La Guaguita – Puerto Rican Cuisine Food Truck

A friend and I went on a ethnic market hunt and just as I started complaining that there are basically no Puerto Rican food spots in Tampa, I turned around and saw a food truck called La Guaguita waving a Puerto Rican flag. My friend and I decided to investigate.

Click the photo for a larger version of the menu.

A quick look at the menu and I saw many favorites such as mofongo (flavored mashed plantains), alcapurrias (a fritter dish), pastelillos (empanadas), tostones rellenos con pulpo (stuffed fried plantains), arroz con gandules y pernil (rice with pigeon peas and roast pork), tostones (fried plantains), and also various sandwiches. All choices were at reasonable prices (~$8 for a full meal, $1 or $2 a la carte), this truck doesn’t over-charge for ethnic food. They also had various refreshments, including my personal favorite: Malta India. Malta has a sweet, refreshing taste to it and is essentially a beer that has not been fermented. Malta India is made in Puerto Rico.

I decided to order their arroz con gandules y pernil or rice with pigeon peas and roast pork ($6.00), which was fantastic! It only took a few minutes to come out and I would say it was as good as a home-cooked meal (sadly my family doesn’t cook much Puerto Rican food these days because they became lazy in recent years). The rice was moist and the peas also had an authentic taste. The pernil (roast park) was also excellent and really hit the desired taste perfectly, the fat was rich with succulence. Normally I only have this dish during the holiday season, so it was nice to enjoy it for an afternoon lunch for a change. It also came with small salad that had plenty of flavoring from some salt and pepper.

A great deal for $6!

The employees were friendly with us and the crowd was welcoming, both helpful in explaining any menu concern we might have. Many people came and went which was a good sign about the food. They accept major credit cards such as Visa and Mastercard, so you don’t have to worry about keeping cash on you as well.

I am really happy to have found a Puerto Rican food truck and hope to come back to their empanadas and mofongo in the future :). They also cater if you’re interested in having some Puerto Rican food at your event.

Restaurant Name: La Guaguita

Neighborhood: Town N Country

Cuisine: Puerto Rican, Spanish

Address: Hillsborough Ave & Sheldon Rd. Tampa, FL 33615

Phone Number: (813) 965-0086

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/La-Guaguita/126037044109027