Los Angeles, CA (June 1, 2010) – Filipino American food bloggers, Nastassia Johnson and Marvin Gapultos, have joined forces to pilot The Manila Machine—Los Angeles’ first food truck to serve a complete menu of affordable Filipino cuisine.
The Manila Machine is tentatively scheduled to launch on June 10, 2010 at the L.A. Artwalk, but will be quietly creeping around town in the days prior to L.A. Artwalk.
The Manila Machine will bring both street and home-style meals from the Philippines to the hungry masses of Southern California. Among The Manila Machine’s tasty offerings will be a classic chicken adobo, as well as a pork belly and pineapple adobo. Also made to order will be a number of sliders prepared on the soft Filipino bread rolls known as Pan de Sal. Lastly, The Manila Machine will also provide a variety of sweet Filipino desserts such as Turon, a sweet banana lumpia, served with ice cream.
In addition to its set menu, The Manila Machine will also offer both sweet and savory weekly specials. And when the weather cools down, expect some soulful and comforting Filipino soups and stews.
For more information on The Manila Machine, and to view just a sampling of its menu, visit www.themanilamachine.com.
Follow The Manila Machine on Twitter: @manilamachine
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Nastassia Johnson has been managing Los Angeles area restaurants for the past 10 years. Most recently, Johnson worked as the Assistant General Manager and Director of Social Media and Marketing at Joan’s on Third, a well-known and highly regarded gourmet eatery. In addition, Johnson also authors the food blog Let Me Eat Cake.
As the writer of the Filipino food blog, Burnt Lumpia, Marvin Gapultos has fostered a unique approach to Filipino food based on his own research, interactions with his blog readers from around the world, and yes, a few visits to the kitchens of his grandmother, mother, and aunties. In addition to developing recipes of his own, Gapultos has worked as a recipe tester for a number of cookbook authors.
Together, Johnson and Gapultos aim to make the delectable cuisine of their culture more readily accessible to the rest of Los Angeles. Enter The Manila Machine.
Sa wakas, a Filipino ‘taco truck’–YEHEY!
I’m really excited about sampling your adobo…if you’re open to ideas, an aunt used to make a sort of rice ball out of adobo and rice. She piles them together on a saran wrap, rolls and shapes them into a slim burrito and makes us take them on ‘excursions’ (Also ‘pasyal’–short day trips to the beach, the zoo, the park, Disneyland, etc.).
Come meal time, we’d be clustered together, with all the kids sheepishly unwrapping (“Why can’t we just buy hotdogs and sandwiches like other families?!”) giant adobo-rice sumans.
Whoa! @ long last! Kudos to you both on going beyond just a good idea and actually doing.
I can’t wait! Please make it a point to be @ FPAC in September.
You should come by the construction site near National & Hayden in Culver City 11:30am-12:15pm Mon.-Fri.
Adobo & Turon… woo-woo!
Congrats… next time we’re in LA we’ll stop by, especially to try the Adobo FTW.