A little escape to Mexico

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 11/08/2023 (1171 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

If my taste buds could talk, they’d be saying thank you — or should I say gracias? — after a delicious, I mean, deliciosa meal at the Mexican King food truck, which is owned and operated by Sabor Latino restaurant in Brandon.

As I stood daydreaming in front of the menu, I wondered if the pulled pork nachos would be piled as high as I liked, if the chicken in the quesadilla would be tender, and if the mexi-rice could hold its own in the burrito.

Yes, to all the above, my friends. Si, mis amigas and amigos!

The burrito with either chicken, pork or beef is the most popular item at the food truck and in the restaurant, according to Luisa Rodriguez, who works in both places prepping and cooking each dish.

And it’s no wonder. Served hot, the burrito comes in a tin foil pan with a flour tortilla stuffed with red beans, mexi-rice, corn, pico de gallo — which is tomato, onion, cilantro and lemon, and sour cream on top. Utensils are required, and given, but I also asked for a spoon to make sure that not a bit of the sauce went to waste.

The standout taste in the burrito was the rice, which had a spicy kick, paired with the perfectly cooked corn. The tortilla was nice and soft, easy to bite through, and was flavourful as well.

I was in the Canadian Tire parking lot, but with the sun on my face, and the authenticity and taste of the dish, for just a minute, it was a little escape to Mexico.

And when in Mexico — the quesadilla beckons. This one took over the entire plate and then some. I may or may not have raised the plate up to my face and taken a bite right off the side. If no one else saw, it didn’t happen, right?

For the quesadilla filler, you can select ground beef, vegetarian or chicken, which was my request, and it was tender and tasty.

The flour tortilla is loaded with mozzarella cheese, Mexican tartara sauce made in-house, which is a Mexican take on tartar sauce, and as Rodriguez said, “the ingredients always include more cheese.”

The real taste sensation is with the quesadilla crunch, created by the cheese sprinkled on the tortilla and then toasted on the grill, which made it easy to scoop up the dollop of sour cream and made-from-scratch salsa.

As excited as a kid in a candy store, I scanned the giant menu on the side of the food truck to the special of the day, which was pulled pork nachos.

But first a cleanse of the palate with a soft drink. The food truck offers Encanto juice in either mango or passion fruit, as well as the Jarritos Mexican soda with the flavours of pineapple, lime, or mango — which I chose.

Jarritos is slightly less carbonated than other soft drinks and is made with fruit juice and cane sugar. The word jarrito means “little jug” in Spanish.

Encanto means “charm” and is also made from fruit juice and sweetened with cane sugar.

The pulled pork nachos tasted as good as they looked with cheese spread generously on each layer, before baking.

Nice and crunchy tortilla chips were also laden with pulled pork seasoned with barbecue sauce, Mexican tartara sauce, chopped tomatoes, onion and lettuce on top.

Other standout items on the menu include the taco meal with corn tortillas and your choice of chicken, beef or pork, and freaky fries, with barbecue pork, beans, cheese, beans, chilis, “more cheese on top,” said Rodriguez with a laugh, and salsa.

When asked what the secret recipe is that brings out the authenticity and the taste of the Mexican King, Rodriguez said, “The secret ingredient is love, from the people who make the food.”

The burrito and quesadilla are $14.75, the pulled pork nachos is special $13.99 and the drink was $4.

Verdict: 4.5 out of 5

You can find Sabor Latino’s two food trucks — Mexican King and Dorado — at special events for the rest of the summer, in and around Brandon.

This weekend, Dorado will be at the Melita Banana Days Festival, while Mexican King will be at the Winkler Harvest Festival.

Both trucks will be part of Food Truck Wars in Brandon, Sept. 15-17.

The Brandon Sun will be publishing a new food truck review every Wednesday and Friday all this month.

» mmcdougall@brandonsun.com

» X: @enviromichele