Mexico on Wheels delivers a taste of Mexico City

Do you crave Mexican food? Are you a sucker for a quick, open and airy street food experience? Do you like the adventure of tracking down food trucks?

If you answered "yes" to any of those questions, you should plan on making the Mexico On Wheels food truck your next stop.

Mexico On Wheels, owned by Edgar and Gabriella Becerril, made its debut at the SEMO District Fair earlier this year and has continued introducing some of the unique dishes popular on the streets of Mexico City to the people of Southeast Missouri.

In addition to crowd favorites, such as street tacos with choice of meat, chimichangas and tamales, their menu boasts "one of the best snacks from the streets of Mexico" — chingarrones.

What are chingarrones? First, imagine a plate of nachos. Next, replace the chips with chicharrones aka fried pork rinds. That's it. Chingarrones are fried pork rinds topped with your choice of meat, cheese and pico de gallo. I am always up for trying something new, so settling on chingarrones was an easy decision. I ordered mine topped with carnitas. I would describe my experience as unique, light, crunchy and enjoyable.

Find Mexico on Wheels on social media.Submitted by Mary Ann Castillo

Next up: tamales. I wanted to try something familiar for a taste comparison, and tamales seemed like the perfect option. I followed the lead of a fellow food truck fanatic I met in line and placed my order. In my opinion, the thickness of the masa tells me everything I need to know about a tamale, and these did not disappoint. There was a good ratio of masa to filling, no lumps, and the flavor was right on target. The holidays are right around the corner and I was tempted to keep their tamales my little secret ... luckily, I didn't.

Last, I ordered another new-to-me item: a keka. I had never heard the term and an internet search showed few results. The Mexico On Wheels menu describes their "keka" as dough filled with your ingredient of choice then deep fried and served with lettuce, tomato, sour cream, salsa and queso fresco. I ordered the mushroom and cheese keka and proceeded to one of my favorite parks to savor the flavors while surrounded by beautiful fall foliage.

Everything was great, but that mushroom keka was absolutely craveable and left me wanting more. The memory alone is mouthwatering. Edgar kept referring to it as a "keka" and "quesadilla" interchangeably, which confused me. It was delicious, but was it a taco? Was it a quesadilla? Was it something else?

I later unearthed a food controversy comparable to the pineapple on pizza debate. Apparently, Mexico City went rogue with their keka/quesadilla and decided to make them without cheese. The rest of the country disagreed. The "quesa" in the name implies cheese yet, if you want a quesadilla with cheese in Mexico City, you have to request the cheese. It is kind of their "thing."

I had never given much thought to Mexico City, but this new information had me seeing it in a new light. I'm a sucker for the underdog. I love people who march to the beat of their own drum. I like chili with beans or without. I see you, Mexico City. I am you.

Gabriella serves up delicious food with a smile.Submitted by Mary Ann Castillo

The Becerril's make their kekas with cheese and I didn't have the opportunity to get their input about the great cheese debate, but there is no doubt in my mind everything on their menu is worth trying.