Mention fast food to anyone and they'll immediately think of McDonald's, Chipotle, and In-N-Out Burger. Fast food obviously is anything but healthy. However, two chefs from Los Angeles hope to change the notion that fast food is completely unhealthy with their own fast food restaurant.
Restaurant and fast food are two terms unlikely to be joined together. Yet for Roy Choi and Daniel Patterson, it's a possibility. The chefs from Los Angeles are changing the way fast food works. For them, their fast food is not only affordable, but extremely healthy.
"After all that happened with Kogi [the wildly popular Korean-taco trucks], and feeding almost every street on every block in every county, I found myself in South Central Los Angeles with a bunch of kids, and I realized that after all that we had done in three or four years, the food wasn't getting-not even close to them," shared Choi during the 2013 Mad symposium food conference, adding, "We made food as accessible as we possibly could, and we weren't even close. And that's when I knew I had to break this pattern."
LocoL, the chef's fast food restaurant, aims to offer healthier versions of fast food made from sustainable ingredients. The prices on the other hand are meant to compete with the likes of Burger King and McDonald's. At the price of only $4, you get a burger with meat made with tofu and grains, jack cheese, scallion relish, all wrapped in a fast-food style bun.
Currently, LocoL opened its doors to Watts's residents early Monday. The restaurant is located at 1950 E 103rd St. For those who want to taste what Choi and Patterson have to offer, their restaurant is open from Mondays to Sundays at 11:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.
The pair hopes to open another LocoL branch in San Francisco.
