Marked 5

Today was a reminder of why I love living in Los Angeles. I started my afternoon tasting another new craze of taco trucks. This one is Japanese-style burgers with a twist. Marked 5 stands for your 5 senses, touch, smell, feel, hearing and taste, Also each burger is $5 including tax and five people collaborated to make the idea happen. Marked 5 has been on the streets for 5 months and so far they have had a good response. They are mainly in the Venice area where they have received positive feedback which has helped in the process of improving the burger to what it is today. I was surprised that they did not have 5 burgers on the menu since 5 seems to be their theme.

Here are the burgers starting with the one I liked the best on down:

#1 Kastu burger: This was my favorite, a grilled rice bun and the crunchiness of the fried pork all came together well. The sauce was just an added bonus as it was tangy, slightly sweet and spicy.

#2 Torakku V: Tofu patty, pan-fried served with special torakku marked V sauce and veggies with handmade rice bun. I liked this one better than the beef. The crew told me they make their own tofu and mix the cheese,veggies and spices. This made a big difference as it just added a whole new dimension to the tofu.

#3 Chicken Curry: Deep-fried chicken served with special marked 5 curry sauce, cabbage and homemade rice buns. The sauce was a slightly salty but hey I like salt and it could have been a bit more spicy.

#4 Torakku burger: 100% Angus beef marinated in Marked 5 secret Torakku sauce, romaine lettuce, veggies and homemade rice buns. While the sauce and meat were excellent I just couldn't get past the seaweed with my burger. I know it's Japanese with a twist but I didn't think it added value as it was kind of a pain because when I got to the end of the burger the seaweed was there wrapped around the rice bun and it was chewy.

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The side items were shrimp chips and shrimp spring rolls. The chips added a nice crunch and the shrimp with spring onions was a perfect intermission from the burger show.

So the next time you're out and about and see a taco truck be adventurous and give them a try.