For days now I had been seeing this food truck parked along Williamson Road and wondered when will…read moreit open and where will it be stationed. I tried finding more information about this Cuban Food Truck to no avail.
Then today, as I was shopping in one of my favorites supermarkets, I hear someone talking in Spanish about how she had dined at El Guajiro last week and how good and genuine the Cuban food was. I didn't want to miss this opportunity to find out more about this food truck, so I asked her in Spanish if she had the address of where it finally was anchored. She gives it to me and tells me that their roast pork sandwich is amazing.
That same day I decided to drive in my pearl white Lexus over there, and finally discover the mystery of this new food truck that came out nowhere and had seemed to have impressed all those who have been able to find it and sample its genuine Cuban cuisine.
After having been selected as number 4 of Yelp's Top 50 most prolific Elites of 2025, a year when I also was awarded the Yelp Triad Squad Photographer of the Year Award at their Yelpies 2025 Award Ceremony, an event that honored the highest-performing Yelp Elites, and where last year I was awarded the Yelp Triad Squad Yelper of the Year Award, I decided that this year, as an All-Star Yelp Elite, I not only wanted to be the first to discover new restaurants and businesses, and bring them to the attention of the public, but also to uncover those found in hidden paths that for one reason or another have not reached the public in its totality. And El Guajiro Cuban Food Truck in Roanoke, Virginia, is a perfect example.
As I was nearing the address that my GPS was guiding me to, I clearly began to see the modern, wide, and colorful Cuban Food Truck parked on the side of Envios Express / Envios a Cuba, a business that specializes in Shipments to Cuba. The food truck was one of the largest and nicest food trucks that I had ever seen. One could clearly tell it was a new food truck, not one of those refurbished old ones. Next to the food truck, the owners had set-up a square gazebo dining room, for customers to be able to relax and shelter themselves from the sun and rain as they enjoyed a delicious, genuine Cuban cuisine.
The name "El Guajiro" is a Cuban Spanish term for a rural peasant, country folk. It refers to people living in the countryside, with a hardworking lifestyle and deeply rooted to Cuban national Identity and patriotism. This Cuban immigrants,family-owned business, was established to keep the Cuban cuisine alive among the Cuban-American community in exile, and to share it with other members of our community, so they too can appreciate their unique and delicious cuisine.
By this time the owner and his wife came out to greet me with open arms and native Cuban hospitality. They talked about how they conceived and are in the process of developing this business and it's menu. How the recipes did not come out of a book, but out of their heritage of their families home kitchens.
I ordered a Batido de Mamey to drink, a fruit that is highly popular in Cuba and the Caribbean, and my second favorite fruit after the mango. To eat I ordered the Ropa Vieja, with rice and beans, yuca, and salad. Ropa vieja is one of my favorites Cuban dishes. Authentic Cuban Ropa Vieja requires flank or skirt steak, shredded and simmered in a savory tomato-based sauce. Key ingredients include green and red bell peppers, garlic, cumin, oregano, bay leaves, tomato paste/sauce, beef broth, dry cooking wine, and often Spanish olives or capers. Each family or restaurant tailors this recipe to their own style and taste.
With excellent background music I enjoy, the wind blowing, and seated at a table under the gazebo, I highly enjoyed this food. Everything was seasoned and cooked just right and was very authentic home-style Cuban cuisine. At the end of my meal I was offered a Cafecito Cubano (a highly sweetened shot of espresso served in a demitasse), and had a sliced of in-house made Flan. Simply, delicious. Inside the gazebo dining room, they also had a Domino's table, one of the favorite pastimes of Cubans, to attract customers to come and play.
I've eaten at many Food Trucks, but none of them, as clean, with comfortable ambiance, inspiring background music, and amazing food, as this one. I highly recommend this place and am proud of having had the privilege of being the first one to review it.