Food truck frenzy

Located all over Miami, food trucks are making an impact with their quick and easy meals avaliable on wheels

BY OLIVIA REBULL AND ALEXANDRA ROA, STAFF WRITERS

Taking over South Florida, food trucks have become the latest craze. Generating nearly $1 billion nationwide since March 2019, according to The Balance Small Businesses, 23,000 food trucks in the United States have established themselves as renowned restaurants, maintaining the idea that portable food is inexpensive and delicious.

Food trucks offer customers an extensive list of menu items, selling cuisine from all over the world. With innovative ideas incorporating foods from all backgrounds, food trucks are connecting the cultural diversity in Miami’s population with a vast array of cuisines.

A sweet treat is right up the street when visiting Santo Dulce, a food truck that takes on the classic churro by experimenting with new delicious yet unconventional flavors. Similarly, at Mr. Pepito customers get to sample traditional Venezuelan food combined with the flavors of Colombia and Peru.

Authentic meals are incorporated to entice their customers to satisfy any craving for a fresh, traditional meal.

SANTO DULCE

When looking to satisfy any sweettooth’s cravings, Santo Dulce is the place to go. Uniquely offering hand-crafted and intricate churros that incorporate a deliciously elaborate design, Santo Dulce blends creativity with originality. Catering towards convenience, Santo Dulce does so by traveling from multiple locations across South Florida, offering customizable treats on-the-go.

With a permanent location in the Doral Yard, located on 8455 NW 53rd St Suite, 106, Santo Dulce also opened up a second truck that changes locations on a daily basis. Customers are able to see when the truck will move to a location nearest to them by viewing Santo Dulce’s Instagram, @santodulcechurros.

Santo Dulce’s creativity lies in their haloshape churros. To create this effect, they curve their churros to give them a rounded shape. This not only differentiates them from the competition, but also makes an aesthetically pleasing dessert that will satisfy anybody’s sweet cravings. If churros are not one’s cup of tea, Santo Dulce also offers decadent ice cream, including their “Heaven on Earth” that integrates chocolate drizzle, chocolate chips and brownies into vanilla ice cream, as well as their “Santo Teresa con Fresa” that combines fresh berries, peanuts and a Maria cookie into vanilla ice cream.

“The inspiration behind Santo Dulce is from the churro and its significance in Latin America. Churros are a dessert that characterize Hispanic heritage,” owner Yuel Nunez said.

Setting themselves apart from the rest, Santo Dulce has built a name for themselves through their unconventional take on flavors, prompting hundreds of customers to approach their truck.

“In Miami, we felt that we did not have a place to make justice for this dessert,” Nunez said.

With a build your own “Santo Sunday,” customers are able to choose from a wide variety of mouth-watering churros that they would like to place on top of any of the six “Santo Bases” available, all for the price of $8.65.

On a more traditional route, Santo Dulce presents a classic cinnamon sugar churro for $4.65 that has truly been done to perfection. Santo Dulce’s take on another classic, made for any Oreo lover, the Oreo dust churro’s rich chocolatey flavors pair perfectly with the Cookies n’ Cream “Santo Base,” in which vanilla ice cream is topped with a chocolate drizzle and Oreo crumbles and topped with the signature halo-shaped churro.

When in a more adventurous mood, some flavors to satisfy that desire include Santo Dulce’s award-winning dulce de leche and cheese churro. They also offer dulce de leche and coconut, fruity pebbles, guava and cheese and Nutella almond churros, for the price of $4.65.

With customers gravitating towards them, Santo Dulce received the validation that their innovative idea was a hit.

Courtesy of Santo Dulce

MR. PEPITO

From a classic burger to a savory tequeño, Mr. Pepito Miami brings traditional Venezuelan food to the streets of Miami. This unique twist on Venezuelan cuisine has been serving delicacies straight from their food truck since 2016. With its bright yellow truck, iconic logo and outdoor seating, it is hard to miss this one-of-a-kind food spot on 2731 NE 2nd Ave.

Open from 7 p.m. to 1 a.m. for anyone who wants a late night snack, Mr. Pepito is known for their unique “Perros’’ or hot dogs. These are not your ordinary hot dogs; they come in different variations such as the Hot Dog Colombiana consisting of sausage, cabbage, potato sticks, cheese, pineapple and pink sauce which is $3.79. Recently, a breakfast menu was added for the weekends only offering Venezuelan classics, like eggs with ham, to brighten one’s morning. Much of the menu is influenced by Venezuelan, Columbian and some Peruivian cuisine.

“My favorite arepa has to be the ‘Pepito’,” customer Christina Diraimondo said.

Mr. Pepito’s menu also includes dishes such as a “Pepito” which consists of bread, meat and one’s preferred toppings such as bacon, potato sticks and cheese. The Pepitos go for $10.99 to $12.49 and can also be topped with Mr. Pepito’s original sauces, including a tangy garlic sauce. The Pepito Tradicional or Traditional Pepito consists of chicken, bacon, mayo, ketchup, potato sticks and pecorino cheese for only $11.49. The potato sticks used in most dishes served at Mr. Pepito are chiplike sticks which add a crunch to every bite.

Also served at Mr. Pepito is the Peruvian original “Salchipapa.” This dish sells for $6.99 and consists of french fries topped with hotdogs and pink sauce, made up of your classic mayo and ketchup.

At Mr. Pepito there are six variations of the classic arepa all sold for $8.99 which consist of the “Arepa Pelua,” the “Arepa de Reina Pepiada,” “Arepa Llanera,” “Arepa Cantira” and the “Arepa Tropical,” which is a vegetarian option.

Mr. Pepito also brings many classics to the table with an American twist. One of these dishes is a burger called the “Venezolana.’’ This burger contains a black angus beef patty, ham, cheese, lettuce, tomato, egg, potato sticks, mayo, ketchup and garlic sauce sold for $9.99.

Although Mr. Pepito is small in size, they offer a large variety of foods. From Columbian-style burgers to a traditional Venezuelan Arepa, anything can be found to please one’s palette. Customers can enjoy this delicious food in the wonderful outdoor seating under the stars or in the comfort of their homes via UberEats.

Courtesy of Mr. Pepito