Mossie Lee’s

I wasn’t too hungry on this particular day and I settled on 2 sides: collard greens and corn & okra.
Yuck.
Everything came from a can. I’m not some elitist who judges food because it’s canned. I occasionally eat corned beef hash from a can and it looks and smells like dog food, but it tastes good all fried up with a runny yoke bleeding into it, so who cares? But these veggies… wow, I’ve never used the ‘s’ word in all my reviews here, but these veggies sucked.
The canned corn & okra was mixed with canned, stewed tomatoes and it tasted like the herby broth that the tomatoes are canned in. Ugh. I use canned tomatoes to make tomato sauce at home and I never get the flavored ones, figuring that they’re probably gross. News flash: they are gross.
Collards were more like soup. When I finished the measly portion of mushy greens, the container was still ¾ full with some kind of broth, which soon fulfilled it’s destiny as trash juice.
I grew up eating green beans from a can… chained to a radiator in an abandoned schoolhouse. I don’t know where that last part came from — just a joke (or perhaps a repressed memory.) Whatever… so, when I got older and tried fresh green beans for the first time I was like wtf, these aren’t mushy and salty — they’re crisp and fresh and tasty. Who knew? I’ve never gone back to canned veggies. Well, not intentionally.
I never had collard greens as a kid, only as an adult. Sometimes I cook ‘em in a bit o bacon fat with bits o bacon, sometimes I just steam them in a pan with with nothing but some black pepper. Point is, all I’ve ever known is fresh collards. And I’ve never had okra. Now I know what the canned version of each of those tastes like… and I don’t like it.
Long wait to boot, but I’m not even figuring that into my review. I mean, the burgers and stuff coming out looked good. And the long wait makes me think they were all freshly prepared. I’m not even complaining about the fact that I waited 15 minutes in line and then another 15 – 20 for canned sides. Maybe I am complaining. Righteously so.
4 bucks per side — 8 bucks for a paltry portion of mushy, salty canned veggies. What a nasty ripoff. I guess the only sort of consolation is the fact that someone else kinda paid for it: I found a $ 20 bill while walking my dog in the morning. F that — that’s no consolation, I coulda spent that money on beer.
What a waste.
I pity the vegetarian who ever gets stuck eating from this truck. Dude, if I’m expressing empathy for a vegetarian, something is very, very wrong here.
:-P

This was a great truck. I went to it during the Friday Granada Hills food trucks (which is on Chatsworth Street between Zelzah and White Oak). They told me they are there every week. I’m am very glad to hear that. I had the catfish plate with red beans and rice and a second side of mac and cheese. They were REALLY friendly. Warm and humorous. They were also genuinely pleased to listen when, after I had gobbled their chow down, I went back to tell them I thought it was so awesome. That means a lot too me as a person who patronizes trucks with some regularity.
The catfish was the star of this southern show. Honestly, maybe the best I’ve had. It had a nice crispy cornmeal (I think) coating that had the right balance of salt and pepperiness that wasn’t overpowering. The fish itself was tender and juicy and had a great flavor.
The red beans and rice were also really good. Maybe I’m not looking in the right places, but they’re hard to find around LA. Well, maybe, maybe not. Maybe I just don’t get around enough. ANYWHOO, it had perfectly cooked beans, a good amount of gravy on it, and rice that soaked up all that southern goodness. Yum. I’ll get that again.
The mac and cheese was pretty good, but not my favorite component. It had a nice breadcrumb crust on the top, but the cheese was maybe a bit too mild for my taste.
I want to try some of the other sides, especially the collard greens. If I get this again (and I fully intend to do so), I will probably go for the red beans and rice with the collard greens.
The $ 12 it cost me was worth it. I am a big believer that a food truck needs to give you a good value and these guys hit the right mark. There were a number of trucks on this street that most decidedly not have the value concept correct. But for my dinner, there were three quite big catfish filets and the sides filled up those side dish compartments to virtually overflowing.

Not bad. valiant effort for sure
Mac n cheese was pretty bomb, not the best in the world but pretty pretty bomb.
Collard greens were pretty wack though and I love me some greens… they were bland and tasted old
Catfish was good and fried nicely, seasoned okay but just put too much salt on it… only problem with their catfish
Not terrible, but not worth searching for

Mac & Cheese — YUM!
Greens — YUM!
Red Beans & Rice — YUM!
Peach Cobbler — Double YUM!
BTW, many of the sides are vegetarian friendly!

The food was so bad that I really don’t think it deserves the time it would take to write this.
Catfish: Moist, very crispy, but waaaay too salty.
Mac and Cheese: Cheese sauce was gritty. The number one sign of bad technique in making mac and cheese. The mac was overcooked. Macaroni is still pasta (even in MacnCheese) and therefore should still be cooked al dente.
Collard Greens: The worst I have ever had. I love collard greens and cannot comprehend how a southern food truck can make greens this badly.
The condiments: I think the condiment packets they use look like the ones use in prison. Horrible.
Price: This plate was $ 12. Geez. Just because Lime truck and others of the food truck craze can produce great food for an elevated price point that doesn’t mean you should charge so much just for the sake of fitting in.
Food truck/​cart customer service number one: Take your customer’s name for the order. Just shouting a number from the window of your truck is so impersonal.
I had 7 other options to choose from on Wilshire at LACMA. I am pretty sure I would have been better off at any other of them.

Mossie Lee’s came to College of the Canyons for the SCV Fair and I was quite excited to try Southern food! I have to say, it was alright. I got the Down Home Plate with the Smoked BBQ Brisket Sandwich, with a side order of corn&okra and mac and cheese. I felt like the brisket sandwich was so not original. Maybe my expectations are too high for food trucks. But I do believe they’re trying their best! I have to give them credit for their hardwork of making food in a hot truck with the sun burning down on them, working without A.C. Poor workers.
BUT the corn and okra was pretty good, although okra is not my fave veggie in the world. And their mac and cheese was pretty good although I felt like the cheese curdled, but I guess worth it for $ 12 since it lasted for both my lunch and dinner.

Sometimes you just don’t want a burger blue cheese crumbles, arugula and duck confit on a brioche bun. Seriously, I’m a little tired of all the fancy-​schmancy burgers being tossed around in LA. These days, at many restaurants the actual burger patty is often overwhelmed by the elaborate toppings and you can’t taste the meat. So when I found Mossie Lee’s I was really happy. They do good old fashioned burgers — super juicy with all the «normal» toppings — onions, lettuce, tomatoes, pickles. Nothing extraneous. Trying one of these burgers reminded me what a burger tastes like.
So, yeah, this review is only for the burgers. I’ve never ordered anything else from Mossie Lee’s and I dont think I ever will.

Got the brisket. Meat was tender, very fatty though. I would give 4 stars but the fries were super soggy and cold.

Downgrading a star. Just tried them again last night and it took forever for their Emerson Burger (a basic burger, $ 4), when I asked the guy that took my order (who is also the cook) for the burger done medium, he told me they do all their burgers well done… I was skeptical but left it alone.
The burger’s flavor was good, but as figured, it was overdone.
Will still try their hot water cornbread sometime.

A lot of times I only rate trucks I loved… I figure the others, maybe I just didn’t «get» their flavors and it’s all subjective… unless they are rude or personality free (some of the Great Food Truck Race winners and contestants are a little to in love with themselves)… I rate this truck because i LOVE their food… Peach Cobbler awesome!!! BBQ Brisket — fantastic… I love sweet BBQ and this nailed it… Chicken Strips are good and look odd — but then you taste them and want more…
Burgers are done real nice too… I keep missing their BBQ beans, but I will be diligent until I get to try them… Good Amount of Food for the $$ too… not skimpy overpriced meals like some of the trucks… really try to support this truck, even if I go the other trucks I’ll buy drinks and/​or desserts here… they are keepers for sure and hope they succeed wildly… the only ones who will think this is fancy is your tastebuds and they are the only ones who count!!! And your wallet won’t hate you either!!!

Is it possible for food to make you happy?
Of course it is. And Mossie Lee’s food did just that for me.
I caught them at a craft fair in the West Valley and I must have been the first customer of the day.
After perusing their menu and specials I decided on the smoked brisket sandwich with a side of their baked beans.
The sandwich was pure joy on a bun. Great texture to the brisket, just the right amount of bbq sauce and the beans had a very nice savory and slightly spicy taste.
I was happy!
I have to say though that classifying this as «southern cuisine» is doing it a disservice. This is good old American comfort food with a slight southern accent.
But pigeon holes aside, this is comfort food made the way comfort food should be made in my opinion. What do I mean by that? I mean it should be made as if you are making it for yourself. And these are some cool folks.
So I say give them a try… and be HAPPY!

Got generous portions of the fried catfish, but it wasn’t as flaky or flavorful as I expected. The breading texture was a bit too hard, but maybe that’s the true southern style and I’m not used to it.
Staff was very friendly and helpful, but like some of the reviews… I was hoping for more. I felt the love but not in the soul food.

These guys came out to our event and everyone LOVED the food and service! The BBQ Brisket sandwich is delicious. Great texture and great sauce. The mac and cheese, peach cobbler and what someone called «the best chicken strips I’ve ever had» made quite an impression. Thanks for coming out. I highly

Had the BBQ brisket sandwich. It was VERY good. Very comparable to Spring Street BBQ in downtown LA (awesome) and Everett & Jone’s BBQ joint (legendary) in Oakland. Smoky, slightly tangy, lightly sweetened flavor with burnt ends and tender meat. The roll was heated perfectly with a soft texture, and drizzled with a very thin layer of bbq sauce. Mossie Lee actually made the brisket!
I went to this truck during lunch at work and they had very good business. However, they need to improve their logistics. It took a very long time to get our food. Some people waiting got a refund because their food was taking so long. However, I do have to say that everything was cooked to order and that’s why it probably took a long time. But they need to figure out how to make good food, while doing it more efficiently.
If they can improve that, they should be successful. I would definitely get their BBQ brisket again.

I wanted to like this truck. I really did. They had a sort of authentic soul food feel to it. The menu was full of good ol’ home style cooking options besides the generic burgers and the actual lady in the truck being the same one on the side of it just really gave it some authentic home cooking feel to it…
But I have to say, this truck is in some trouble if it expects to stick around the ever growing harder to tap into food truck scene.
Of the few times I’ve seen them, it seemed like they didn’t know what was gong on. The original time at Art Walk, they were parked in a lot all to themselves without a single customer. Left wondering what to actually do or where to park well into the night.
The other time I’ve seen them I went ahead and got some food from them and I have to say, I feel like momma cheated me out of some home cooked meal.
The spareribs weren’t anything special. In fact, they were pretty bland even with the BBQ sauce. I felt like perhaps tony roma or any other generic chain bbq establishment could have done just as good, if not better in terms of quality. It was a real shame.
Then the price wasn’t too extreme, I would say that if the quality was bumped up, that the price point would have been about right for what you were getting in portion and all that.
I have to give them one star simply for feeling authentic, but unless they step up their game in knowing more street smarts and get some better quality in the food, this truck doesn’t seem like it has a chance.

As I was leaving work, I saw this Southern BBQ truck and it captured my interest because it said that the food was so good that it would make you wanna kiss ya mama! Of course i knew it was an exaggeration, but I had to try it.
Food: 3.5 stars
1) Beef Brisket Sandwich — The brisket sandwich was awesome! Simple sandwich consisting on beef BBQ sauce and bread. The sweet and smokey BBQ sauce combined with the soft and juicy brisket made it a delicious southern BBQ sandwich. ⁴⁄₅ stars
2) Mac N Cheese — I expected warm, melted, cheese but it was actually kinda cold and a little stiff. It wasn’t too appetizing. ²⁄₅ stars
3) Potato Salad — this was served with the sandwich and it was pretty good. It had a unique mild mustardy taste to it. ³⁄₅ stars
They have a decent sized menu selection of burgers, which seem prettty good. If I come back for another visit, then I would try the Magnolia burger.

Kudos to the COC Street Fair team for their impressive rotation of weekend food trucks. This is where I found Mossie Lee’s one fateful Sunday afternoon. I texted a picture of the menu to my mom and she wrote back, «I’ll be right there.» That’s how good this Southern themed truck sounds. They claim, and I quote, their food, «tastes so good, [it] makes you wanna kiss ya mama!» Well I don’t need food to kiss my «mama» but I guess it helps.
We ordered the collard greens, side of macaroni & cheese, plus a serving of ribs. We wanted to order the rib tips but they were out. I wiped it off the menu board for them. They also have a seriously elaborate and (to me) not that reminiscent of Southern food, burger menu. Our orders took a while to come out and we watched them work in the mean time. They were running out of some serious things including but not limited to the tips we wanted to order but more importantly… BBQ sauce. BBQ sauce is a big deal in all walks of life but pretty elaborately so in Southern food. Ah well.
Finally we were handed our order. My side of macaroni was just as much on the outside of the container as it was inside the container. The man handing it to me saw that there was cheese on the side but sort of shrugged and handed it to me anyway. Uh… thanks…
After all this I was holding on to an intense mac n cheese desire and I was totally let down. It wasn’t that the flavors were bad, they just weren’t good. I expected an inspirational combination of cheese and noodles and this was negligible. Even after sharing with my mom I didn’t finish the entire serving. My mom’s collard greens were more bitter than greens usually are as if they could have been cooked 10 minutes longer. The ribs were fine on flavor but super dry and desperate for the missing BBQ sauce.
I did kiss my mama after this meal but only because I love her and not because the food was any good. Frankly, if food is REALLY good I will kiss strangers on the mouth. They should reconsider their slogan to incorporate this sort of excessive kissing.

Finally tried this today on my lunch break. I shared with my wife, so I got the rib tips, which came with a side of potato salad, a side of mac & cheese, and a side of collard greens.
I loved the bbq sauce on the rib tips, sweet, yet smoky. The meat was a wee bit tough, even for tips, but overall they weren’t bad.
Collard greens and potato salad were REALLY great. The flavor for both of these sides really stood out. The mac and cheese was good, but I’ve had better. I like m&c on the gooey side, which this version is not. But I could see other people liking it.
Portions were ample. More than what most soul food/​southern restaurants give you.
Service was excellent. Food came out quick.
A definite plus for me is that they didn’t use styrofoam… habit that too many trucks has got to get rid of.
Overall, I really liked this truck. I haven’t tried enough of the main dishes to really rate it fairly, but the sides (which I always judge soul food places on) were great. I can’t wait to try the other food.
One more thing, the lady gave me a sample of the peach cobbler. After one bite, I was sold. I will DEFINITELY order the dessert next time I go there.

I had high expectations, when I saw this truck driving down the road a week ago, and watched it’s website and Twitter feed looking for a place to stop and try them out.
My expectations got even higher when I had a chance to look at the website, and soared again when I noticed the woman taking my order was the woman whose face was on the truck-​art.
When i saw the menu offered ribs, a few different kinds if burgers, soulful sides and a special of the day brisket Sandwich, I thought this was going to be Nirvana.
And when I was offered a sample of one delicious apple cobbler as I waited for that brisket sandwich, and tasted pure heaven. I made a joke with the woman on the truck about how one should eat dessert first, but I knew, I just really knew I was about to have an awesome Brisket Sandwich.
Finally my order was up, I walked it back to my car, I unwrapped, I took a couple of photos, I put my camera away and licked a little bbq sauce off my fingers… man is this going to be good.
I bit into the lightly grilled bread that the sauce has soaked into, savoring the vinegary, sweet twang of pure Arkansas BBQ sauce, and finally I bit into the brisket.
Or at least I tried to, this may have been the toughest piece of meat I ever ate. It was impossible to bite thru the sandwich. It might have been impossible to cut cleanly with a steak knife, and it certainly was not going to allow itself to go quietly in a sandwich. This was the toughest piece of meat ever. I can’t imagine for the life of me that it was slow cooked, and I can’t imagine Mossie or her family or anyone else getting it off the bone without power tools.
I have heard the expression «tough as leather» before, but I never knew what it meant. The sandwich was basically inedible. I wish I could give them at least a 2^nd star because the apple cobbler was so damned good, but when the meal is inedible, I just can’t do it.
«Gourmet Food Truck #106 on my never-​ending quest to try every truck in So Cal»
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