While walking to my car to grab lunch a few weeks ago I saw this food truck.
I really didn't pay attention to the menu, or much else....it was the company Mira Flores LLC that caught my eye. I looked up at the menu and noticed it was a Peruvian food truck! Well I'll be damned! I suddenly knew what I'd be having for lunch. I really don't eat much at food trucks these days as it seems most do not make particularly good food, nor are they a good value. But heck, even if I wasn't transported back to Miraflores, just having a decent Lomo Saltado would make me happy.
The young lady working was very ncie and cheerful and really helped folks out when explaining the different dishes.
So, I got the Lomo Saltado ($12) and a side of Yuca Frita ($5).
The Lomo Saltado was served like a rice bowl. The rice was nice, fluffy and moist. The papas fritas were typical, though fairly dry. Which would have been too bad if there were enough sauce from the Lomo Saltado to coat them, which wasn't the case. The beef was dry, the onions over-cooked, though the tomatoes, which were diced...I prefer larger slices, were fine. The sauce was heavy soy thus salty, and needed more acidity.
The Yuca Frita on the other hand was quite good. Crisp outside, fluffy, yet substantial inside.
It was quite nice and well done. Though I wasn't a fan of the Aji Amarillo as it had too much mayo (true versions don't use mayo) and was more spicy than the usual Aji Amarillo would be. Still, those were some good Yuca Frita.
A couple of weeks later, I saw the truck again and decided to give them another try.
Same nice young lady.
I decided to go with the Anticucho Sliders ($8) and of course, more of those Yuca Frita.
This version of Anticuchos was braised shredded beef, sort of like Cuban Ropa Vieja. I enjoyed the roll which had been slightly toasted and held up well. I tasted the Salza Criolla (something easy to make at home) and it needed more time for the flavors to meld. The flavor of the beef was heavy handed with citrus, making it quite tannic, it was also on the dry side.
While this was better than the Lomo Saltado; it still fell short of expectations. I don't expect anything like Peru, but this just didn't do it for me.
While the Yuca Frita was perhaps even better this time around.
Though it's tempting, I don't think I could make a meal out of Yuca Frita.
Nice folks, the food is pseudo Peruvian in my mind and while I say that the great thing about Peruvian food is that it's always evolving; this isn't that evolution.
Perhaps it's worth a try and I'll definitely get that Yuca Frita again....but perhaps go somewhere else to get my main course.
at least you gave them a shot...
Posted by: kat | Tuesday, 15 October 2019 at 08:45 PM
I just had to try them out Kat!
Posted by: Kirk | Wednesday, 16 October 2019 at 06:48 AM
Bummer the meat was dry.
Posted by: Soo | Wednesday, 16 October 2019 at 08:29 AM
$17 for lunch from a food truck. Yikes! At least the yuca frita was good.
Posted by: Junichi | Wednesday, 16 October 2019 at 09:59 AM
Yeah, not very good Soo.
I think that's pretty much typical for food truck fare these days Junichi!
Posted by: Kirk | Wednesday, 16 October 2019 at 10:02 AM