Restaurants on wheels have already come a long way, as upscale pizza, ice-cream and dessert trucks have joined the ranks of the Good Humor man and the hot-dog stand. Now the taco truck—a longstanding institution on the streets of LA—is getting a whole new spin thanks to Twitter and the infusion of some Korean spice.

Launched last fall, Kogi Korean BBQ takes the taste of Korean barbecue and melds it with the portability of Mexican tacos and burritos for a whole new category of delectable food. Kogi's signature Korean short ribs taco, for example, combines marinated short rib trimmings with sesame-chili salsa roja, lettuce and cabbage tossed in Korean chili-soy vinaigrette, and cilantro-green onion-lime relish. Spicy chicken and pork tacos are also available, as is a version with tofu. That all sounds mouth-watering, of course, but at least as compelling is that the company sells its food primarily through two trucks that are always on the go to new locations in the Los Angeles area—to know where to find them, customers must follow Kogi on Twitter (and more than 7,000 already do). Prices are recession-friendly—USD 2 for each taco—which may account at least in part for the fact that it's not unusual to find hundreds of patrons lined up and socializing each evening while awaiting their turn at the Kogi truck, according to reports. For those who prefer predictability, meanwhile, Kogi also recently opened its first stay-in-place kitchen in the Alibi Room in Culver City.

Take two taco trucks with a unique recipe, add a dose of Twitter, and you get a phenomenon the LA Times refers to as nothing short of "a burgeoning cyber-hippie movement affectionately referred to as 'Kogi kulture'." Which compels us to repeat our favourite refrain: Everything can be upgraded! There are always new twists, new delivery formats, new ways to create, present, package and get the goods to consumers, and technology increases the possibilities tenfold. Times may be tough, but real innovation is tougher—one to partner with or emulate in tech-savvy, food-loving neighbourhoods near you...?

Website: www.kogibbq.com
Contact: mike@kogibbq.com

Spotted by: May Almero-Cruz

Loews Hotels—which operates hotels and resorts in 16 cities across North America—recently announced its 'Adopt-a-Farmer' initiative. The aim is to promote local farming while providing customers with food made from ingredients that are locally-sourced, organic and sustainable.

For example, the Coronado Bay Resort in San Diego uses herbs and vegetables from its own garden, sourcing the rest of its ingredients from 12 local farming communities. The Miami Beach Hotel adds in local, farm-raised seafood. The company’s New York headquarters connected with the Old Chatham Sheepherding Company, procuring the only artesian sheep's milk made in the Hudson River Valley. Since many ingredients are seasonal, customers will have to wait until June for that strawberry tart, hopefully appreciating it all the more when it does arrive on the menu.

Furthering the brand's still made here approach, Loews Coronado Bay Resort is introducing "Farmers, Foragers and Fishermen"—a seasonal series of dinners, each of which pairs the resort's chef with a local purveyor, who dines with the guests and tells them about his or her products and methods. Although many eco-minded independent businesses already operate similar programs, it’s more unusual to see an entire hospitality chain adopt local farming. Which goes to show: size doesn’t have to get in the way of sustainability. (Related: Vacations that give back — Restaurant to close and reopen every season.)

Website: www.loewshotels.com
Contact: www.loewshotels.com/en/ContactUs.aspx

Spotted by: Raymond Kollau

Last fall we wrote about The Kitchen, which bills itself as a combination upscale takeaway and on-site cooking school. Suggesting that the concept could be catching on, a similar offering was recently launched by British celebrity chef Jamie Oliver.

Much like The Kitchen, Recipease is a retail store that offers consumers the opportunity to assemble ready-to-cook meals using ingredients that have been prepped ahead of time by on-site staff. Customers begin by booking a session online, and then choosing the recipe or recipes they'd like to make; the seasonal menu changes every two months. (Those interested in making pizza or curry, on the other hand, can drop in without an appointment.) When they arrive at the Recipease shop—the first is located in London's Clapham Junction in Battersea—they find all the ingredients they need, washed, chopped and prepared. All that's left for them to do is follow the step-by-step instructions for assembly—each recipe requires about 10 minutes on average, the site says, and trained chefs are available to help—and then bring their food home to cook and enjoy. Prices vary by the dish, but current entree selections begin at GBP 3.75 per serving. A variety of more elaborate cooking lessons are also available, as is the full range of dishes already assembled for easy takeaway.

Traditional meal-prep services are all good and well, and we've covered several examples before. But adding a heaping helping of on-site instruction—with a side of boast-worthy status skills—transforms the concept beyond simply a convenience and into a pre-insperience experience, if you will. One to bring to a hungry market near you...? (Related: Family dinners, 24 at a time — Meal prep goes uptown — Ready-to-cook meals delivered to busy urbanites.)

Website: www.jamieoliver.com/recipease
Contact: www.jamieoliver.com/contact

Spotted by: Leonie Baird

Providing a new solution to an old problem, ReadyPing lets restaurants notify guests by text message when their table is ready. The system aims to improve on restaurant pagers, which require a substantial upfront investment plus maintenance costs, and have a limited range. Restaurants don't need to purchase new hardware to use ReadyPing; all that's required is an internet connection and a computer. ReadyPing charges a flat monthly fee of USD 35, which includes sending an unlimited number of 'pings'.

To use the system, hosts enter a party's name, number of guests, and their mobile number. When their table is available, the host clicks a button to send a customizable text message. Launched in January 2009, ReadyPing is currently only available in the United States, but it definitely has potential in other time-strapped parts of the world. Of course, there's no reason why similar systems couldn't be used by other types of businesses. One to brainstorm on? (Related: Subway launches food ordering via SMS.)

Website: www.readyping.com
Contact: www.readyping.com/about/contact-us

Spotted by: Judy McRae

As a delicacy with relative affordability and universal appeal, ice cream is one of those products that serves as a barometer of the times. We've covered ice cream innovations at the high end—such as the Van Leeuwen Artisan Ice Cream Company and its locally sourced, hormone-free ice creams in flavours like ginger, giandujia and red currant—as well as convenience-focused novelties like the MooBella vending machine. Next up? Simplicity, if the Häagen-Dazs Five line is any indication.

Häagen-Dazs Five is a new, all-natural ice cream crafted with only five ingredients: skim milk, cream, sugar, egg yolks and natural flavouring. Available in mint, ginger, coffee, vanilla bean, passion fruit, brown sugar and milk chocolate, the Five line also includes less fat than Häagen-Dazs's other ice creams, the company says. It's now available in stores, and an online flavour finder helps identify availability by ZIP code. Pricing is roughly USD 7 per pint.

Pure, natural, simple—in today's ailing economic climate, such adjectives hold a nostalgic appeal. Everyday consumers may not be able to afford the big luxuries, but at least there's still good, old-fashioned ice cream! ;-)

Website: www.haagendazs.com/products/five.aspx
Contact: www.haagendazs.com/company/contact_form.aspx

Spotted by: Andrea Jones