Food, all the way from Puerto Rico, via Ohio

A burger with buns made of bananas?

Welcome to the Caribbean, East Village-style!

It takes the form of a big blue truck with “Caribbean Escape” pasted over its sides. It’s parked in the Quartyard space at Park and Market. I go see what’s up. Turns out it’s all about Caribburgers (my name), like they munch in Puerto Rico.

They are one of the regulars here, most often on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 4:30 pm to 9 pm.

The menu has all the usual suspects of Caribbean food, like the Cubano sandwich loaded with pulled pork and smoked ham ($9 with fries) and the jerk burger with a mango slaw ($9). But what catches my eye is “Tostones Sliders ($8).”

Sounds like something to up your testosterone, but no. Tostones are fried plantains, the banana’s mega relative.

Juan, Christin

“We use the plantain flesh to replace the bread bun,” says Christin, the gal at the order window. “You get two sliders with plantain ‘buns,’ and the patties are half beef and half bacon.”

And you get guava BBQ sauce with that plus lettuce, tomatoes, and fries. Naturally, I have to ask for this. Think about it: We could be at the dawn of a new burger era!

If you’re hard up, they have tostones on their own too, for $4, or large empanadas stuffed with beef or chicken ($4) or shrimp ($5). Or wings with guava BBQ sauce for $9.

My tostones sliders

Christin says they’re from Ohio. They worked Eastlake, Ohio’s streets for four years and then decided to come here. “We’ve driven half across America, selling our food all the way. It was a trip. Now San Diego is our latest adventure.”

“But honestly, do a lot of people order these?” I ask Juan, when he comes to the window with my sliders.

“Well, they take persuading,” he says. “For starters, they don’t know what plantains are. And of course they don’t like to leave their Burger Comfort Zone. So we just have to preach the cause. Once they’ve tasted them, most like the texture and especially the flavor.”

I taste mine, and straightaway you get that banana zing. It’s banana but not as sweet. A little more like corn. And that makes a nice contrast with the really bacony beef mix that you get in the patty. And I love that guava BBQ sauce in there sweetening things up.

Bottom line, this is a refreshing add to the burger experience. Makes it a little more sunshiny. Or maybe that’s my imagination tripping out. Or maybe it’s the quart of beer I’m starting in on here. Or maybe I’m just admiring these two for busting out and doing their thing, bringing Puerto Rico to the U.S.

“I had always wanted a restaurant,” says Juan. “I was an electrician, but I had four years of culinary school and two degrees. All I dreamed of was opening a restaurant, showing people my kind of food. Finally Christin got fed up. She said ‘Let’s just do it.’ I wouldn’t have taken the leap if she hadn’t pushed me. We couldn’t afford a restaurant, so we got this truck. The great thing is we are able to bring our business along with us. Crossing the country like we did, we kinda feel like missionaries.”

They’ve got one convert here. Find their next stop: [email protected] or 440-476-1413.