The Rubis food truck is tucked away behind the Oak St. Kroger on First St. and is pretty easy to miss if you're not looking for it. Keep your eyes peeled for it on Thursdays-Sundays or there are catering options available. For the drink aficionado's out there, they also offer some interesting authentic seasonal drinks like Horchata, Jaimaca, Atole, and Champurrado.
COVID Note- In our COVID world, it’s got one whole table available for seating so expect to take it home. The staff did a good job remaining masked, socially distanced, and gloved the whole time.
Keto Note - Mexican food can definitely be tough, and there's not an abundance of options available here for our keto friends. Potentially the cheese or meat quesadilla if the tortilla fits in your macros, or the menudo on weekends.
Let’s dig in!
We grabbed the full suite of tamales, steak asada empanadas, rice and glass Mexican cokes. When we first cracked the bag open, there was this delightfully smoky savory scent that wafted out. Further investigation revealed that it didn’t come from any of our meat items but the rice! Which ended up being so surprisingly well seasoned and flavorful I could have very happily just eaten a whole plate of rice and been thrilled. Rice is a whole food group unto itself in my book, so I'm thoroughly pleased it was a feature and not an afterthought.
The empanadas were a world away from those greasy heavy meat pies that might share the name. Rubis' empanadas have a handcrafted golden soft crust, giving way to finely chopped succulent steak inside. Topping it off are sour cream, cheese, and a bit of salad fixings for a refreshing contrast to the bite.
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| Do Open, Deliciousness Inside |
The tamales are the feature item here, and you can tell these are made with love. There was a distinct difference between each of the tamale fillings rather than just the same taste over and over which is great, but notably it is the flavor in the masa that really sets these tamales apart. Truthfully they didn't need any other red or cheese sauce that might drown out the flavors permeating these moist and flavor-packed packets of joy, but the optional house hot sauce it came with adds a kick of heat if you need it. If you've ever ordered tamales and gotten just sad dry bricks of masa, please know these Rubis tamales are the exact opposite of that. Get a half dozen, you won't be disappointed.
My personal ranking of the fillings was:
1) Pork
2) Beef and Potato
3) Chicken
4) Cheese and Jalapeno
GRADING
Vibe: Mexican food truck
Value: 5/5 - The value at Rubis for what you get is ridiculous. Honestly I feel blessed to live in the South where legit Mexican food is plentiful and inexpensive.
Service: 5/5 - no complaints! The gentlemen who took my order was clear and triple checked my long order for accuracy. Food came out fast, piping hot, and COVID guideline compliant.
Comfort: 3/5 - it’s a food truck in the age of COVID. Is it comfortable to eat there? Honestly no, but you probably shouldn’t be eating there anyways right now.
Food: 5/5 - the food is too legit to quit. Honestly the best tamales I've had in AR.
FINAL THOUGHTS - everything I’ve gotten to eat here is a sound rebuke against the fiends of flavorless foods. Having had some really awful Mexican food before, it is a true pleasure to eat somewhere where it's evident that they make everything with love and every item was packed with flavor. I am absolutely going to get a dozen tamales for my next D&D w/friends night and I hope you can get on a first Nom basis with this food truck as soon as you can.
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