If you’re out and about in Oakland, California, this weekend, keep an eye out for the Primo’s Parrilla mobile food truck. Founded by Argentina native Javier Sandes, Primo’s specializes in slow-grilled Argentine asado. Grilled meat is an important food tradition in Argentine culture, and family and friends will often gather together for hours around a grill while meat cooks. Sandes began sharing the art of slow grilling at backyard barbecue parties around Oakland, but last March he decided to bring his homeland’s food to the people of the Bay Area community through a mobile grilling truck that stops at different locations during the workweek and at local farmer’s markets, festival and fairs on the weekends.
Sandes fuels his 6-foot mobile grill using only almond wood and natural mesquite lump charcoal. Using techniques from his homeland, he lets the meats grill for hours on end, resulting in a succulent, tender dish. While the meats simmer, Sandes offers barbecue tips and instructions on how to prepare asado.
Sandes uses only free-range chicken and grass-fed tri-tips, which he lets simmer in their natural juices and flavors, and he pairs the dishes with fresh-made chimichurri, homemade empanadas, sweet potato mash and seasonal mixed greens with homemade honey-jalapeno-lime dressing. Many of the ingredients are sourced from sustainable, local and organic suppliers, which Sandes lists on his website.
Check Primo’s Parrilla’s website to find out where the mobile grilling truck will be next!
