Fusion of Flavors: Spanglish Factory Blends Peruvian and Puerto Rican Cuisine

FUSION OF FLAVORS

SPANGLISH FACTORY BLENDS PERUVIAN AND PUERTO RICAN CUISINE

Joel and Carolina Fuentes

Writer / Renee Larr Photographer / Robby Berry

Spanglish Factory is a local food truck fixture at the Marathon gas station on Pendleton Pike in Indianapolis. The truck serves Puerto Rican and Peruvian fusion food. Joel Fuentes and his wife, Carolina Fuentes, own and operate the mobile kitchen.

“I’m originally from Puerto Rico, and my wife is originally from Peru,” Joel Fuentes says. “The food we serve is a mash-up of the two cultures.”

Fuentes arrived in the United States 12 years ago, and his wife arrived when she was 15 years old. The pair met through mutual friends.

“During our relationship, we shared our love for food,” Fuentes says. “My wife taught me about her culture and her food, and I did the same. After a year I decided to propose to her. She was the woman I had been looking for all my life. I had never had a relationship with a Peruvian, but I knew she was the love of my life. We got married on May 1, 2011.”

The pair have visited each other’s home country.

“I had the opportunity to visit Peru a few years ago, and learn about its culture and gastronomy,” Fuentes says. “I tried the famous street foods such as salchipapas, anticuchos and picarones. With that trip, I fell more in love with Peruvian culture and food. Two years ago my wife and I went to Puerto Rico, and I had the opportunity to show my wife my culture and food. This is how our dream started. We created a little space where we can fuse two cultures in our food truck.”

It’s vital to Fuentes to serve the kind of foods he and his wife like to eat.

“We want to introduce our types of foods to those in the local area,” he says. “We live here as well.”

Menu items include salchipapas, a traditional Peruvian street food.

“It’s more like a street vendor-type food,” Fuentes says. “We take thinly sliced hot dogs and pan-fry them. Then we toss them with fries, and top with ketchup, mayo, mustard and Peruvian chili.”

The grandma’s plate, or plato de la abuela, is a nod to Fuentes’ roots.

“The grandma’s plate comes with yellow rice, Puerto Rican beans called habichuelas, fried eggs with fried plantains, and one piece of rotisserie chicken,” Fuentes says.

Even the drink menu gets the Puerto Rican and Peruvian treatment.

“We offer Inca Kola, which is a soft drink from Peru,” Fuentes says. “We also serve Coco Rico, which is a Puerto Rican soft drink flavored with coconut extract.”

Desserts include flan, tres leches, and chocolate cake with Peruvian chocolate fudge. The community response has Fuentes considering a brick-and-mortar location in the future.

“Our customers love the food,” Fuentes says. “We have a great thing going on here. I would consider opening a restaurant if everything fell into place.”

For more information on Spanglish Factory, visit spanglishfactory.square.site.