GR Fil-Am Grill brings Filipino flavors to Fayetteville’s food truck scene, but it isn’t your lola’s cooking.
“I want to introduce my culture not only from tradition, but we’re modern now,” said chef Gerard Rangel, 40, who owns and operates the truck with his wife, Noni Rangel, 40.
Cuisines from around the world are cooked with Filipino flair in dishes like spicy pork sisig tacos, where spiced pork belly is served in a tortilla; ube cannoli, in which Italian pastries are filled with purple yam custard; and adobo fries, which are loaded with tender, soy-marinated chicken.
Since the truck got its start in September, its cooked-to-order plates have become popular with locals, especially industry insiders.
“Dogslingers and Boba and Bites (owners) like our truck,” Noni said Wednesday as she and her husband prepared to serve dinner in Raeford’s Bedford neighborhood, where customers queued in anticipation.
The food is made fresh from scratch — the slick black truck doesn’t have a freezer — but the chef said he’s prouder of the connections with customers than the menu.