Here at Off the Grid, we’re obsessed with food trucks. We think they whip up some of the most unique food in the bay and some look pretty stylish while doing it. Take Melina’s Kitchen for example: The grille of their truck is a silhouette of their logo of a woman carrying a taco platter. There’s more to a truck’s design than a custom wrap and flashy logos — the interior needs to be functional. The setup inside a food truck is highly customizable and is typically tailored to the needs of the chef. Today, we’re giving you a sneak peek into the setup inside the Melina’s Kitchen food truck and the man behind the business.
Melina’s Kitchen was opened by Luis Morales in 2020. He decided to open a food truck with his 28 years of kitchen experience because he wanted to see his customers face to face. He says his favorite part of owning a food truck is interacting with people and putting his all into his food. He works alongside two team members to keep the line moving as quickly as possible. Each of them plays a specific role in each dish assembly. One team member is in charge of cooking the food which includes dropping a basket of fries into the fryer or cooking shrimp on the grill. The second team member takes the cooked food and tops it at the prep station. Luis takes the orders at the window and packages the food once it’s been assembled.
It’s a Mexican food truck with a large menu including burritos, tacos, and loaded fries. For efficiency, the food truck is organized by menu item to prevent the cooks from needing to pass back and forth in the narrow space. The cooking station is located at the back end of the truck and is equipped with a double deep fryer, a flat top grill, seasonings, oil, and cooking utensils. In the middle of the truck, there’s two sets of prep stations packed with squeeze bottles full of crema and aioli, a cheese pump, chopped vegetables, meat, and salsas. In the overhead storage space, there’s hundreds of tortillas ready to be warmed up and served.
A popular menu item is the shrimp taco. It’s made with shrimp tossed in a spicy marinade then seared on a flat top grill. It’s topped with slaw, pico de gallo, and chipotle aioli. It’s a light, refreshing dish that’s best enjoyed under the summer sun. If you’re looking for a more indulgent meal, go for the loaded fries.They’re drizzled with cheese sauce and then stacked with carne asada, pico de gallo, and crema. The portion is pretty big, so you’re going to want to share it with a friend. Some food trucks skimp on the filling in a burrito — but that isn’t the case here. The flour tortillas are stretched to their limit and properly wrapped so they don’t fall apart once you start digging in.
There’s so much that goes into making each dish you order at any food truck. Stay tuned for more inside looks into other Off the Grid creators. If you stop by, make sure to say hi to Luis and his team!
