The weather was just awful last weekend, right? So what kind of bright sparks would go out in search of a food truck in that mess? Yep. We would.
I love the food truck concept — portable, affordable, comforting hot lunches on the fly are so awesome. We could really do with many, many more in the Augusta area. Of course, we catching up thanks to the new Truck Stop at Jackson Square, which was our intended destination when we set off into North Augusta last Friday.
Alas, Hurricane Matthew had other plans, and Jackson Square was empty when we got there. Luckily, there is another food truck in the area. Los Tres Potrillos is at 628 East Buena Vista Avenue in the parking lot of a convenience store. And don’t worry, the store doesn’t seem to mind if you park in the lot to visit Los Tres Potrillos instead of them. In fact, parking is the most difficult part of a visit to this humble food truck; after that, you just walk up to the window, order your food, eat and then pay. And it is cash only.
Out of all the many options — tacos, tortas (sandwiches), quesadillas, mega quesadillas, burritos, sincronizadas and enchiladas — we both went for the tacos — one ground beef and one carne asada for me and one chorizo and one pastor for Amy Christian, my co-worker and dining companion.
The choice of fillings for all dishes include steak, ground beef, chorizo, pastor (Mexican pork that borrows from shawarma for its flavoring), carnitas and chicken, as well as the more traditional lengua (beef tongue), nopales (cactus), cabeza (head) and chicharron (pork rinds). If you aren’t sure of something, just ask. The guys in the truck are really helpful.
It took very little time for the tacos to arrive, hot, in a basket and beautiful. Accompanied by fresh onion, cilantro, and lime, I didn’t feel that I needed to add to them, but I’m a sucker for salsa verde and threw some roja on there too just for the extra kick. The sauces, as well as napkins and drinks, are available near the ordering window of the truck and it’s serve yourself.
We both loved our lunches. The flavors were spot on — bright notes of tomatillos and cilantro over perfectly seasoned beef in a delicious handmade taco. The chorizo was spicy but not too greasy and the pastor was a little sweet with a lot of flavoring. And my bottle of mango Jarritos soda made for a wonderful lunch for only about $5. Beautiful.
Los Tres Potrillos
628 East Buena Vista Ave., North Augusta
11 a.m.-8 p.m., Sunday-Thursday; 11 a.m.-9 p.m., Friday-Saturday
