Chi'lantro

- Location: Roving - follow website and twitter to learn location
- Hours: Everyday - hours vary according to location
- Website: www.chilantrobbq.com / Facebook: Chilantro BBQ / Twitter: chilantrobbq
- Cuisine: fusion tacos

From bus boy to working at fast food Chinese restaurants to starting his own business at age 21, Jae Kim has always been involved in the food industry.  His family ran a food business when we has young in Korea.  “I remember growing up in the back of the kitchen,” Jae says.  His aunt and other relatives also owned restaurants and they were able to give him a lot of good advice, knowing the ups and downs of the business.

Born in Korea, raised in Orange County, California, his coffee shop “the Foothill Café” is where he found is true passion for the service and food industry.  The concept for Jae’s Korean/Mexican fusion food trailer came from his background with a large population of Koreans and Hispanics.  “I grew up with burritos and Korean food,” he says, “and the reason I wanted to do it in Austin is because Austin is culturally diverse; Austin welcomes the trailer scene and they want to try something new – this is the best location I can think of in Texas that would welcome this idea – so I put the ingredients together and did research; experimented with friends and family – and opened a truck.”

Jae’s beef dishes are sweet and smoky, while his pork dishes are spicy.  He finds that different locations have different preferences on fair and sells a good amount of tofu and vegetarian dishes as well.  You can get any of these in  taco, burger or burrito form.  Jae’s personal favorite is either beef or pork tacos.

Jae’s advice for other vendors starting out is first to have patience, and second to have determination.  “I made nine dollars my first day, four dollars my second.  So patience is the number one key… Sometimes it gets tough; you have to be really determined to serve the customers regardless of the weather and the situation…  It doesn’t matter if we have one customer, we are still going to go out there and serve; we keep our promise with our customers.”