Paul T. Bradley
See also:
*Interview With a Raver Who Wears Electrical Tape on Her Boobs
Lines stretched for blocks in northeast L.A. last night as fans jostled to get a taste of the latest Skrillex project — a literal taste, that is, of the diminutive dubstep pioneer's new mobile culinary lab, Grillex.
The Grammy-winning L.A. native Skrillex (born Sonny Moore) launched Grillex to minimal initial fanfare, keeping it mostly a secret until yesterday afternoon, when the truck rolled up to the corner of Echo Park Avenue at Sunset and tweets piled upon tweets, prompting a rush of mostly black-clad superfans to get their hands on his new creations.
What spurred the temporary shift from DJ to Grill-J? We asked the man himself as he hustled and hopped in front of a pair of searing griddles.
“I figured, why not? Y'know? I've gotta try a new challenge right now,” Skrillex said. “Growing up, I cooked a lot at home … I mean, I spent a lot of time with a spatula and grill tongs, almost as much time as I did with decks and records. I've got a real passion for it, y'know what I mean? I think, like, 60% of these things fail in the first few months … might as well give it a shot.”
“Shit yeah! The pierogies fuckin' rule, dude,” added a satisfied hard-charging customer, referring to his pile of grilled cheddar pierogies slathered with Sriracha and kimchi (aka The Ched-mau5).
Not everyone's mind was effectively blown, however. We found some naysayers among the hordes.
“Everything's just a little too weird and greasy and, like way overpriced … maybe a bit overrated?” reported Willow Martigan, a 23-year-old Echo Park resident.
After a few hours of waiting, we made it to the front of the line.
The menu, an over-hyped mish-mash of unrelated, interspersed grilled foods and jarring flavor combinations, has no specific theme beyond the grill itself. We picked a few things — the Chubstep and the Banger-ang — and skipped the Sonny Special, a $12 lukewarm bottle of water served with a single Marlboro 100.
The Chubstep is basically an overstuffed cocktail-weenie-and-porcetta sandwich on challah. Apropos of nothing, there were inedible German-language Bible tracts baked into the bread. Picking them out proved more daunting than just tossing the whole thing. The Banger-ang, a pile of British-style sausages mixed with Fritos, topped with a scoop of an unidentifiable ice cream, made us wonder, “Is this even food?”
Skrillex was eager to defend his new art form, however, when pressed at closing time.
“Grilling is really collaborative and intuitive, y'know? Taking tri-tip or barbacoa … mixing it up with peanut butter and jelly or even Count Chocula cereal … I mean, it's, like, really about putting things together that I like,” he said, adding, “Everyone I've talked to has been really supportive. Really chill.”
Even though he plans to slink aimlessly up and down Echo Park Avenue for the next few nights, you can find out where the Grillex truck will show up next from its Twitter feed @grill_ex.
See also:
*Skrillex's 'First of the Year': Why This Song Sucks
*Interview With a Raver Who Wears Electrical Tape on Her Boobs
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