The road to Jounieh was… well… crowded… to say the very least… My wife and I were running late to our next food tasting: El Gringo the Food Truck…
Food truck? Couldn’t he come to you and spare you the traffic me demanderiez vous? Well yes… valid question, however the answer lies with the Lebanese government… Voyez-vous the Government gave El Gringo a license to operate, while municipalities refused giving him the permission to PARK… and we all have to agree that it might be a problem for him to serve food while driving… Ahhhh you got to love Lebanon…
Anyways, he managed to catch a break (so to speak) in a parking lot near La Citee Jounieh, to avoid us the pain to drive all the way near LAU Byblos: the only place where he usually is allowed to Park.
Marwan, the owner, is a food visionary, an artist… but really a down to earth guy who could pass out as any person, humble, hungry for more and willing to put the hard work to achieve his goals.
The El Gringo Food truck is of the latest models,medium size, well kept, neat and clean, its kitchen is simple yet equipped with exactly the right tools to deliver what he promises in the safest most hygienic way possible…
We had free choice of picking any item in his menu for tasting, et ça! well it takes a lot of confidence… most restaurants who invite us for a tasting have a set menu prepared so they can operate in a controlled environment and keep the items presented at their best possible… Not with El Gringo… He was sure and I might add, proud of all his items…
The Cheese Nachos , made their way automatically to our table… yes table… El gringo made sure he made a small setup of some tables and chairs so we could taste as comfortably as possible… Crunchy, golden, with melted mixed cheese on top, they make the perfect appetizer and sets the mood for more Mexican goodness…
The Mexican salad came next, and here, I have to say… it’s a shame… shame that it has to be presented in a plastic bowl… it’s so good it belongs in a Tortilla bowl on a handmade clay plate in a fancy high rated Mexican restaurant in the capital… That’s how good it was… eh je ne mache pas mes mots… si…
I personally ordered a beef burrito, my wife went for the chicken version … While waiting to be served, I went to check out those hot and freshly served chicken & beef quesadillas…
Both are not recommended to the weak hearted, or to those who just started a strict diet… Your heart would fail and you’d postpone your diet indefinitely facing those flavors… I mean… is it at all possible to have the melted cheese even melt more in your mouth? Personally I have a slight preference for the chicken quesadilla over the beef, but that’s just me… they are both equally prepared with professionalism and love…
“Burrito is Readyyyyyy” I heard the chef shouting… it was my wife’s and she had already stuffed herself with the quesadillas, we decided to split it…
Now see… the Burrito when you cut it… it’s like a drawing… the ingredient neatly arranged inside it… the cheese on one side, separated from the mexican rice mixed with black kidney beans and chicken by a green lettuce leaf, only to be mixed inside your mouth and let the flavor twirl and turn around your tongue in a manège of deliciousness… The Gringo Sauce inside was the last touch of heaven… I caught a hint of jealousy in my wife’s eyes…
The Beef Burrito came after it and was even better, if it’s at all possible, it’s probably the beef that absorbed all the spices in a better way than the chicken…
I was so involved with my burrito, that I forgot to tell you how well wrapped it was, you can hold it and eat it without risking any dripping or tearing thus sparing a mess… I also failed to notice that Chicken & Beef Tacos made their way to the table… My wife & Chicho were already over them, but were kind enough to leave me a bite of each (gentil…) I think the rush on devouring them spared me writing about how delicious they were…
There is however, one last kind of quesadillas that I would like to talk about… the Chocolate quesadillas… the dessert… And here… why call it quesadilla? Why not just a chocolate crepe, wrap or roll like others do? Is it only the shape ? Why using the word quesadilla… well… it’s because among other things, it contains… Cheese… I won’t tell you what type of cheese… you will have to go taste and figure it out for yourselves, all you need to know is that it’s a masterpiece… a haven for chocolate lovers… the safe place you go to in your mind when you’re down… the perfect consolation when you miss the loved one…
Bref… c’est tres bon… si si…
A great opportunity to try El Gringo in Beirut would be at “Train Station” from the 2nd until the 6th of December included, don’t miss that chance… meanwhile, El Gringo team… keep it up and all the best…
Gaston El Hombre
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