Take a traditional pork sandwich, remove the bread, and put the filling between fried plantains. A food truck called Phoenix Coqui ("ko-kee") is doing just that, as well as serving up other Puerto Rican dishes, featuring both traditional and nontraditional specialties.
"There's a lot of confusion with what is Puerto Rican food," says founder Alexis Carbajal. "It's savory, not spicy."
The head chef, Juan Alberto Ayala, is a Puerto Rico native. He uses his grandmother's recipes as inspiration for Phoenix Coqui. The menu is meat-centric. Options include include empanadillas (Puerto Rican empanadas), flan, and nontraditional sandwiches such as the El Jibarito, made with pork, lettuce, and garlic-mayo, and its unique fill-in for bread, plantains.
Both Carbajal and Ayala lived in Puerto Rico before launching Phoenix Coqui as a catering service in 2015. Ayala and Carbajal launched the food truck last year.
Other traditional menu options include Mofongo con Carne Frita, a popular Puerto Rican dish of pork and fried plantains. Another option is the truck's fries topped with pork, chicken, ham, and garlic-mayo sauce.
If you eat at the truck, let us know how the Mofongo tastes.
Phoenix Coqui. Hours and location change; 602-206-7520.