Friday, May 28, 2010

Guatemalan Mobile Vendors


It appears that third only to Mexican and BBQ we have more Guatemalan than any other kind of international or ethnic mobile vendor, at least in one neighborhood. I've been tracking these in the International Roll Call on the sidebar but that post is getting rather long and unwieldy so I decided to break this nationality out.

There is a cluster of Guatemalan mobile units along Windswept between the SW Fwy feeder and Hillcroft plus a couple north on Unity at Skyline and several other units in the neighborhood which may or may not be Guatemalan.

Update:  Most of the units listed here have disappeared, but other units have taken their places.  Gone is the most promising one judging by the menu, Antojitos San Miguel de Guatemala, which I could never catch open.  Still in opertion, apparently, is Las Delicias Guti, another one I've never been able to catch open.  It may only be open for breakfast.

There are two Guatemix units, one parked at 6362 Windswept labeled Tamaleria Guatemix and another just a half block east of Hillcroft, Taqueria y Tamaleria Guatemix.

In front of Pop's Super Market on Windswept right at Unity there is an Antojitos Guatemala and Antojitos San Miguel de Guatemala plus Refacciones Guatemala. The first and last of these are the Guatemalan units most often open and have very similar menus of street foods. I have only seen the San Miguel unit open in the evenings when that parking lot is a pretty lively scene.


At Antojitos Guatemala I tried the Plantano Frito. This was pre-cooked but good and warm. I'm guessing this was sauteed rather than deep fried, drizzled with a little bit of cream and sprinkled with sugar and delicious.

One block north on Unity at Skyline is Las Delicias Guti, Comedor y Cafeteria Guatemala, a trailer which has also only been open in the mornings and evenings and another trailer in the parking lot of that convenience store named Antojitos Las Delicias Guatemala which has only been open in the morning, plus a little hut called Tacos Pineda which has been open at various times pretty regularly.

Antojos Chapina, located on Windswept just east of Unity, in the parking lot of a washateria. The first time I saw this I could swear the menu included plantinas which should mean strips of plantain deep-fried like french fries but when I stopped in a few days later, they weren't on the menu. It looked a little like a couple of entries on the menu had been whited out and the menu is very brief.


I tried a chuchita, the snack tamale of Guatemala. It wasn't very warm and was rather dry, although still a little messy to eat out of hand. The filling was a good sized piece of stewed pork with a mild sauce. This weighed 7 oz and was about 4" in length.

East along Windswept there is also Taqueria Turitzio and Los Huaces at Greenridge, closer to the big flea market, both of which are probably Mexican, and there is a truck at the corner of Windswept and Hillcroft, Taqueria El Dolar, nationality unknown.

I've seen a couple of other mobile units identifying as Guatemalan around town. Antojitos Guatemala # 2 - Hillcroft @ Unity. I saw nothing uniquely Guatemalan on the menu such as chuchitos, garnaches, tamales but presumably the tacos, quesadillas, etc. are a la Guatemala.

Taqueria Maya Quiché - Tacos de Guatemala - This was the first Guatemalan unit I ever saw, parked by Pearl Bar on Washington, but I never caught it in operation as it seems it's only open in the evening and serves the bar crowd along the Washington corridor. The Quiché are a subgroup of the Mayans and there is a Quiché Department in Guatemala but as described by Guns and Tacos and others, it isn't authentic (al pastor is not a Guatemalan dish and Guatemalan tacos are rolled, like Mexican flautas, not folded) - it appears to be a pretty standard Mexican lonchera, although perhaps a very good one (drunks being such good judges of taste).

1 comment:

Sai Prakash K said...

This is very interesting post ...we are providing Washateria