Introducing: Per Se Mobile, a Miami-inspired food truck serving Colombian fare
The latest mobile kitchen to join this year’s flood of new food trucks is Per Se Mobile, a moving kitchen serving comfort food tinged with the flavours of Colombia and Florida. Caterer Luis Olarte witnessed first-hand the truck scene blowing up in Miami, where he was working at the time. Back in Toronto, he joined forces with Florida pal William Gavilan and James Lariatt-Smith, and got in on the street food frenzy.
An offshoot of Olarte’s catering company, the group’s first gig saw them shelling out around 1,700 meals on wheels at the Digital Dreams electronic music fest a couple weeks back. We caught up with them at their Bay and Front location, although they’ve also made appearances at Queen and Jarvis, and, thanks to their ability to whip out a dish in under a minute, the team plans on hitting up various other festivals in the near future.
The menu itself keeps things simple. To date, the shrimp tacos ($8) have been the hottest-selling option: three corn tortillas are filled with tiger shrimp, tomatoes and onions and finished with cilantro. Meanwhile, the porchetta sandwich ($8) tucks Italian-spiced roast pork inside a brioche bun, with an apple and caramelized onion marmalade and house-pickled banana peppers. The Colombian heritage that Olarte and Gavilan share is represented in the raw sugar cane lemonade ($4), made using sugar cane from the Valle del Cauca with fresh lime juice adding an acid kick ($4). We’re told the Colombian drink is traditionally sipped piping hot, and acts as a perk-me-up for folks feeling under the weather. Their chilled version is certain to quench thirst after a sweaty stint in line.
Per Se Mobile Food Truck, 416-807-8945, persemobile.com, @PerSeMobile
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