NaanStop

As I mentioned in my review of Tastymeat, I was feeling some food trucks for lunch today. After discovering that tastymeat was closed and that I couldn’t get ironbox, I decided to check on naanstop to see if I could get masala fries.
The owner was so nice, sorry to hear it shut down.
What is happening to all good trucks that have bomb fries?!

I was sadly disappointed with NaanStop. It’s possible they were having an off-​night, as from the time we first saw the truck to the moment we walked away with our food we didn’t see a single other customer walk up… if I run by them again I’ll certainly give them a second try.
I had a paneer NaanWich and a couple bites of husband’s lamb, and we shared a complimentary samosa. All of it just really seemed sub-​par. I liked where they were going with it, but not where they ended up.

I’ve seen this truck drive past me on the street, and I have fully considered chasing after it. True story.
First time I encountered this truck was at the Unique LA event in Santa Monica, and have since pledged my undying love for it.
We ordered the masala fries (so amazing, I thought I had died), the lamb and chicken kabobs, and the samosas. Everything was fresh, delicious and so affordable.
There really isn’t much more to say about this truck but I will end with this message: If I see you, NaanStop, I will chase.

I absolutely love NaanStop’s masala fries. At first glance they look like chili fries, but the smell and taste is all Indian. The crisply fried shoestrings are topped with a somewhat spicy tomato-​based sauce. It’s a $ 3 side dish, but it can be eaten as an entrée.
The tandoori chicken naanwich and the turkey kebob naanwich are also good; both meats are tender and juicy, with a satisfying blend of spices, grilled onions, and yogurt cilantro chutney wrapped up in a piece of Indian flatbread. The samosas are comforting and familiar; veggies and spices in a crispy pastry, much like the samosas I’ve eaten elsewhere.
The service is always friendly, no matter how long or short the line. Definitely worth trying for the masala fries alone; in fact, those fries are a good starting point for an Indian food newbie or a veteran foodie looking for a different take on Indian cuisine.

4.5 stars bumped up for service. .5 stars off, because I have only seen them go south of LA once. Come back to Long Beach/​Signal Hill please!
I absolutely love Indian food and especially naanwiches. I first had these in NY at my beloved Kati Roll so when I heard of Naanstop’s looming unveiling, I started stalking them online. I even drove to the horrid Santa Anita food truck fest just to try their food to no avail (read review of that fest ugh). I was lucky enough to finally try Naanstop when the Signal Hill Best Buy had their now defunct weekly food truck gatherings. The samosas were just ok– a little bland for me. However, the naanwiches — oh heaven in my mouth. Spicy, flavor punch, meaty, bready. They basically wrap tandoori meats inside a piece of naan with green peppers and onions (which I would actually prefer without-​gets too goopy-​I like my meat and naan straight up). It’s the perfect street food. The lamb is good, but The chicken tikka is the star. Their masala fries are also so freakin’ good. The naanwiches are even good toasted up the next day. I’m drooling. Please feed us in the South Bay and OC gents!

I walked by this truck all the time and never bothered to try it (or indian food for that matter.)
One of the guys from the truck was offering samples of their tandoori chicken one day and its been like crack ever since.
I’ve also tried their samosas, they are pretty good too.
I always try to catch them, when I can.

LAMB NAANWICH. ENOUGH SAID. One of the most well seasoned and tender pieces of cooked lamb in my life. I grew up eating Halal food too and this place cooks a mean lamb. Lamb is pretty difficult too cook and can easily come out difficult to chew etc.
Long wait but worth it. I could eat here nonstop!!!

I already knew that the moment I saw this truck, I was going to get something. I got a sample from the nice guy handing out tandoori chicken, saying it was his mom’s recipe, and it was really good! So, during the Harvest Moon Festival in Arcadia yesterday, I got the Harvest Moon Combo which consisted of tandoori chicken naanwich and two other sides for $ 11.95 + tax. The sides I went with were masala fries and samosa.
I was really pleased with this place. The guys working inside the truck were really nice and waited for me (as I got more food from other trucks haha) to pick up my food. The tandoori chicken naanwich was awesome and fun to eat because it was different from your regular sandwich you can buy during lunch or something. The masala fries were good (can’t refuse fries drizzled with masala gravy) and there was only one big piece of samosa which I really wanted more of!
I would stalk them again and get all three but buy more samosas.

Best Somasas I’ve ever had!!!
I love Indian food but have certain food allergies and preferences that make eating it difficult. They accommodated me and were incredibly nice about it.
Very friendly service, also.

I was already full… but I wanted more carbs, and Naan is one of the best carbs in the world.
When the very friendly proprietor of the NaanStop truck took my order, I asked for the side of Naan with dipping sauces. He then informed me that I really should try the Samosa as it is his mother’s recipe… how could I refuse?
Truly, I’m not a fan of samosas, but I looked into the man’s big brown eyes and thought, hell, I’ve done more for worse, why not?
I happily took my order and joined my date to chow down on some extra grub.
Fact is, you can’t go wrong with Naan… and the dips were great, especially the yogurt and the hummus.
And the samosas? The best I’ve ever had. No joke. And this is from a girl who truly doesn’t even like the taste or texture. It was big, it was flavorful and it was yummy. And it was promptly eaten in .4 seconds.
All in all, I shouldn’t have added the extra calories of my NaanStop stop, but honestly, it was worth it.

I love Indian food. I love food trucks. So NaanStop really took my attention as a standout among the rest (along with the very smart samples… would love if more food trucks did this!) However, I walked away, thinking to myself that the food still has the potential to be so much more.
The general selection of food ranges from the naan sandwiches (approx. $ 7) and the sides (approx. $ 3). I had the Chicken Tandoori Naan Sandwich and the french fries. The sandwich had chicken, the tandoori sauce, yogurt, onions, spinach, all wrapped in naan bread. The general taste was fairly good and had a healthy taste to it. However, the flavor wasn’t there. It needed something either more spicy or an addition to a sauce that gives it a fuller taste. I’ve had chicken tandoori before at other places and had a much more flavorful taste before and believe that the sandwich would benefit from it. The fries were not too bad, mixed with yogurt and some kind of tomato paste but again, its missing that zing that would make me want to experience that taste over again.
Otherwise, the staff was friendly and the price range isn’t too bad. I really want to like the food and the concept. I just feel that its missing that full flavor to really pull me back over and over.

This is only for the Lamb Naanwich. It was a bland and skimpy ass Naanwich and the lamb was overcooked or overbraised IMO. Whatever the hell technique it was I really wanted to like it really really did. But for $ 8 bones I just wasn’t getting value. If this was his mother’s recipe, I’m not sure if I was his mother I’d endorse it. I wanted to be a naan believer but I just ain’t. I may give those Masala Fries a shot down the road if their the only GFT around. The ride only lasted a mere 2 minutes. But I’m off the Naanwich train.

Last weekend, I did the Great LA Food Truck Race. There were clues to get you from truck to truck, which is way less annoying than using twitter.
Anyway, there were 7 trucks that were a part of the race and I had food from each and every one of them. Of these, NaanStop was by far my favorite. The chicken naanwich was simply awesome. Today I came back to get the masala fries and let’s just say I wanted a much bigger serving (homer simpson drool noise).
The people working the truck are super friendly… oh and they have fresh coconuts to drink.

Pretty good stuff.
They take their Naan Bread and wrap it around a curry dish and make their version of Naan Burrito or Gyro. yeah I think its better to compare to a Indian Spicy Gyro.
They ask you how spicy you want it so you don’t have to worry about it being too spicy.
Anyway Chicken Tandori coming out packed with spicies. Next time I will try to order a Samosa to go along with it.

The first time I stopped by Naanstop I was already full but at least wanted to throw a couple of bucks towards the truck and got their Masala fries. I have to say, it was a pretty good Indian food kick that satisfied me very well.
Really, if nothing else, you can take away the fact that Masala sauce on fries is the bomb and should be something everyone needs to try.
And if you’re feeling like you need a bigger meal then you can always go for the Naamwhiches. It’s basically naan wrapped around your choice of meat and all the fixings. For a nice $ 7, it’s something that’s interesting and creative enough to need to be tried. Not quite a Banh mi, but it’s still really damn good.
The service on the truck is really fast and friendly and over all the prices are pretty good for the street food caliber quality that they make. I stopped by when they had the plan white truck loaner as they got their wrapping finished off, so it didn’t look the most well represented, but by no means was I worried about trying the truck.
The food spoke well for the business and I’ll it’s Naan a question about stopping by here again. Delicious!

I tried their tandoori chicken naanwich at the santa anita food truck festival. The grilled cheese truck line was 5 miles long and I happened to be craving Indian food. It’s difficult to make Indian food portable and the naanwich proved this point. It was slightly messy and slightly falling apart the entire way through.
There was no lack of flavor. The meat was well-​seasoned, although it could have been more tender. The portion was large and service was quick, which I was thankful for because the food trucks were starting to build crazy lines by that time of the day.
I wish they would have had some samosas available because fried potatoes make everything in life better. The meal was enjoyable for what it was, but I don’t think I’ll be running down the street to catch them.

I first met Neal, the owner and proprietor of the NaanStop truck last year when he was helping out on the Lardon truck. I promised him I would stop by and check out the NaanStop.
Up until today, that was an unkept promise though; I never seemed to be there when the truck was until today; and disappointingly, the truck was in the shop and he had a loaner. I didn’t even get to see the truck with the republican on the side; just a loaner with hastily added signage.
This was especially disappointing since this issue of LA Weekly featured food truck art, and showed a photo of Neal’s elephant mural. At least he was out on the road selling naanwiches and making money.
I had one of the naanwiches, which I am sure most of you figured out is a Sandwich on naan. It sounds good, but a Naan isn’t very pliable, especially when warmed on the grill. My lamb was pretty tasty with the lamb, sweet carmelized onions and spinach, but it was a tad unwieldy to eat. I managed OK, bit I would hate to have a 9.00 naanwich fall on the floor. $ 9.00 was a little pricey, bit since it was high quality lamb, I can’t complain too much about that. but I will complain though, that Neil didn’t have the posted NO SMOKING signs, the City of LA requires. Perhaps it was just because of the loaner truck; still that needs to be fixed.
Gourmet Food Truck #136 on my never-​ending quest to try every truck in «So Cal»

Naan Stop fun at the Naan Stop truck! Though Indian food isn’t at the top of my cuisine list I still really enjoy it. The spices are in full force but they are usually more on the flavorful side and less on the burn your mouth off side. I like that.
With all the food trucks that are by my work on Tuesdays I had quite the project deciding which one was best to eat at so I went with the one I hadn’t tried yet. Such a good decision.
Nann Stop truck offers a Naanwich (get it naan sandwich = Naanwich). It only made sense to order the trucks namesake item. It comes with Indian goodness spices, a cooling chutney, onions & peppers & your choice of meat (lamb, steak, chicken). I chose the most waistline friendly option of chicken. I also requested a side of their dipping spicy coconut sauce. How amazing does that sound?!
The wait was just enough time to order some iced tea from a nearby truck and I was on my way. For a mere $ 7.50 I got a huge Naanwich. It was so hard to wait for my coworkers to get their food with delicious naan scents flowing into my nose. (Not to be confused with nonsense.) I was salivating down my shirt by the time I got to open it and it was totally worth the wait!
The naan was fresh and warm and yummy and perfect. The chicken was full of flavor and the onions and peppers were tender crisp. It was a perfect lunch. I was in naan heaven. Even though the sauces on the naanwich were more than substantial I was super excited to try the spicy coconut sauce. I opened up the lid of the mini container and dipped my finger in to taste test. At least I tried to dip my finger in… the sauce was frozen solid. This of course bummed me out since I had pumped myself up for it’s coconut spiciness but the wich was so solid without the extra sauce I didn’t feel too let down.
NaanStop is a worthy addition to the food truck scene and definitely a yummy/​healthy lunch time option. I’ve been NaanStop thinking about them since I had them yesterday. (sorry, it was just too easy!)

When Jin Foodtruckrockstar N. tells me to get something I will oblige. But sadly this time resulted with my mouth on fire!!!
It slipped his mind that I don’t eat spicy and I ordered the tandoori chicken and samosas. I should have assumed it would be spicy! Prob the reason I have eaten very little Indian food in my life!
But from what I ate before the burning ensued I can say it was pretty good tasting! The samosa shell was super fried and curry flavor was yum. The tandoori chicken wrap: chicken was tender and I loved the naan wrapper! Guys on the truck are awesomely sweet!

Ok, I do not know what happened to NaanStop’s other Unilocal account, so let’s try this again.
What has been the new flavor of Los Angeles food scene over the past year to two? Gourmet Food Trucks; no not the old fashion roach coaches that you see at construction sites. NaanStop is the newest edition to the Los Angeles gourmet food truck scene, which serves North Indian Food. Their specialty is a Naanwich (a sandwich or wrap made using Naan instead of bread or tortillas).
I have had the pleasure of attending four tastings for the truck throughout their planning process. Of their four offerings of Naan-​wiches, I have tried three of them (Tandori Chicken, Turkey Kabob, and Paneer; I have not tried the Lamb). Of the three my favorite is the Chicken, but all of them were really good.
Of the four tastings, one of the tastings was a three-​course meal that consisted solely of Samosas. I am not sure which Samosa’s they will have on their menu (they are going to offer a limited number of Samosa each day/​week). Hopefully they offer their dessert Samosas (mango-​cinnamon); truly a unique dish.
The truck will be roaming the streets of LA starting today, and I cannot wait to experience the cuisine as true street food.
Update: I made it over to the tail-​end of the trucks lunch service today. They were sold out of everything except Samosas and Lamb Curry by the time I got there. I tried a Samosa and I cannot believe that this was not made in someone’s home; definitely great street food.
Update 2: I finally tried the Masala fries that the Naan Brothers were teasing us with (they had them on the tasting menus, but never served them). I have posted a photo of them. It is french fries served with a Masala sauce ad yogurt chutney on top. Delicious combination.