A genie in the lamp? No, a genie in the food truck, Diego Ramos is making magic in McAllen.
On any given evening, you will find a long line of customers down the sidewalk, patiently waiting to get their order in at Diego’s Food Truck.
His experimental and creative dishes, like vegan Moroccan harissa carrots, squash and mushroom stew, picadillo with grass-fed beef from his Provenza family farm as well as favorites like paella and burgers, are bringing customers, new and loyal, to experience his amazing menu.
“The real beauty of Diego’s food is that he sources all his own vegetables and proteins from his own Provenza farm,” said Seby Haddad of McAllen. “He focuses heavily on quality, locally sourced, clean food. His truck brings an elevated dining experience to the park, and he has established a loyal following.”
For a glimpse at what Ramos uses to make food magic, I asked him about the ingredients and cooking implements he prefers to use.
NOELLE: If we were to walk into your pantry right now, what would you have in there?
DIEGO: My mom hangs every herb to dry in the pantry. She’s the genius behind it all. She’ll stop by and give me new ideas ‘to try, and I’ll go in the kitchen and experiment. Our motto is, ‘The weirder the better.’ My mom and I will seek out the really weird stuff. You wouldn’t believe how many people have never had a grilled carrot. We found some purple ones recently.
N: What local products do you use?
D: Almost everything is from my family’s farm, the Provenza Farm and Ranch Cattle Co. Once a month, Provenza gives me a USDA butchered cow and lamb. I always have a huge amount of beef even though I love doing vegetarian dishes. Sometimes I will go and clean out the farmers’ market. I feel like I’m in my own little world, with an unlimited amount of choices.
N: What’s your favorite ingredient to use and why?”
D: I have spices from all around the world. I’ll take half of my spices from the farm and half from North Africa. We just recently went to Turkey where I discovered Tunisian harissa and I’ve been using it a lot.
N: What are you excited to try next?
D: I’m going to Peru soon to take a cooking class, and I want to focus on raw foods. I’m working on a seasonal tasting menu for the truck, something that tells a story.
N: If you could only use three cooking tools in the kitchen, what would you use?
D: Does fire count? Definitely a sauté pan. A cutting board. I use the cutting board for everything. I eat off the cutting board, we serve on cutting boards. And a really, really sharp knife. I can do anything with that. It gets wild in the kitchen. I really am meant for [cooking]. I have so much fun.
No matter what ingredients Ramos works with, I’m sure he’ll find a way to turn them into something extraordinary.
