Veteran Dallas vegan chef rolls out new meals truck with asada and tacos

A brand new meals truck has opened in Dallas from a chef well-known within the vegan meals realm. Known as Phoenix Vegan Spotthe trailer is from Christian Rios, who beforehand had a restaurant in Richardson referred to as Lahla’s Plant Kitchen, which closed in 2021.

Rios has spent the previous two years saving for the trailer, taking home-remodeling jobs to build up a bankroll.

He began taking it out on the highway in mid-2023, doing popups round city, then celebrated a grand opening of types on November 4, exterior Mashup Market in Denton, which the trailer will occupy a semi-permanent residence, offering Rios’ followers a predictable place to search out his meals.

The custom-made meals trailer gives an in depth menu of vegan plates, from rooster & waffles and tacos to Cajun lobster mushroom ppasta.

“I did the popups for six months and it was a good way to get out and meet folks;” Rios says. “However I knew I needed to broaden.”

Rios, who’s 40, first got here to DFW in 2015, however has labored in dozens of eating places, taking factors on every: Outback Steakhouse, Mexican diners, and Italian eating places.

“Cooking is my love language, I began after I grew up,” he says. “My mother wasn’t the most effective prepare dinner, so I taught myself about meals and simply began to be taught and develop.”

He attended culinary faculty in Austin the place he discovered about basic French delicacies, which he calls the higher echelon of cooking.

“I’m making use of French strategies to my menu,” he says. “Working in a whole lot of eating places uncovered me to all types of meals, so now I’ve a grasp on worldwide meals and I can carry that to the meals trailer menu.”

He turned acquainted with vegan meals whereas dwelling in Austin.

“It was very huge there,” Rios says. “I used to be at a degree the place I needed to begin fascinated with my well being and actually cherished the plant-based concept. I checked out it additionally as a manner to make use of my culinary creativity.”

One well-liked dish is his Hibiscus Asada, the place he takes hibiscus leaves and brews them, then rinses, smokes, and seasons till they turn out to be “beefy.” They’re served with roasted candy potatoes and grilled onions.

For rooster, he makes use of lions mane mushrooms, pressed arduous to take away extra liquid, then fried with waffles.

The trailer provides him mobility and the chance to be a part of occasions like Vegan Brewfest Dallas at Neighborhood Beer Co. on Saturday November 11.

He’s pondering a ghost kitchen the place he can prep meals for supply, whereas additionally looking for a extra everlasting trailer location.

Extra instantly, “I’m going to be again exterior Mashup in Denton after this weekend. And shortly, I’ll have a everlasting place.”