Guanaco Truck - Vancouver, BC

Going down to the States to pick up some staple items (bacon, chocolate, popcorn...  ok, it's all junk food) so I decided to hit up some Surrey places on the way back.  Since I'm going in that direction, right?  Well, this place was not on the way, not even close, but this Piglet needed to hit it up since reading about it in an Inside Vancouver article.  Browsing through the list of the 12 new vendors approved for the Lower Mainland, this food truck immediately caught my eye.  Guanaco Truck offers something I have never even come close to trying - authentic El Salvadoran eats.  After fiddling around with my Twitter account, Guanaco tweeted to let me know they would be in the Surrey Central City vicinity (normally they're in Downtown Vancouver) as they are a part of the Party for the Planet festivities - a new pop up park in North Surrey, pop ups being the newest fad.

Guanaco Truck was started by Jose Manzano, a camera assistant for a local tv show (i.e. Supernatural), who started out treating crew members to his El Salvadoran food and then parlayed it into a fancy food truck.  His mother and sister now serve as Jose's crew, hand making/preparing the food on board and serving it piping hot to anticipating patrons.  GT has only been at this location for a few weeks but they already have some loyal customers returning multiple times and for multiple orders.
I park in the Central City Mall and walk over, which is really convenient as the street to cross is closed off due to set-up for the festivities and performances beginning tomorrow.

LOVE the bright colors - made them easier to spot from one lot over.  Wish there was more seating though.  4 seats only meant I would have to stand to eat.  Oh well, I'll drive the food home if I have to!

Hm, what to order???  I'm by myself for this adventure but I HAVE to order something for Mr. Piglet since that's what a good Piglet does, right?  HA!  I'm going to end up eating his portion too.  Sucka!

Pasteles - $5.50

Deep fried maize pocket stuffed with meat, cheese and vegetables

Chicken or beef???  CHICKEN OR BEEF????  It's like Sophie's Choice!!!  I couldn't decide but Jose made it easy for me - one of each.  OMG!  These should be served at every restaurant.  I could taste the maize in the shell which is different but I liked it - somehow that made me think it was freshly made.  Perfectly seasoned meat with veggies and that cheese that's super stringy!  LOVE!  I think the beef had more flavoring and was more moist than the chicken but they were both delicious.  Note to self: make second trip for multiple orders of these things.

 

Revueltas - $8.50

Seasoned pork with vegetables, cheese and savoury refried black beans served with yucca frita

A little more dense than the pasteles but very good as well.  The pork and refried beans are seasoned well but I just wish there were more filling to dough ratio.  The thing I loved most about this dish were the yucca fries.  Oh man.  Crunchy crunchy crunchy!  More dense than a regular fry but it has a sweeter taste and more starchy.  I wouldn't mind having these on the side more often and couldn't help eating a few in the car before getting home.  The coleslaw was also a very good side dish - more vinegary than creamy and when you first eat it, you're like "ok, it's coleslaw" but before you know it, the heat hits your mouth!  Where did it come from????  It's so good, I can't stop eating it but it's burning my tastebuds at the same time.  Excellent.

 

Cebada - $3.75

Chilled beverage made from flavored barley, coloured with crushed seeds

A cinnamony-milky drink that's colored pink.  Usually pink drinks turn me off (looks like Pepto) but this was perfect for this meal - it cuts the heat really really well.  Sweet but not too much so and there's that barley undertone...  Mmmm.  There's a gathering of seeds and barley at the bottom which scratches the throat so I just avoided drinking it.  It reminds me of a similar drink I had at La Tacqueria and equally as good.  My only real qualm with this drink was that the lid did not fit the cup - ended up with drink all over my cup holder and console.  Ugh.

I should've ordered dessert.  Why didn't I order dessert????  Argh.

Oh Guanaco, how you are such a tease!  They're usually downtown during the work week when I'm usually working not downtown!  I might have to get some Piglet family members to score me some food and deliver it over...  The service is friendly, the food is very good and I'm not sure what real Salvadoran food is supposed to be (as I've never had it before) but this truck feels authentic to the bone.  You'll be missing out if you decide to skip over this truck.  Bon appetite!

Pros:

• Cheap eats
• Good food
• Freshly prepared (my pasteles was handmade fresh!)
• Friendly service

Cons:

• Usually catering only to the lunch time Downtown Vancouver crowd
• No seating - it's a food truck people!
• Cash only