EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — El Paso food truck entrepreneur Ruben Quintero has a confession to make that his mom may not want to hear.
Quintero, the owner and operator of 4 Tacos 4 Tacos 4 Tacos food truck, got interested in food because he didn’t always like her cooking, he said.
Photos courtesy of Ruben Quintero/4 Tacos 4 Tacos 4 Tacos
“I have always had a passion for cooking,” he said. “I started cooking at the age of 3 cause I hated the way my mom made my eggs. I would push my own chair up to the stove and make my own eggs. I started at an early age. I was a food critic since back then.”
Quintero’s 4 Tacos 4 Tacos 4 Tacos food truck will be featured this Friday, Nov. 10 on KTSM’s weekly Food Truck Friday segment. It will be highlighted on our noon newscast and will be at the KTSM studio, 3801-D Constitution, during lunch hour.
For much of his adult life, Quintero worked in sales but decided to chase his passion for cooking and food several years ago.
Unfortunately, right about the time he was trying to launch his food truck, the pandemic hit, which set him back a bit as far as getting permits and the necessary approvals.
But it also made him aware that other people might be struggling as well.
After he launched his food truck, which specializes in birria, he decided to help out anyone who was hurting during the pandemic — giving them two ground beef and potato tacos and a bottle of water to whoever needed them, no questions asked.
“I wanted to help provide for others and of course, help those in need,” he said.
Even the name of his food truck reflects that commitment to trying to help others.
‘I’m a firm believer in ‘angel’ numbers,” he said. “To me, the number 4 signifies abundance.”
“So I thought by tripling the 4 — three times — I was tripling the abundance to help provide for others,” he said.
Before he launched his food truck, Quintero worked in sales and that career often brought him to Southern California, where he discovered birria.
“What I have become passionate about is birria,” he said. “I started eating birria before it became a big craze. It intrigued me. When I would go to Southern California and Tijuana, people over there would be eating birria.
“At first, I said, ‘What is this?'” Quintero added. “I tried it and fell in love with it. I wanted to bring that style over here to our region.”
Quintero’s food truck, of course, sells birria tacos, but also offers birria ramen with or without a taco and birria nachos. The menu also includes potato and ground beef tacos, asada tacos, discada and a Korean taco dish.
“Had I not done this, I would have regretted it,” he said. “I saw the opportunity and went for it. And it’s grown since then.”
The 4 Tacos 4 Tacos 4 Tacos food truck is out at 9841 Montana from 7 to 11 p.m. on Wednesday and Thursday nights and from 8 p.m. to midnight on Friday and Saturdays.
On Sunday, it is parked outside High Score, a retro video game arcade, located at 2200 N. Trevino. The truck is there from 6 to 10 p.m. on Sunday nights.
Quintero also does catering and special events and he stresses that he gets all his incredients from local vendors.
“Be happy and eat tacos,” he said.
You can follow 4 Tacos 4 Tacos 4 Tacos on Facebook and Instagram.
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