I have to admit, this is my first time trying Peruvian food, and from a food truck as well. Austin's food truck scene is something like no other, so I wasn't too worried, especially with all the outstanding reviews. The only worry was time to receive the order, but from what I could tell, it was because every single order was cooked fresh by the chef. I'm willing to accept a wait for great food.
We decided to go on a not so busy Wednesday, which worked out great, as only one person was ahead of us and their order was almost done. It also helped that my wife and the Chef, Don David, spoke Spanish and had very nice conversation about the food.
We ordered the Ceviche, Peruvian fried rice, sirloin steak stir fry with garlic rice and fries, plus a side of fried plantains. The Ceviche was amazing. No surprise, as he mentioned he uses Mahi-Mahi, not the cheaper Tilapia like other places. Something to consider, for the people complaining about the price. If the exact same dish were served in a restaurant, the price would easily be double his. We should be so lucky to have the unique style of food in a cost effective food truck setting. Plus the quaintness of it hidden off of Guadalupe street in front of a home (now business) adds to the charm.
It wasn't just the Ceviche, but the other ingredients in the dish. The Peruvian corn or whatever others call it was delightfully different and tasty. He had soft cooked kernels and hard cooked ones as well that really added to the uniqueness of this dish. There was also light sweet potato chips as well as a lovely yam type root that melted in your mouth topped with cilantro.
Next was the stir fried sirloin. I say next, as each order came out one after the other since he is a one man show in this truck. That was actually perfect for us. He is very proud of his food and work, because the result is all his, from selecting the quality ingredients to creating the unique dishes and recipes to cooking them fresh off the grill. He mentioned the cuts of beef were top quality. He wasn't kidding. I asked for medium just to be safe and the beef was still perfect taste. His spices are fantastic. Be careful of the red peppers. They are HOT HOT, even for my hot spicy accustomed palate. I don't get the garlic rice, as I was expecting something other than white rice with some fried garlic on top. Guess I was expecting something more along the lines of garlic mash potatoes, but with all the food in this one dish I wasn't complaining. Plus, after mixing in the veggies from the stir fry into the rice, it made it perfect. I could have used more garlic, but that's just me, and something I will request next time.
On to the fried rice. As Don David mentioned when we were ordering, "This is a lot of food!" We have the luxury of living just up the street from here, so we sampled each dish and saved rest for later. Even then, we were almost full by the time the rice came out. Now, I've tried all kinds of fried rices from all over the world, and kinda think I might be a fried rice expert. It also depends on your taste and palate, but I do know if there is not enough egg, or lack of flavor, too much oil or cheap ingredients (like frozen veggies so many Asian take out use). NONE of those applied here. This ranks up there with some of the best fried rice I have ever had. Probably in the top three. One reason was the ingredients, which you hear me repeat. The chicken was fresh, juicy and full of unique spices. Everything else in the rice made it a very special fried rice, and my favorite dish. I'm going to ask him next time if he can do it with the sirloin.
The last dish was the plantains, which we already tried with the rice. They were cooked just right, not fried too much like others.
I look forward to going back and trying all the other dishes. This truly is a special place, and we are lucky to have it. For all you impatient people, that really want to enjoy this food, leave your impatience at home. read more