REPOST FROM MY DUPLIN TIMES NEWSPAPER COLUMN, "DUPLIN EATS"
I dropped off my vehicle, I call
him Roscoe, at a mechanic shop in Teachey last week. I had my mom come pick me
up, and we somehow wandered into Wallace instead of going straight home. It was
later in the evening, so I was beginning to get hungry. I decided I wanted to
go to The Last Taino, a food truck that I wrote about in a previous column. I
follow them on Instagram and have loved everything I have tried from their food
truck so far. Unfortunately, they were not open that day. On the way to their
truck, we passed another food truck that caught my eye because it was bright green.
I was thinking, “That is an interesting looking food truck". I was curious
about what it was, but I had my mind set on The Last Taino, so I drove right by
it.
Once I figured out I had to find
something else to stuff my face with I figured what the heck, why not try it
out. It’s located on Norwood Street in Wallace. So it’s right in town on one of
the main roads. It’s not too far from Bill Carone Chevrolet and it is also
where the stockyard is (on the opposite side of the road). Once I arrived, I
realized that it wasn’t Mexican food but instead Salvadorian food so my first
instinct was to get the pupusas because I already knew I liked them. I usually
get pupusas from El Sol restaurant in Faison. I wrote about them in last
month’s column. I decided to be brave and try something new.
Nelson Martinez, Yully Martinez, and Carlos Martinez
I had the baleadas. It is a
Honduran dish that is also found in El Salvador. It is a flour tortilla folded
like a taco with beans, eggs, cheese, avocado, and your meat of choice inside;
I added sour cream. I went with chorizo. I was scared to get the chorizo
because it is normally spicy, but their chorizo wasn’t very spicy. I guess you
can say I had breakfast for dinner, Honduran style. I liked it. It wasn’t as
good once I warmed it up, so I would definitely suggest eating it fresh. I also
had their purple cabbage slaw. It had a vinegar base to it. It was different
but it complimented the taste of the baleadas well.
The feel like the food was very
authentic, and Nelson confirmed that when he told me, “not many people know how
to make good traditional pupusas around here”. The only downside to my visit
was I did not feel very welcomed. She was not rude, but I almost feel like we
caught them when they were ready to go, and so she was kind of short with me.
It may have also been a language barrier. Either way, it wasn’t a bad
experience that would prevent me from going back, so I give them a B.
