Jorge Cortez opened Delicioso about a year ago, and his truck has an ever-changing menu, with dishes like Tex-Mex carne asada, ceviche, flatbread Mexican pizza, tortas cubana, skewers, spicy shrimp, smoked marlin, and veggie tacos, all with his signature basil rice. This is cuisine made with care and creativity, bursting with flavor and freshness. Don’t let the flowers on the side of this truck fool you—this is some serious food. Seriously delicious.
Delicioso Shrimp Taco
Jorge was kind enough to take the time to answer some questions for SDFT.
SDFT: What did you do before you had the food truck? Tell us a little about yourself.
JC: I was an elementary school teacher for fifteen years. Although teaching was very rewarding, I decided to venture into a new business, and catering was something that always interested me.
One day, I was driving around town and decided to have lunch at a food truck. A familiar voice asked, ”How can I help you?” and it turned out to be a friend of mine! I asked him about the business. He was very honest about sharing the challenges of working a food truck, but he also shared how exciting it was to be able to create dishes that people enjoyed!
One summer, I jumped into his truck and saw the business from the inside. I helped him for two weeks, then decided to rent a truck and try it. Two months later, I made a small investment and bought an older truck.
How do you come up with menu items?
Delicioso has a very diverse menu. It’s an eclectic mix of all the foods we have here in San Diego. We use fresh local ingredients and constantly rotate our menu every time we go out.
I love to work at food truck gatherings because I get to sample diverse foods from other trucks. Several trucks have impressed me especially the ones who use organic and natural foods to create original dishes.
What would you say is your most popular item?
The most popular item on our menu is the Cali burrito. It has a ton of good delicious stuff: carne asada, fresh pico de gallo, tossed fries, guacamole, cheese, and chipotle sauce. Our basil red rice has been a favorite of our customers, too, and we include it in every dish. The key to a delicious flavorful red rice is basil and fresh corn. Traditional red Mexican rice is too plain, so we decided to add the special flavor of basil and it is out of this world!
What is your cooking philosophy?
To keep it simple, fresh, and low calorie. Most of our dishes include some kind of vegetables. I love to learn new recipes from the Cooking Channel–The Food Network is always on at my house!
What’s your favorite thing about running the business and what is your biggest challenge?
There have been many challenges, but none of them have discouraged me from the business. A huge challenge has been maintaining the truck in working conditions. I’ve learned several mechanical tricks since I’ve been doing this!
Thank you to Jorge for taking the time to do this interview. Delicioso also does catering and can be found on Twitter at @DeliciosoFood or Facebook or their website.
