Gap clothing brand, the purveyors of classic blue jeans and knitwear, launched the Pico de Gap taco truck to celebrate the launch of creative director Rosella Giuliani's new 1969 collection. Sure Los Angeles has no shortage of food vendors on wheels, but check out the rad blue color. The brand asked Marcel Vigneron, former "Top Chef" contestant and star of Syfy channel's "Marcel's Quantum Kitchen" to whip up a menu of taco truck favorites with a twist.
Chef Vigneron may be known for his chemically enhanced concoctions, but the tacos from Pico de Gap are not fancy; they're just pretty darn good street food."No liquid nitrogen or chemical cookery in there," joked Vigneron as he pointed to the sky blue truck. "I still utilize some tools like the pressure cooker I used to cook the lamb and pork; mostly to cut down on cooking time and it makes the meat tender."The menu consists of four types of tacos: braised lamb neck with chile negro (dried dark chile) andguajillo (moderately hot reddish-brown chile); carnitas with chipotle (smoked jalapeno); shrimp with pimenton de la vera (Spanish smoked paprika); and spicy tofu."Because the weather right now is so hot, I wanted the tacos to be more light, fresh and sexy," Vigneron said. "The condiments are traditional but fun and playful. I tweak everything."Topping the tacos are:a fresh mango salsa, salsa verde, queso fresco, avocado, lime and radish that's been pickled in dashi and mirin. Vigneron encourages eating all six condiments on each taco.
For $1.69 you can get two tacos, a beverage and a $20 off coupon to the Gap 1969 store.The Los Angeles Pico de Gap is just the first of four taco trucks. The others will pop up in New York, Chicago and San Francisco from Aug. 8 through September. Each truck features a "celebrity chef" with an exclusive menu. Chefs include Ryan Scott of "Top Chef," Rich Gresh of David Burke's Primehouse and best-selling author Katie Lee.Catch the blue bad boy around town by following the truck on Twitter: @PicodeGapLA, @PicodeGapNY, @PicodeGapSF, @PicodeGapChi, as well as on Facebook.-- Jenn HarrisTwitter.com/Jenn_Harris
