Detroit's popular El Guapo food truck has a new ownership team, a new menu and plans for a second street-food concept to be unveiled in a couple of months.
Joining founder Anthony Curis on the big black truck is veteran chef Dan Gearig, whose Chow Catering is one of metro Detroit's leading on-set caterers for movies, commercials and music videos. Dan's wife, Lindsay Gearig, is also working with the company.
"It's a great team," says Curis, who cofounded El Guapo, famously making some 60 trips to City Hall to get it fully licensed and approved last year.
Curis mainly negotiates the bureaucracy of getting new locations, Dan Gearig creates the menu and cooks, and Lindsay Gearig handles the books and works the window. Original cofounder Doug Runyon now works with a family-owned restaurant.
The made-fresh menu still features tacos and burritos, but Gearig has reworked every element -- from the beans and salsas to the meats and toppings -- to amp up the flavors and make the food more distinctive.
New El Jefe items -- ones with attitude -- include a Korean short rib taco with Asian slaw and black sesame seeds, and a luscious, deep-fried pork belly confit taco topped with guacamole, tangy slaw and Guapo sauce.
Among El Jefe burritos, don't miss the Mexicue, loaded with juicy braised beef, chunky grilled pineapple salsa, caramelized onions and peppers, cheese and crisp slaw.
Vegetarian choices include deep-fried tofu tacos, grilled veggie burritos and the El Jefe sweet potato burrito.
"We're not trying to be authentic. We're just making great food that's fun," says Gearig, who believes Detroit wants more of the creativity found in the L.A., Austin, Texas, and Portland, Ore., street-food scenes.
Curis and Gearig aren't revealing their next project, but they say the menu will be a departure for metro Detroit.
El Guapo's locations (times vary) include the Wayne State campus, Greektown, Midtown, Eastern Market and the Stadium District. See details at www.elguapogrill.com; updates on Facebook and Twitter.
