Jackie Mercandetti Photo
TruTacos
In back of Jewel s Bakery & Cafe, you can order tacos and a few other Mexican specialties from TruTacos. Here, chef Justine and Misael Trujillo recreate recipes from Trujillo s family. The al pastor, carne asada, and nopales tacos are traditional but for a touch here, a touch there, a bit of Flamin Hot Cheetos in the tortilla. Weekend specials rotate into favorites like posole and carne asada fries. Margaritas are juice-forward and tropical, more backyard barbecue than mixology. The best bite? A special taco that combines peppers and cream cheese.
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Before COVID, it looked like Brian Webb had a solid business plan for Phx Lechon Roasters a vendor we touched on in August while diving into the Valley s under-the-radar Filipino cooking scene. Webb had regular gigs at farmers markets, along with large-scale events and scores of people lining up for mouth-watering slices of lechon or whole spit-roasted pig.
The pandemic eliminated these opportunities for lechon, but Webb continued to connect with Filipino families and other communities who wanted to celebrate with a whole roast pig and locally made Filipino food.
Last month, Phx Lechon Roasters sold out of whole pigs for Christmas. Webb says he even had a customer from Canada who ordered a whole lechon for her parents in Tempe. “I ve been selling a lot of whole pigs to Latinos, people from Mexico. A lot of Puerto Ricans,” Webb says. “The pig really transfers over to so many different cultures. Everybody loves the pig. Not everybody makes it.”