Food Truck Roundup: TexaZuela

La Texana arepa with guasacaca sauce.

Claudia Hernandez was initially horrified when her then-boyfriend Jesus Sanchez suggested putting smoked brisket in the arepas her Venezuelan family usually paired with South American meats. However, family and friends insisted that the pair’s cultural fusion of smoked meats and grilled corn cakes was, in fact, brilliant. What began as a culinary mash-up that seemed almost sacrilegious to Texas pitmasters and Venezuelans alike has blossomed into a seamless collaboration of taste, place, and tradition.

Sanchez and Hernandez, now married, opened the TexaZuela food truck in Southeast Austin about six months ago. Grey smoke billows out of the smoker behind the truck as Sanchez cooks pulled pork, brisket, picanha, sausage and chicken “low and slow.” The meats serve as fillings for arepas (grilled or fried), plantain baskets or arepa bowls.

The picnic-table-laden spot transports customers to Hernandez’s hometown of Barinas, Venezuela, where arepas are often served for every meal. Biting into the sandwich, though, you’ll be reminded of Sanchez’s Texas roots and barbecue know-how.

Food truck exterior.

Sanchez recommends La Texana ($13.99), an arepa filled with brisket, caramelized onions, roasted corn and chimichurri; the plantain baskets ($18), a set of four makeshift bowls filled with a different smoked protein and accompanied by pico de gallo and queso de mano; and the brisket taqueños ($10 for four).

If you thought a taqueño, in all of its doughiness and cheesiness, couldn’t get better, think again. On top of their specialty arepas, the duo has artfully thought up a doughy cheese stick filled with tender brisket. Make sure to pair your order with the refreshing guasacaca, a Venezuelan avocado sauce that adds brightness to the hearty dishes. – Chloe Robinson

Customer details: 7605 Colton-Bluff Springs Road, Open Friday-Sunday, 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Phone:

(512) 710-9972. www.texazuela.com. IG: @texazuelabbq.