Tacos al Pastor Stand Out at Middletown Food Truck Merengue

Share

TwitterFacebookCopy LinkPrintEmail

In the 1990s, Pedro Ramirez had a summer barbecue truck on Main Street in Hartford. When the building sold where he rented space, he ran a coffee shop in West Haven. And when Ramirez couldn’t find any of the food he liked to eat in Middletown, he and his family decided to open a food truck.

“I just wanted to give something to the area. Middletown, Portland, Cromwell, Berlin, down to Old Saybrook, and there’s no Hispanic restaurants,” Ramirez said. “Sometimes I want a mofongo. You gotta go to Hartford, you gotta go to New Britain, Meriden. I just want an empanada sometimes, but by the time you get to Hartford you’re like, I drove all this way, might as well get a whole meal.”

At Merengue & Red Tacos Bar, Ramirez sells the food he craves, there’s mofongo topped with a choice of meat, a chopped cheese, tacos, empanadas and more.

The truck is parked at 1125 Middle St., Middletown. It’s in a gravel parking lot, next to Safe Home Security and across the street from the FedEx distribution center near the corners of Middletown, Cromwell and Berlin.
The birria tacos are always popular, but for us the al pastor tacos topped with pineapple stood out. The mashed plantains in the mofongo had a great texture, and the empanadas were fresh and hit the spot as a quick snack. On the days they sell it, the banana pudding that Pedro’s wife Lucy makes is worth the trip, so check their Instagram for specials.