:46
that said this is blurring
11:47
that line pretty aggressively for me the meat is phenomenal it's perfectly fatty perfectly
11:52
seasoned with salt the flavor is wonderful it's just what I want it's a
11:56
little bit of sweet salty spicy this pickled habanero
11:59
when I put all
11:59
that on there I got a little scared
12:00
and it's all nice
12:01
and balanced out with
12:02
that really finely chopped p uh pineapple I almost said P Cola I can't
12:05
pick apart what is
12:06
or isn't wrong with it
12:08
because it's kind of all there honestly texture 9 free there was Zero dryness
12:11
it wasn't too fatty I've had tacos
12:13
that weren't dry but were almost too fatty these were very balanced I'm going
12:16
give flavor 92 very good delicioso I might say I cringed myself out on
12:20
that one all right we were driving here I looked at the map
12:23
and it said you are headed to cocky juicy we're being told
12:26
that it might be ey I think it's cocky I could be wrong I've
12:29
never seen Fried Chicken like this a corn Masa flour dredge
12:33
and a wakan chili sauce this is either going to be way too much
12:36
or a game changer we take a drumstick we take our lime we give
12:40
it a we squeeze take a bite wo
12:42
that really is cocky juicy
12:44
and then this is where I go right into the housemade queso the queso
12:48
I like it's a very naughty bite this is naughty
12:50
but the queso kind of Mellows out some of the spices cuz they're does
12:52
this is like drunk food
12:53
but it's so good it's Rich it's fatty perfectly crispy it's spicy it's sweet
12:58
it's salted nice ooh it is spicy wow
13:00
so I prepared a little surprise for us what goes well with fried chicken
13:04
oh wow sparkling wine dude you're a naughty boy he's been toing this around
13:08
all day for this fried chicken
13:10
and champagne or sparkling wine is one of the greatest combinations in human existence
13:14
it's dare I say finger looking good let's talk about the texture the cook
13:19
on the chicken perfect it was very juicy no dryness present the crunch was
13:22
perfect I didn't want any more I didn't want any less I like
13:24
that it was a firm stiff crackly crunch that's how I make mine personally
13:28
love the addition of
13:29
that sort of like Flavor paste on the outside
13:31
if you will seems like they're dunking in Nashville hot oil I'll give it
13:34
a 92 cuz I have had better textured Fried Chicken
13:36
but not by much flavor unexpected it's sweet it's spicy it's salty it's garlicky
13:41
it's fragrant might be one of the best fried chickens I've had I mean
13:44
it's also a 91 I would say on Flavor Austin rolling after four spots
13:47
but the final spot needs a 12
13:49
or higher to take the lead against New York City
13:51
and our gu's choice could be a little risky street food with sushi hand
13:55
rolls cheers after trying all three rolls my Top Choice with the hamuro I
14:00
love Hamachi it was wonderfully seasoned the crispy shallots the whiskey ponzu you know
14:05
the flavor was really an 8.5 now let's talk about texture
14:08
as I was chewing I started to realize something I think this was just
14:12
a simple mistake and it happens from time to time I honestly don't even
14:15
blame them maybe they had a rough day
14:17
but the rice was undercooked
14:19
and crunchy and sometimes
14:20
that happens I wouldn't hold it against them
14:22
and I absolutely will be going back
14:24
but I've got to say
14:25
that really hurts my score here
14:27
so I'm giving the texture a flat five
14:29
which is still pretty high considering the rice is the most important part
14:32
when it comes to eating sushi that's going to happen sometimes I won the
14:35
perfect day in Austin Texas for Joshua Weissman
14:38
and I couldn't get Perfection
14:39
but I got as close
14:40
as I could and I hope we put up a good fight against those
14:43
bigger batter cities oh man Austin SLE average takes a big hit with
14:47
that last score unfortunately
14:49
but it's still in the lead
14:50
as we head to Portland Oregon it's a city I've never been to
14:53
but supposedly the food is great we'll see about
14:55
that our Portland guide is Mike th a longtime food writer former J beard
14:59
judge food festival founder
15:01
and let's be honest General Portland Food expert he's starting us off with Korean
15:05
food at one of Portland's most iconic
15:07
and longest running carts Kim Jong gillin now originally we were going to try
15:10
the gby beam box
15:12
that you see here
15:13
but Midway through the owner Han surprised me with a Korean inspired hot dog
15:17
that he thinks will steal the show oh dude it's bread holy dude in
15:21
the sauce in here wow
15:23
if somebody was like what is Korean Aman
15:24
that would be it I'm sorry Vic
15:26
but this like totally demolishes any Chicago dog that's ever exist I never ever
15:31
want to see a white hot dog bun ever again after trying this cuz
15:35
the baguette is like somehow like crispy
15:37
but the crispness is
15:38
so thin and the inside is
15:40
so soft and fluffy it just it doesn't fall apart it's just nice
15:43
but then also that BonChon daon
15:45
and then this creamy sort of like acidic a little bit sweet with a
15:48
little bit of spicy Umami sauce in there brings it all together it's like
15:52
glazed spam when you take spam
15:54
and you put a little goddamn sweet soy glaze on
15:56
that this is giving
15:57
that Vibe but new way I get the texture of solid like nine
16:01
which is so weird giving
16:02
that to a hot dog
16:02
but it's like the sourcing of the bread
16:04
so much better than any hot dog bun you'll ever have
16:07
because it's not even a hot dog bun he's using a bon me bun
16:10
I mean it's genius the crunch from the bonchan at the bottom
16:13
and then that soft like almost juicy pickled mango on top I don't know
16:16
that a hot dog could be better than
16:17
that score for flavor I think a solid nine
16:19
as well two n anything above a seven I'm usually bewildered
16:22
but right now I'm I don't know how we're going to find a number
16:25
one here moving on we are at the Midtown beer garden specifically what we're
16:29
trying here is Bing me
16:30
which is the only place in Portland
16:32
that really specializes in Northern Chinese style Jang Bing these in particular it's like
16:36
a super crispy thin crepe filled with egg kind of a nice spicy sauce
16:41
a crunchy wanton cracker
16:43
that you know you can literally hear people bite into from across the room
16:45
I heard him cutting into it yeah literally freezing out here I was warming
16:49
my hands up probably I don't know 10 to 15 ft away from the
16:52
cart and I heard a crunch
16:53
and I turned and it was
16:54
that man yeah we have two types you have the sort of classic one
16:57
that everyone kind of raises about the most that's the roasted duck
17:01
and then this one here is the Chinese sausage two of my favorite things
17:05
oh yeah I want to rewind to
17:06
when we went to New York we got Jang Bing in New York this
17:09
is way better than
17:10
that one there's a perfect amount of duck in here it's super fatty
17:14
and Rich within that you've got this nice refreshing crunchy cucumber
17:17
and it's seasoned beautifully you've got the Chinese sausage cheers
17:21
which one's your favorite I kind of like the sausage cuz it has the
17:24
same kind of sweetness
17:24
as the duck but it's a little more salty I think it just sort
17:27
of works the palette a little more it gets you the extra saltiness to
17:30
get the rest of the way there
17:31
and the fattiness from the Chinese sausage
17:32
and look how thinly cut it is it's
17:34
so thin and almost like melts on your tongue you got a little bit
17:36
of spiciness from it too it's sweet it's like almost caramelized in a way
17:40
I've had both easily the Chinese sausage one is the Hallmark one to me
17:43
I'm going to give the rating to this texture solid 9.3 flavor 9.1 Jang
17:48
Bing wow one of the top scores of the entire journey I should probably
17:53
go before I eat this whole thing moving on we're in the Knob Hill
17:57
food cart pod in Northwest port we're here for bajala
18:00
which is one of the newer food carts
18:01
that we're trying today they're known for seafood Centric Baja style Mexican food
18:04
and we tried three total tacos here first sturgeon
18:07
which was a bit odd I got to be honest not expecting
18:10
that then the fried shrimp
18:11
but our final Taco was by far my favorite we're also doing the ganador
18:16
which is flow tortilla with really really nice cheese fresh vegetables
18:20
and cooked in a lot of butter oh my god dude this is way
18:23
better than I thought it was going to be we had a taco very
18:25
similar to this V I don't know
18:27
if you remember this was
18:27
when I almost shot in Mexico City
18:30
and we had a taco
18:30
that was very similar to this with cheese quesadilla a little bit of butter
18:33
I think maybe that was their inspiration of it being like a Baja inspired
18:36
one I don't know this is 10 times better than
18:39
that it's salty get a little bit of a crispy skirt of cheese around
18:42
the taco the texture is wonderful
18:44
because you got all this vegetable
18:45
and like you've got some fresh tomato with perfectly cooked shrimp
18:48
and then little pieces of pablano
18:49
that are charred and nicely softened
18:51
but still They're Not
18:51
So Soft that they're gooey this like Takes the Cake this is something special
18:55
so this is what I'm going to rate texture the butter adds this unbelievable
18:58
crispiness to the outside of the tortilla
19:00
while remaining that elastic chew
19:01
then there's all those different textures the fresh tomato it's juicy it's cheesy it's
19:05
got a little bit of toothsomes from the shrimp
19:07
so texture I'm going to give a solid 8.9 out of 10 flavor often
19:10
times when you see tomato in a taco like this the first thing
19:12
that happens is you lose salt
19:14
because the Tomato then dissolves the salt
19:16
and dilutes the intensity of flavor that's not happening here the seasoning is throughout
19:19
flavor of the shrimp is fresh it's not fishy it's Oceanic it's got brightness
19:23
I think this is also a nine Baja what's going on bring the Baja
19:27
to make me go baa moving on we are here at the Little America
19:31
food cart pot and we are at a Korean Fried Chicken Place specifically called
19:34
frybaby owned by Sunny hatch this is like his rookie Endeavor was Fred baby
19:39
that's the first thing he ever did
19:40
and immediately is the most talked about food card in the city of Portland
19:43
Oregon we tried two items the classic go Jong wings
19:46
and the snow cheese Wings little unusual
19:49
but supposedly they say mac
19:50
and cheese meets chicken wing
19:52
and it's one of the most talked about street food dishes in all of
19:55
Portland yeah I mean it looks almost like an unfinished gem it feels like
19:58
if you ran this through a polisher what would spit out is possibly a
20:01
chicken wing shaped diamond they also gave us a dime bag of what they
20:05
call Korean Sparkle it's like brahen powder love
20:08
that so they were nice enough smart enough
20:11
and kind enough to give us what I like to call condoms for eating
20:15
their gloves here we go the snow cheese this giant monstrosity where do I
20:20
even begin wow wo it's good right dude what the TR a little Sparkle
20:24
in there with wings one of the hard things about it is you kind
20:27
of get like a wet crunch yeah this is a really nice dry crisp
20:31
crunch that immediately hits you
20:33
and I don't know what the they did like you can see the separation
20:36
of the seasoning and the chicken
20:37
so the seasoning form like a crispy barrier
20:39
that is substantial I'm not picking up tons of cheese notes I'm picking up
20:42
a subtle toasted parmesan flavor
20:44
and I really like it
20:45
and then if you use a little bit of the Korean Sparkle you add
20:48
a little bit of omami a little bit of salt a little MSG in
20:50
there that's really hitting I will say like
20:52
if I were to have one critique I wish there was like a touch
20:54
more salt before I go any further let's try the go Jang oh dude
20:58
come on this is another Portland versus New York situation Korean Fried Chicken in
21:02
New York in the freezing cold we're in the freezing cold again
21:04
but this time in Portland we have two great goliaths in the Fried Chicken
21:08
world and the question is who had the better Korean fried chicken to me
21:12
by far the one in the lead is Portland it's got more depth of
21:15
flavor it's got that rich pepper go Jong flavor this is like how I
21:18
would make mine I hate
21:19
that I'm comparing it to the way
21:20
that I make mine
21:21
but if I were to rate one of these I'm honestly going to go
21:23
with the original one I hate to be a bit of an outlier I
21:25
know everybody's saying that the cheese one is their favorite the cheese one is
21:27
delicious and I will come back for
21:29
that I think it's a unique offering
21:30
but if we go to the Classic this is a banger texture nine easy
21:34
this has been sitting here with the sauce in the cold
21:36
if it were my wings they would have been soggy by now the fact
21:38
that they're still Crunchies I think speaks volumes to them flavor it's got all
21:41
the flavors that I want I almost wish there was just a hint more
21:43
saltiness like maybe a little bit of soy sauce flavor flat eight
21:46
which is strong Portland our Korean Wing champion
21:49
and through four spots Portland is killing it
21:51
but our next spot Matt's barbecue tacos listen taking a Texan for barbecue
21:56
and Tacos that's a risky Behavior here's the real question this spot could backfire
22:00
and completely ruin Portland's average
22:02
and thus kick them out from even winning mats needs to score 13.5
22:06
or higher to hold Portland's current lead
22:08
and two tacos will decide
22:10
that the brisket breakfast taco
22:11
and the barbecue porkbelly Taco what makes this really special is they make their
22:15
own flower tortillas I will say a lot of the places even in Austin
22:18
don't make their own tortillas
22:19
so they've got a leg up immediately first bite the promise is there
22:23
and they delivered first of all this brisket is cooked really nicely it is
22:26
Cho brisket which I should say kind of gives a a little bit of
22:28
a leg up shop brisket is the easiest to make good
22:31
because you're tossing with barbecue sauce
22:32
and you're chopping the lean with the fatty
22:34
so you can hide all the imperfections with all the fatty cuts
22:36
that said I got a big chunk leine in
22:37
that and it was moist it was tender it did not have a steaky
22:40
chew but one the first thing I noticed was
22:41
that nice Smoky flavor the eggs are cooked nicely they're not like super rubbery
22:45
they're nice and tender it's like flaky almost you can see there's a little
22:48
air pockets going on in there
22:50
and I like that that's adding the density of this taco
22:52
and it creates a formidable base to hold all this meat
22:56
and also by the way potatoes are really good wow I'm like nervous almost
23:01
unbelievable the importance of this is picking the right cut of belly it's not
23:04
too fatty it's got the perfect ratio of meat
23:06
and fat it's really hard to find pork belly like
23:08
that it's almost got a bacony cure to it I don't know
23:10
if you feel that way yeah totally I'm going to vote for the breakfast
23:12
taco as my favorite of the two this is a top 10 breakfast taco
23:15
firstly it's the homemade tortilla
23:17
but more importantly the eggs were actually properly seasoned with salt this stands
23:20
that a solid eight for texture
23:22
and eight for flavor
23:23
but Austin chefs more specifically the ones serving breakfast tacos please hear me out
23:27
it's time to step it up guys
23:28
if you make breakfast tacos in Austin step it up you got to show
23:30
these guys up I got to say I had much better of an impression
23:33
than I expected from Portland not
23:34
that I thought it would be bad
23:35
but it exceeded my expectations
23:37
which means it's now in the lead after conquering two of America's top Street
23:40
Food Cities except there's one more missing
23:43
that we have to see
23:44
and that is where I was born Los Angeles it's a city celebrated for
23:49
its street food but it's faced troubling times devastating wildfires in early 2025
23:54
that left unimaginable destruction behind
23:57
and as an LA native witnessing this was heartbreaking to say the least it's
24:01
one thing to see it on the news it's another thing to see it
24:04
in person but even in tragedy food is at the heart of this city
24:11
chefs line Cooks street food vendors restaurants despite being part of such a vulnerable
24:16
industry are among the first to step up feeding those in need without hesitation
24:21
today we're joined by memo Torres of La Taco a James Beard award-winning publication
24:26
that not only shares the best taco spots
24:28
but also covers the true Community behind the beauty of food during the fires
24:32
they were on the front lines amplifying the stories of the tragedy the recovery
24:37
and the taco vendors who turned their food stands into relief stations one of
24:41
those taco vendors on the front lines is our first stop today Marisco's halisco
24:46
arguably LA's most famous taco truck thanks to honestly a very simple creation just
24:51
a shrimp taco how good is it going to be really this is one
24:56
of the most addictive tacos you can get in
24:58
that and it always hits it's always the same
25:01
and never disappoints I always say oh seafood tacos are underrated right cuz a
25:05
lot of people don't order them
25:06
and I always try to push people to order a little bit more seafood
25:08
tacos just try them
25:09
if anyone were to start here you would never want to order a meat
25:12
Taco again this is Bonkers like phenomenal I've had over 1,000 tacos in La
25:18
there's very few I crave
25:20
and I run back to this is one of them there's
25:22
so many things going on the first thing I noticed is like the temperature
25:25
youve got this like really beautifully like hot on the inside a little bit
25:28
warm on the outside
25:29
and then that cold refreshing salsa on top the cold refreshing avocado it plays
25:34
really well together temperature I don't even think it's been a topic of conversation
25:37
until now this is the first time
25:38
that we're talking about it in the whole video texture is unbelievable by applying
25:42
this sort of like a little bit more moist a little bit more wet
25:45
salsa it calms down the crunch without losing the crunch you now have a
25:48
little bit of chew
25:49
and then of course the inside is just like this luscious moist ooey gooey
25:53
I don't even know what the is in there to be honest with you
25:55
but it tastes nobody knows what's in there it's a secret people haveed Pride
25:58
out of him we don't know what what's in this memo also recommended the
26:03
Poseidon tostada which looks insane it's very tasty
26:07
but truthfully I really was more focused on the shrim taco textured I think
26:10
it's a 94 honestly it's like the best textured shrim Taco in human history
26:15
flavor dude it's 940
26:16
that might be the highest rating I've ever given crazy work moving on we're
26:20
at taka which is one of the OG beta trucks I know be exploded
26:24
everywhere but these guys have been doing it for a long time one of
26:26
the special things about these guys
26:27
that other beta trucks on do is
26:28
that they do goat
26:29
and they do beef
26:30
and on top of
26:30
that they make their own handmade tortillas I like
26:33
that they do both beef
26:34
and goat cuz I feel like often times any time I've gone anywhere it's
26:37
either one or the other
26:38
and most of the time nowadays it's beef you don't really see goat anymore
26:41
that's obviously the more traditional route I like
26:43
that they're kind of trying to cater to both parties nothing much you got
26:46
your cons there too let's see you do it oh F yeah this has
26:49
flavor I want to like try
26:50
and persuade you here for anybody who has had Bea before you really should
26:53
be looking for the goat variety I think
26:55
that you're going to get a more authentic flavor
26:57
but it's really not like I think
26:58
when everyone's afraid of it's going oh it's going to be gayy I'm not
27:00
going to like it first of all you got to try it before you
27:02
start talking second of all beef to me is
27:05
so mellow that it gets lost in all the power of this flavor you've
27:08
got chili you've got the onion the fresh cilantro
27:11
and of course that nice cons that's just like enrobing this Rich bite
27:14
but the beauty of having goat in there is you can actually taste the
27:17
meat so now it's a whole experience I think this is great this would
27:21
definitely go in one of my top contending bira it was far better than
27:24
the one that we had in Mexico City in my opinion the whole history
27:26
of bira it was created to tame the gaminess of goat
27:30
if you ever get a goat taco
27:31
and you still taste a goat they didn't do it right all right I'm
27:33
going to break this down texture super crisp on the outside
27:36
and a lot of tortillas this is why you can tell
27:37
that they're making them here
27:38
when they try to get
27:39
that crispy exterior in their older tortillas they do get a little crispy
27:42
but they're kind of like leathery this is like a nice snack it's still
27:45
a little bit elastic from the tortilla you've got the cheese in there that's
27:48
kind of promoting that chew even more
27:50
and the meat is
27:51
so soft it melts in your mouth not too spicy at all I almost
27:54
wish it was a little spicier for me personally
27:56
but that's what the salsa was for
27:57
so there you go honestly I'm going to give the texture a 9.1 out
28:00
of 10 flavor I almost wish there was just a tiny tiny bit more
28:02
salt I wouldn't say this is UND salted even without
28:05
that though the flavor is
28:06
so intense I think I'm going to get the flavor an 8.8 out of
28:08
10 very very very very strong start we have much more to go moving
28:12
on so I'm super excited to bring you to the spot it's one of
28:14
my newest favorite spots we're in Cypress Park down the hill from Dodger Stadium
28:18
and this is one of the first tacos I've been into immediately was like
28:21
this is a winner this is their alaur taco
28:23
and one of the unique things
28:24
that they do here is they're The Offspring of a good franchise in Tijuana
28:28
called taso which used to be called takaso
28:31
so like the tortillas they're all from Tijuana he's got his great marinade on
28:34
it and one of the most unique things
28:35
that he does that you won't see anywhere else is
28:37
that cilantro cream on top yeah I love
28:39
that there's two sauces basically go ahead
28:41
and take a bite better than any alpast store
28:44
that we had in Mexico City by far this is exactly what people imagine
28:48
when they see that juicy trumpo hot
28:50
and sweaty seasoned to the maximum with salt there's zero dryness it's nice
28:54
and fatty it's luscious it's unctious
28:56
and then all that richness gets cut by the acidity in the pineapple the
29:00
sweetness of the pineapple it's nice
29:01
and acidic in the crema too the crema is not overwhelmingly creamy exactly
29:05
because I think if it was it might almost be too much it's also
29:07
very fresh I'm like drooling over here yeah one of the most unique things
29:10
about this Sakara though is
29:11
that he takes after his father who taught him this trick he has a
29:14
specific salsa and a specific tortilla for every meat
29:17
that you want this is why I always say the best tacos in America
29:20
do not come from New York they do not come from Texas they come
29:24
from California in Los Angeles
29:26
and this is an exact epip moment you'll have
29:28
if you come me here you'll know what the I'm talking about I'm not
29:31
joking and I know a lot of people are going to think oh you're
29:33
so biased I really don't give a
29:34
that is what I believe
29:35
because when I put it in my mouth I want to take my pants
29:37
off do you understand flavor the meat I taste the anxiousness of the pork
29:43
and the spices and it's garlicky
29:45
and Rich and you can get
29:46
that a little bit of
29:46
that achiote it's got
29:48
that cream herbaceousness from the cilantro cream flavor 96
29:51
and I think I'm going to give the texture a 95 this is the
29:53
highest score of the video
29:54
so far and that means
29:55
that we've only got a few more places left to see
29:57
if that can be beat moving on okay
29:59
so we went a little bit off the path here we went to KI
30:02
I picked this out it's been around for a long time actually it's been
30:04
around so long that I would argue it might
30:06
as well have been one of the first most important food trucks of the
30:10
United States of America they kind of kicked off basically the food truck scene
30:14
I grew up eating off of these growing up with my dad
30:16
and you know working around La after Ki took over the truck style
30:19
and did his thing Roach Coach is no more it was like the fusion
30:22
trucks the food trucks
30:23
and the whole scene exploded all over not just LA
30:25
but the US it made the public com able with eating street food in
30:29
a big way across the US in other countries it's very common no one
30:33
thinks twice about it
30:34
but in America we're all about sanitation
30:36
and oh my God I don't know
30:37
if I can eat
30:37
that off the street
30:38
so we got the sliders we got the Korean K Dog what we're going
30:40
to do is we're going to try these whichever one is better is the
30:42
one that we are going to rate okay it's good yeah the Korean barbecue
30:46
sauce on that when I saw the bag shredded cheese scared you a little
30:49
bit didn't I got scared yeah
30:50
but that fear turned to Joy the meat is super tender it's not chewy
30:54
nice little sear the Korean I guess barbecue sauce whatever is on there is
30:57
sweet it's salty it's perfectly balanced it's a little bit acidic too I like
31:00
the acidity in there that's really important you got the crunch from the Fresh
31:03
cabbage it's got a little bit of like a kimchi flavor to it
31:05
but this bun is like remarkable I don't know where the they're sourcing these
31:09
buns this might be one of the best slider buns I've ever had in
31:11
my life it's not like a King's Hawaiian rooll
31:13
but it's very similar yeah it's not
31:14
as sweet but it's soft like it
31:15
and it's buttery honestly forget the K dog cuz
31:18
that thing look whack
31:18
as I'm just going to vote for this you sure I mean you don't
31:20
want the Gizzy the way
31:22
that that is slung over let's just let them have this win
31:25
and call it a day I'm curious man I'm going to give it a
31:26
try this dude really wants this we had it I got all all right
31:30
all right was that right yeah
31:33
that bun was not it man okay okay texture can I get a drum
31:36
roll please we're going with an unbelievable 9.2
31:40
and flavor 9.3 maybe one of the most surprisingly tasty sliders I have had
31:47
in a very long time still got it man K still got it good
31:51
for you just maybe not the dog now Laie score might look big
31:53
but remember this is just the current average this number could go down depending
31:57
on how the final spot goes
31:59
and yes it could still lose the lead it all comes down to mam
32:02
Mia schwarma if they score a higher than a 13 La will officially be
32:06
the best street food city in America the energy emanating off of these guys
32:11
is crazy they've been around for under two years they're still very new they've
32:14
got that excited energy
32:15
that kind of goes away after you run an establishment for like four
32:18
or 5 years and you've been killing it for
32:20
so long you know it kind of goes away the magic
32:22
and they still got the magic
32:23
so there's a strong chance we could have a winner
32:25
so this is a Jordanian Style Chicken schwarma the guy it start at schmorgasburg
32:29
La this is my most favorite Street Food Festival ever it happens every week
32:33
it's massive there's of people everywhere
32:35
and loads of very unique food by some of the most passionate people I
32:39
can think of in restaurants
32:40
but for Chef Yas the magic really started back home in Jordan he brings
32:44
this bread which is like a beautifully thin translucent bread that's handmade from Jordan
32:49
and the spices do here we go cheers this is not any schwarma I've
32:53
ever tasted in my life at first I was like why is there a
32:55
line of people on the side of the road in front of the car
32:58
wash parking lot and
32:59
then I see these hot long crunchy boys going to people's mouths I think
33:03
I'm getting it what garol he puts on there too mhm some pickles it's
33:07
like a perfect bite
33:07
that is exactly what I was going to say this is a perfect bite
33:10
God that bread is
33:11
so thin it's so delicate
33:12
and because it's so thin it's really just doing the bare necessities of its
33:16
job it's holding everything
33:17
and all the goodness together texture really crispy here super soft
33:20
and chewy almost like a super thin tortilla mixed with the naan the inside
33:24
the protein is salted perfectly you're getting from the pickle the meat is moist
33:29
it's got a nice toothsome to it it's fatty it's not dry at all
33:32
I don't even know what kind of meat it is come on look at
33:34
this look at this dude it's
33:35
so thin wow I can't believe we've arrived at the final moment after four
33:43
cities endless flavors it all comes down to our final score
33:47
which city is our champion of American street food it's
33:50
so difficult think about New York arguably many people would look at
33:54
that place as the greatest place for a dining experience in the United States
33:58
of America globally people would say
34:00
that but then again Portland has won over the hearts of culinarians around the
34:04
US and Austin a bit of a newcomer
34:07
but still killing the game I mean I live there for sake I love
34:10
the place but if mam Mia scores higher than a 13 Los Angeles wins
34:15
the competition all right texture 95 flavor
34:19
though solid 9.4 out of 10 this is a banger
34:23
that means La winner La one it is what it is here's what I'll
34:27
say we've been all over every single place has blown out our expectations every
34:31
single place that we ate at easily has gotten the highest ratings
34:33
that we've ever done period out of any video we've eaten all over the
34:36
globe by far this video we've rated food the highest of all time
34:40
so I think everyone deserves a round of applause great food doesn't have to
34:43
be made over a shiny cooktop just needs to be made with great ingredients
34:46
and some good intention we love you subscribe bye
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