Chi'Lantro BBQ is a

Korean-Mexican fusion Korean–Mexican fusion is a type of fusion cuisine originally from Los Angeles that combines traditional elements of American-style Mexican and Korean foods. The earliest Korean-Mexican fusion featured Mexican or Tex-Mex dishes such as tacos or ...

mobile truck and catering service which opened in

Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...

in 2010. Since then, the former food truck operation has opened ten restaurants in the Austin area. The name "Chi'Lantro" is a portmanteau of "

kimchi Kimchi (; ) is a traditional Korean side dish (''banchan'') consisting of salted and fermented vegetables, most often napa cabbage or Korean radish. A wide selection of seasonings are used, including '' gochugaru'' (Korean chili powder), ...

" and "

cilantro Coriander (), whose leaves are known as cilantro () in the U.S. and parts of Canada, and dhania in parts of South Asia and Africa, is an annual herb (''Coriandrum sativum'') in the family Apiaceae. Most people perceive the leaves as ha ...

", two distinct cultural staples aiming to reinvent traditional Korean and Mexican cuisine. They are known as the originator of a dish known as "Kimchi Fries".

History

In February 2010, the business was opened by Jae Kim, who was born in Korea and moved to the U.S. when he was eleven years old. He graduated from

California State University, Fullerton California State University, Fullerton (CSUF or Cal State Fullerton) is a public research university in Fullerton, California, United States. With a total enrollment of more than 41,000, it has the largest student body of the California State ...

and opened his first food business at twenty-one, a coffee shop called "Foothill Café", which he owned for three years. At age twenty-six, he relocated to the "culturally diverse" Austin area to open the food truck business. The food truck operations initially served only the Austin and

Fort Hood Fort Cavazos is a United States Army post located near Killeen, Texas. The post is currently named after Gen. Richard E. Cavazos, a native Texan and the US Army’s first Hispanic four-star general. The post is located halfway between Austi ...

, Texas areas before expanding beyond the Austin market in early 2012 with food truck service in

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

. Service was discontinued in December 2014, when Jae Kim started looking for a restaurant space. On January 19, 2015, an Austin storefront restaurant was opened. As of 2023, Chi'Lantro owns and operates over ten locations throughout Austin, Texas and one location in the Heights neighborhood in Houston, TX.

traditions. Items include Kimchi Fries, Ssäms (Korean for wrap), Curated Bowls, Korean Fried Chicken Wings and more to share items. Ingredients include combinations of Korean BBQ Steak, Japchae noodles, Chi'Jeu Queso, house made toppings and sauces and fresh veggies. Its signature menu item, the Kimchi Fries, are covered in Korean BBQ, caramelized kimchi, shredded cheese, onion, chopped fresh cilantro, magic sauce, sriracha and sesame seeds.

Style of operation

Prior to opening a restaurant location, the business functioned primarily as a mobile kitchen or

food truck A food truck is a large motorized vehicle (such as a van or multi-stop truck) or trailer equipped to store, transport, cook, prepare, serve and/or sell food. Some food trucks, such as ice cream trucks, sell frozen or prepackaged food, but m ...

. The trucks make scheduled stops in the mornings, afternoons and evenings in highly commercial areas, in areas that appeal to consumers in the white-collar workforce, in addition to manual laborers, the stereotypical customers for such establishments. Another part of the service is catering for parties, corporate events, promotions, weddings, festivals, conventions, and various large social events in the area. As of 2020, food truck operation is no longer available. In January 2015, a small

brick and mortar Brick and mortar (or B&M) is an organization or business with a physical presence in a building or other structure. The term ''brick-and-mortar business'' is often used to refer to a company that possesses or leases retail shops, factory produc ...

location opened, adding an eat-in option to their outdoor service. As of April 18, 2016 all Chi'lantro brick and mortars will not accept cash. All locations support Apple Pay, Samsung Pay and all major credit and debit cards.

Media

The business makes extensive use of social media applications such as

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

Foursquare Four square is a ball game. Four square may also refer to: Internet and entertainment * Foursquare City Guide, a local search and discovery app * 4 Square (game show), ''4 Square'' (game show), a British game show * 4 Square (TV series), ''4 Squ ...

Yelp Yelp Inc. is an American company that develops the Yelp.com website and the Yelp mobile app, which publishes crowd-sourced reviews about businesses. It also operates Yelp Guest Manager, a table reservation service. It is headquartered in S ...

, and

Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...

to connect with a "tech savvy" customer base. Publishing of tweets keeps customers informed about where each truck is going to be located. The trucks are one of the many food trucks nationwide to pioneer the use of

Android Android most commonly refers to: *Android (robot), a humanoid robot or synthetic organism designed to imitate a human * Android (operating system), a mobile operating system primarily developed by Google * Android TV, a operating system developed ...

and

Apple An apple is a round, edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus'' spp.). Fruit trees of the orchard or domestic apple (''Malus domestica''), the most widely grown in the genus, are agriculture, cultivated worldwide. The tree originated ...

mobile devices for credit card transactions and the organization of finances. They are popular on

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

for its series of commercials targeted to its fans
It's That GoodFries Like a G6
an
Chi'Lantrofied!

Recognition

By 2011, the food trucks had been featured on the

Food Network Food Network is an American basic cable channel owned by Television Food Network, G.P., a unit of Warner Bros. Discovery, who manages and operates it as a division of the Warner Bros. Discovery U.S. Networks Group. The channel airs both televi ...

The Great Food Truck Race
/ref> and the

Cooking Channel Cooking Channel is an American basic cable channel owned by and spin-off of Food Network. Both are owned by Television Food Network, G.P., a joint venture and general partnership between Warner Bros. Discovery Networks (69%) and Nexstar Media ...

; and, in 2014, were named one of ''

Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (''The Huffington Post'' until 2017, itself often abbreviated as ''HPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and covers ...

''s favorite food trucks at

SXSW South by Southwest (SXSW) is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Texas. It began in 1987 and has conti ...

. In November 2016, founder Jae Kim appeared on Season 8 Episode 8 of ABC's ''

Shark Tank ''Shark Tank'' is an American business Reality television#Investments, reality television series that premiered on August 9, 2009, on American Broadcasting Company, ABC.Hibberd, James (May 10, 2012)Dancing,' 'Bachelor,' and a bigger 'Shark Tank ...

'' and secured a $600,000 investment from Barbara Corcoran for a 20% stake in Chi'Lantro BBQ.

References

External links

* {{Street food Catering and food service companies of the United States Culture of Austin, Texas Food trucks in the United States 2010 establishments in Texas Asian-American culture in Texas Mexican-American culture in Texas Food and drink in Texas Korean Mexican cuisine