Creating a culinary business, especially one steeped in traditional food with a twist is always about pivoting and understanding your customers. Samuel Tovar, who created Kariacos Food Truck and recently established the Kariacos brick-and-mortar eatery on Circle Drive in Colorado Springs, used this approach to bring the taste of Venezuela to his new home.
Tovar explains that he started the Kariacos food truck in 2019 before the pandemic began. Both he and his wife are from Venezuela. “We used to live in Miami where the Venezuelan and Latin food is awesome.”
They moved to Colorado to change scenery (he came out first). One of the reasons: He liked the changing of seasons. His thought turned to his professional ambition: “Why not cook our food for the people here?”
However, one needs to start from somewhere on the ground in Colorado to build up experience and goodwill for such a venture. Tovar had gone to the School for Culinary Arts in Caracas in Venezuela. “I always had the idea to have a restaurant and it has always been in my mind that I have to do something with Venezuelan food to share what I know.”
Gaining Experience at Budlong
When he came out in 2016 to Colorado, Tovar had the opportunity to manage another food truck. The truck, called Budlong Chicken, was based on a restaurant out of Chicago and owned by a man named Jared Leonard (who had also recently moved to Colorado). Through this opportunity, Tovar was able to gain experience and figure out his next step.
“I will say the experience of the years working in kitchens [in Venezuela and Miami] made me take the next step and do it. But with a food truck, it’s a different kind of world than a restaurant because of the space, because of the timing.” With a food truck, he says, people expect you to have the food super quick when, in fact, if the food is made fresh, it is harder to pull off and maintain quality.
Tovar says a few years ago there weren’t many places to get Venezuelan food here in Colorado. When he began the process to build a food truck after working with Budlong, the question for him became how to be the face of the business and reflect its identity. This also needed to be reflected in their menu and selected items to represent the business.
A Culinary Tribute to Miami and Venezuela
“Everything we serve is a tribute that we do to Miami.” They started the menu at Kariacos with some spicy items, but Tovar says the menu is always changing to keep it fresh – for them as well. One of the staple items on his menu is tequenos. “They’re like a kind of cheese stick. I mean, that’s how I explain that to customers.” He says some people don’t like to try new things, but this kind of food is the perfect way to be introduced to Venezuelan food because it is familiar.
“I mean, I grew up eating this. It’s a very good dish to share at a party. The inside is just cheese, and it’s fried with dough and then it is rolled in [more] cheese and served with a dipping sauce, likely garlic, or cilantro.”
The next step in terms of menu accessibility at Kariacos is an arepa, which is perhaps comparable to an empanada. “So, the arepa, basically, is a corn patty that is grilled. When it’s ready, we cut it in the middle and fill it up with whatever.” Some of the options include cheddar chicken, cheddar beef, or even just cheese and butter. Tovar jokes that you could even fill it with lobster (though that is something they don’t offer … yet).
Another item he recommends is the Patacon sandwich. The sandwich is made with fried plantain and a choice of shredded chicken or beef, then topped with garlic sauce, lettuce, tomatoes, and gouda cheese. He used to have it back home [in Venezuela] but in different presentations including regular plantains and other various types of meat. Right now, he prepares it with green plantains so it’s healthier. “But people back home and even local Venezuelan people here eating in our restaurant, they’ll ask for it with fried plantain in it because they want it sweet. So, it’s different.”
A Hot Dog Like No Other
One of the more popular dishes is a Venezuelan hot dog, which on their menu is called the Asqueristo. “This kind of hot dog is what I used to eat [in Venezuela] when I was a little younger. It is perfect. When we used to party in Caracas, after the party – there is a street back home with 40 different multiple hot dog carts in a row. And every one sold their own style.”
In Venezuela, people tried different ingredients, mostly always including onions and cabbage. But on the menu at Kariacos, Tovar kicks it up a notch. His Asqueristo is topped with bacon, sausage, potato sticks, cheese sauce, garlic sauce, ketchup, corn, and gouda cheese.
Tovar also recommends the traditional Venezuelan drink called pachelon, which is made from sugar cane. He says the closest thing he can approximate it to is lemonade.
While the food truck has taken a backseat to their brick-and-mortar restaurant, Tovar and his wife still bring it out seasonally for special events like graduations and weddings. Tovar loves remembering that people used to follow the truck trying to find where they would park on any given day. Living The Dream Brewery in Littleton was one of their favorite spots to set up shop back in those days. But with the opening of the restaurant, Tovar says it is easier for everyone because the customers know where they are and what to expect.
