Great news, Mexican brick and mortar restaurant Casa Azul, located at 128 Genesee St., is opening their first mobile kitchen – Buffalo’s FIRST “Torta Truck”! The truck is Chef/owner Zina Lapi’s first expansion project and mirrors the restaurant’s style of making everything, in house, from scratch.
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What is a Torta
First things first, let’s clear up the biggest question here. What is a torta? Tortas are a highly popular and sought out Mexican street food and are basically a Mexican Style Sandwich. What sets this sandwich apart from the rest is the “Telera” roll its comes on.
“The delicious Telera roll is baked with a double rise method and the addition of honey, instead of refined sugar, which adds a truly unique texture and taste,” says Casa Azul who prepares their own fresh baked Telera daily. The roll is then buttered, grilled and stuffed with the ingredients and condiments like chicken, beef, pork and/or vegetarian options. Plus, they’re topped with house made salsas, sauces, and Mexican accoutrements. TBH they are frickin delicious.
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What to Expect on the Truck
The new Casa Azul food truck will be operated and managed under Chef / Owner Zina Lapi by chefs Johnny Jeter from Brooklyn, NY and Kevin Harris of Buffalo, NY. They both have multiple years of experience in the food and beverage industry. Chef Lapi sums them up their chemistry with, “They’re both dedicated to the success of the truck… but most importantly to satisfying the palettes and needs of our customers, and keeping the Casa brand alive”.
Other menu items you’ll find on the truck include Churros, a sweet fried-dough pastry dessert – which you’ve probably heard of – and house made tostadas, tortillas that are deep fried and topped with various ingredients (kinda like a flat hard shell taco), another Mexican menu item semi-hard to come by in WNY. Plus you can expect drinks like Mexican Coke and exotic house-made agua frescas that change weekly.
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If you’re wondering, ‘but will there be tacos??’, the answer is no. This truck is fully dedicated to tortas, and frankly we’re here for it. This chance for the torta to shine is well-deserved IOO.
To book the truck for any upcoming events, office parks, weddings or even house parties (hell yes), you can contact casaazulfoodtruck@gmail.com or casaazulbuffalo@gmail.com.
Author: the blonderooster
Emily is co-founder and Director of Storytelling at Step Out Buffalo. Her favorite things to do are eat, travel, and think. Emily is originally from Hamburg, NY and her out of town friends will tell you that she loves to talk about Buffalo any chance she gets.
