Unsolicited Endorsement: The Taquería Luciano food truck

by Jordan Green

One of the many salutary aspects of food trucks is their ability to complement pre-existing enterprises. Taquería Luciano, which occupies a section of the parking lot at Krankies Coffee in Winston-Salem between 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. most weekdays, provides something that’s not included in Krankies’ offering of coffee, pastries and craft beer: lunch. And Krankies’ has something a food truck needs — a built-in, loyal clientele. Improvised partnerships have been part of the economy since the dawn of capitalism, but a new wave of creative collaboration is needed to animate our slowly reviving cities.

Bravo, then, to Taquería Luciano and Krankies.

And while I’m at it, the plate I grabbed from the food truck while taking advantage of a cup of dark-roasted house blend and free internet was mind-blowing.

I’ve had a torta before —in Mexico, no less — but this was something else, due in large part to the choice of bread. I chose barbacoa, a Latin cousin to North Carolina pulled pork, which was piled on bread that struck me as a cross between a croissant and a Kaiser roll. I was already in love the moment I bit into the grilled baby onion sliced vertically and placed beside the sandwich. Like a good ’cue sandwich, the bread both soaked up and provided a platform for the savory and saucy pile of pork. The other elements — shredded lettuce, guacamole, sliced tomato and queso fresca — positively rocketed the experience off the charts.

Generally, a wedge of fresh lime redeems any dish, but that touch was hardly necessary in this case.