[REVIEW] Piaggio Gourmet on Wheels Lunch Truck, Orange County, CA

 
Piaggio’s, simply put, is one of the best lunch trucks gracing Orange County. One can’t have enough exceptional gourmet eateries crawling around the OC and this one is no exception.

It’s not that their food will give you culinary inspiration, nor is it a reason to alert Michelin. What makes them stand out is the value they provide. That is, for the amount of money you spend, you get bites of unique flavors usually found only in sit down eateries. 

On my first of hopefully many more visits, I ordered the taco/empanada combo ($3.00).

The taco enveloped well prepared beef which was both tender and flavorful. In order to lighten the fare, homemade chimichuri sauce made of cilantro, olive oil and special seasonings topped it off. My only wish? Homemade tortillas. But, oh well, you can’t have everything.

As for the empanada, the light and crispy crust enveloped chicken bits mixed in with the same chimichuri sauce but this time with grilled onions. Although it was obviously deep fried, it did not come across as very heavy nor oily. Also, one look at the container and I noticed there wasn’t any huge grease stains: a good sign.

As an added treat, chef/owner Piaggio himself provided a sample of the pulled pork (pictured right), which was the same protein found in the sliders special that day. This “sneak preview” was presented on a slice of bread and also topped off with chimichuri. The simple presentation helped showcase once again his ability to prepare meat skillfully. In short, very tender, flavorful and delicious.

Now, at basically $1.50 each for the taco or the empanada, not too many sit down restaurants can pull off these culinary feats at these prices! Is it the best Argentine cuisine I’ve ever had? No, probably not. That’s something reserved for the homemade meals I’ve had. However, it is definitely very good food accompanied by outstanding prices. Far better than a lot of the overpriced shit at the Irvine Spectrum.

Piaggio Gourmet on Wheels
(Various locations)
Orange County, CA
twitter.com/piaggioonwheels