Mexicue Needs To Work On Its Mexicution

The Mexicue Truck. Line doesn't look too bad, but... .

I’d been meaning to take a whack at the Mexicue truck’s fare for quite some time, but being a truck it has no fixed location, and had been elusive in my neighborhood for quite some time. Today it was a block and a half away, so I figured it was the perfect time to try it. You can see the line, it was a bit longer than I am usually willing to wait on (especially in the middle of winter).

The counter guy turned around to help out the overwhelmed cooks.

It was a mistake. The line moved relatively quickly, but it took the three guys in the truck waaaaaay too long to fill the orders. They seemed backed up, in fact. There was a gaggle of patrons all waiting for their food in the cold. They had three guys in there. One person was working the counter. One person was doing the rough assembly of the sliders and tacos by placing the bread or tortilla in a container and pulling the meat from metal tins onto it. This person would then shove the rough assembly to the third person, who handles adding the toppings. However, this third person is also tasked with heating up additional stocks of the meats to refill the tins the second is pulling from. Hence, he’s overwhelmed. While he’s reheating stocks of meat, the orders awaiting toppings would sit to his right, losing heat. Occasionally the counter man would turn around and help out, but they need a fourth person. The wait in the cold was unpleasant, embittering me and making it especially important that the food wowed.

Pork on the left, beef on the right, oak smoked short rib taco in the middle.

Well, after far too long a time – perhaps up to 20 minutes? – I got my order.  For $10.50, I got three small offerings to sample: a pulled pork slider ($3), BBQ brisket slider ($3.50) and a short rib taco ($4).

The oak smoked short rib taco is a very small portion. The high point is the smoky note in the flavor. The salsas (verde and fresca) add a low heat. The aged cheddar cheese topping was barely noticeable in the flavor, unfortunately. The flavor of the dual corn tortillas was surprisingly present.

The pickled red onions were a revelation.

The pulled pork slider was next. This was definitely the star of the show, especially because of the initial, wonderful sweet flavor of the inspired, delicious pickled red onion. The large chunk of avocado added a pleasant freshness to the experience, and of course the pork itself retained its sweetness. The slider’s bun is quite big in proportion to the food, unfortunately. The flavor (once I devoured the pickled onion) was (not surprisingly) reminiscent of of a steamed pork bun from a good dim sum shop. It is odd that a vendor called “Mexicue” would wind up tasting more Chinese.

More pickled onions on the brisket? Yummy! Um, wait... .

The BBQ brisket I saved for last. I was eager to get more of that wonderful pickled onion, hence bit right into that part of the slider first. So you can appreciate my surprise in learing it wasn’t pickled onion, but insted habanero aioli slaw. It packed a major spicy punch, enough to eradicate all the other flavors.

If I go back, it would be for the pork sliders. Mostly I am going to start hunting for pickled red onions, because I think it may have become my new favorite ingredient. I want to try them on top of a burger.

I’d like to give this place higher praise, but I’m afraid I’m going to have to go with “Meh-xicue.” It doesn’t impress either as a Mexican or BBQ joint. That said, the pulled pork sliders are a winner, but the place is pricey and the portions small, and the other flavors don’t wow.

Mexicue Truck