Food Truck Friday: Llama’s Peruvian Creole

Adventure, danger, hilarity, consuming internal organs- this isn’t just any old Food Truck Friday post. So grab a bowl of popcorn and preemptively sit on the edge of your seat, because this post has it all (also, it has food).

“I’m heading out. You’re on your own tonight.”
Those were the last words Erica said before she walked out the door. A chill ran up my spine. I was alone. And hungry. The skies took note of my fear and darkened as soon as the door closed. A storm was brewing.

Knowing Sheila was my only means of escape, I quickly opened a browser and checked the weather. Sheila is Erica’s scooter. The storm was 3 hours away. Plenty of time to head downtown, gobble some grub, and get back before all hell breaks loose. This was first of many mistakes. Actually, it was the only mistake- but it just sounds more dramatic the other way.

Sheila and I sped towards the towering buildings with their peaks looming in the clouds. Flat out, we pegged the speedometer at 38 mph. The wind was with us.

Just under an hour later, I arrived at my destination: one of the food trucks on the list that we’re already intimately acquainted with, Llama’s Peruvian Creole on 7th and Trinity.

With Peruvian food so high on our list of ‘great foods from around the world’, we were really hopeful (and skeptical) the first time we tried Llama’s. But after talking to the owner, Peruvian native Miguel Barrutia, and sampling the anticuchos; our fears were put to rest.

We initially stumbled upon Llama’s completely by accident after a debaucherous night on 6th Street. And while there is no shortage of great drunk food around, it’s really hard to beat things like lomo saltado (beef stir fry with french fries on a bed of rice) and salchipapas (french fries with garlic sausage, smothered in an aji amarillo and queso fresco sauce, and topped with green onions). These are slightly fancier versions of their Peruvian counterparts, but delicious none-the-less.

Though, the dish that really shines is the anticuchos. Grilled beef hearts marinated in ají panca and spices and paired with grilled potato and choclo (the giant Peruvian corn, also makes giant Peruvian popcorn). If you swing by this trailer, be adventurous and order the anticuchos. The tenderness and flavor will blow your mind.

Score: 4.2/5
Ordered: Anticuchos, Salchipapas, and an Inca Kola
Cost: $13
Type of food: Peruvian
Least favorite thing: Sometimes they run out of anticuchos.
Favorite thing: Hands down, the anticuchos. The surprisingly tender and wonderfully flavorful beef hearts are so good that you’ll go buy a journal just to write about them. Also, referring to them by their Spanish name prevents conversations like this from ever occuring:

“Hey, I’d like an order of beef hearts.”
“Bee farts? What kind of food truck do you think this is?!?”
“What? No, I said beeFFFFF hearts.”
“Oh, yeah, we have those. I’ll start grillin’ them up for ya.”
“How would one even eat a bee fart?”
“We put them on skewers.”
“No, not beeFFFFF heats, bee farts.”
“How should I know? You’re the only weirdo who’s ever tried to order them.”

After I finished eating, I pulled out my phone and looked at my doppler app. The storm was early. There was no time to sit and digest. I slammed my Inca Kola and ran to meet Sheila.

We sped through downtown just as the first scattered rain drops began to fall in an uncommitted sprinkle. It was then that I noticed the fuel gauge reading dangerously low. As if things weren’t bad enough, the one-gallon tank was apparently on its last few cups. Knowing that if I stopped to refuel the storm would catch me, Sheila convinced me we could make it.

And she was right. We pulled into the driveway just as the storm’s fury began to build. I was safe. And full. And brought home some leftovers for Erica. It was a good night.

You can check out Llama’s website here: http://llamasfoodtrailer.com/

And find the food truck here:

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