Category: food truck

  • Mission Motor Collective

    Mission Motor Collective

    “I like it here. Its got a lot of space.”

    Get your motor runnin’

    When you think of a beer hall, what exactly comes to mind? Those vast ventures in Germany during Oktoberfest that are akin to open air circus arenas equipped with smiling ladies donning blonde twists and carrying, like, a dozen frosty mugs in each hand? Or maybe just the Pima County Fair, sans sad 80s band mewling in the distance, and if it actually served decent ales and lagers?

    Okay, Mission Motor Collective is not that big, but it’s pretty big.

    This space is the place

    We here in Tucson might be used to spacious locations to pull down yon frothy goodness, and we are fortunate to have a wide selection of said locations. We got the room, no doubt. But the moment I first stepped foot into Mission Motor Co. the first thing that came to mind was “Oh its like a picnic area, but with craft beer and no active hornets nests.”

    Opening just a few months ago here in the year 2025, Mission Motor Collective is the brainchild and passion piece of Nashville, TN native Jeremy London.

    “There’s a lot of motorcycle riders here in Tucson but there really isn’t a specific meeting place where they can get together and get to know one another,” he says. “We want Mission Motor to be that place.”

    Grab ‘n go…or stay

    A longtime rider and builder of bikes himself, Jeremy needed a creative endeavor for both him and his wife Britney as they both work corporate jobs that don’t really embrace creativity on this level. Plus they both totally love craft beer. Makes sense.

    “There’s really nothing like Mission Motor in this area,” notes Jeremy. Its true. Located on the corner of Grant and Stone with neighbors being Grant Stone market, a donut shop and veterinarian center, they do stand out quite easily as the go to destination for canned, bottled and on tap quality brews.

    Its easy to get lost in the Congress and 4th Ave pivot of bars and restaurants but the corner of Grant and Stone? Yeah. No. In fact, Mission Motor should be a stop for downtown folks going home after work, or before work if you’re pulling in a night shift seeing as Mission Motor opens regularly at 2pm. If that’s your thing.

    Remember kids, safety first

    Currently they have 12 taps of rotating hoppy malty greatness along with a line of fridges filled with cans and bottles of imported and domestic tipples along with non-alcoholic options as well. So grab a flavor of your choice and sit for a while. Or take a bunch home. Or take some home after you have stayed a bit. Up to you. Hey, you’re a grown up, you do you.

    Stick ’em if you got ’em

    In the tradition of said European mead marts, Mission Motor Co. has two British regulation dart boards. What I mean by that is they are the proper weight (aka heavy as fxxk), made with real cork and are at the exact height for UK competition level dart playing. That’s right, they don’t play around.

    “It took about three of us to mount those things,” Jeremy says with a laugh. “But it is so worth it as we plan to start a dart league real soon.”

    Motor isn’t in their name for nothing

    Another thing you will immediately notice as you walk in is the mural sized rendition of Rat Fink on the Stone side wall. Pained by a locally renown tattoo artist, ol’ RF is donning a MMC shirt and looks as if he is racing to get to those taps.

    Best part is, art is literally everywhere here. Mission Motor is currently on their 2nd art exhibition and will feature more in the future. Don’t just buy a pint or three, buy a painting or photograph from local artists as well. C’mon! Get some culture in your pad.

    Beer and art, always the perfect combo

    Mission Motor Co. is also host to various game nights such as Bingo and trivia but don’t be afraid to bring your own games because this is the place to do such activities. Heck I’m thinking of moving our D&D club over to Mission Motor.  They allow outside food and the beer selection is a lot better than what we usually provide. And the bathrooms actually work. That’s a plus.

    I sure hope they have a ‘one of each’ policy

    Speaking of food, you can find a new food truck parked outside most days and nights. Just check their Instagram to see what motorized vittles they are serving up. Trust me here, its always something grand and delicious.

    If you just need a snack, there’s a selection of nibbles for you to take on. Oh and they have a tight lineup of wine too. This place has it all!

    First you hang ’em up then you rack ’em up

    What would a badass place such as Mission Motor be if they didn’t have live music as well? Because they totally do! I mean, hey, they have the space for it. By that I mean its bigger than most clubs here in town, or anywhere really. And the bathrooms actually work. Again, always a plus.

    Having a family function or need a place for your event? Look no further! You can rent out Mission Motor for a very reasonable rate. They don’t have pool tables and a fine collection of IPAs at those boring party halls with those dopey round fold tables and broken microphones do they? No they do not.

    Mission Motor even did a Goth clothing exchange recently. Like, who does that? Gothy places, sure, but not any tap house that I have been to. And believe me, I’ve been to my fair share of beer forts. Maybe they are on to something. Bring the pale kids to the pale ales. I’d be so down for that.

    Of course Rat Fink loves this bar, of course

    Seeing as Mission Motor shares a wall with a vet clinic, they are also pet friendly. After Mittens gets their checkup, bring ‘em in and sit for a spell. A cold glass, bottle or can of quality crafty awesomeness will take the sting out of any doctor bill.

    Its just great to know that a place such as Mission Motor Co. exists in our fine desert hamlet. We need more people such as Jeremy and Britney who rely on the goodness of our community. So get yourself and your buddies over to Mission Motor Co. In fact, that’s what I’m going to do right now. See you there.

    Cheers!

    Thank you Jeremy and Britney

    Mission Motor Collective

    2 W. Grant Rd. Tucson AZ

    Website

    Instagram

    Facebook

    Words and photos

    Mark Whittaker

    yeahwritemark@gmail.com

  • Los Compas: A love letter to my favorite neighborhood food truck

    Los Compas: A love letter to my favorite neighborhood food truck

    Muy bueno!

    If you know me and are familiar with my track record as a food writer then you are well aware of my near obsession with food trucks.

    So when a taco truck opened up just a few blocks from us a couple of years ago I was both stoked and curious. Mind you, most of the tacos from said trucks that I have had the pleasure of getting acquainted with in my time here in Tucson have been either on the scale of “Yeah, this is good” to “Oh my god, this is fxxking amazing!”

    That doesn’t mean that I’ve had a few dogs of tacos. Not going to mention names but there have been the unfortunate few where I just stare at the taco and wonder “How the heck could they screw this up so bad?” Thankfully that notion is a rarity.

    Calling themselves Los Compas, this lil pink and white rig set up around the corner of Ft. Lowell and Mountain to little or no fanfare. Literally a shout and holler away from our bungalow. Driving by it once or twice it was around the third turn where I knew it was my time to sample the goods.

    If you see it you must come

    If memory serves correct I got a selection of items in the vein of ‘if they mess this up then we got a problem’. Like one or two tacos, a burrito and probably something else. Then I brought it back home for us to try.

    What memory does do me honest is that I immediately fell in love with the food. It was all so good. The chicken and carne asada was cooked and seasoned perfectly, the beans and rice were the same, fresh cabbage and tomatoes, juicy limes, tasty salsas, fantastic pickled red onions – all of it.

    Thank you taco truck gods for sending Los Compas to our fair neighborhood! But screw you too because its not like I’m chubby enough. Jeeze.

    One Sunday coming back from the farmers market I decided to get a bowl of their menudo, which they only serve on the weekends. A lot of people that I know are not fans of menudo, most of the white folks that is, but I have been a defender of the tripe and hominy filled brothy stew since my early days of living in San Francisco. It was there that my screaming hangovers were remedied by the magic that lives in that spicy brew accompanied by thick tortillas and, yes, a beer.

    Los Compas’ menudo did not disappoint. It brought me back to those heady days in the bay area only this time I was not suffering from the alco-fuel regrets of open bars, backstage coolers and general youth filled debauchery. It was just a chilly winter Sunday and that stuff really warmed me up.

    Landscape of the divine

    Owners Karina Salinas and Kevin Andrade are the kind of food truck owners and operators every aspiring chef or entrepreneur should study. They are always there; their product is consistent (and consistently good) and the prices they offer for the product you receive is spot on. Thank you Karina and Kevin. And, yes, today I will have a birria torta please. Gracias.

    One day I had noticed that Los Compas wasn’t in its usual spot. It had moved right on the corner of Mountain and Ft. Lowell and now boasted a cozy seating area inside of a casita. Ca-seat-a? Yeah, sorry. That nook boasted lots of family photos, twinkling lights and even a TV. So now as you enjoy a caramelo the size of your first born you can catch up with your telenovela stories. Did Juan cheat on Soledad with that temptress of a maid Paulina…again? Scandalo!

    Los Compas was doing great apparently and we all celebrated their success.

    That is, until, one day it was gone.

    Not like moved up or down the street as it did before. It was just plain not there. The truck was missing and the casita was closed and locked. Hey! What gives? What happed to our treasured Los Compas? We want answers!

    *fake riot ensues, pitchforks, torches, the whole bit*

    Time became legend, legend became myth and after about a year I would guess we still didn’t have our Los Compas. That stretch of Ft. Lowell was like one big phantom limb: we can still feel it but nothing was there.

    One of each please (image taken from Los Compas Facebook page)

    Until one day it miraculously reappeared. Parked right in front of the old Greek church on, yes, Ft. Lowell. When I saw it I screeched on my brakes like some angsty driver in an old Loony Tunes cartoon, my feet nearly went through the floor.

    Approaching the truck and seeing Karina behind the sliding screen I had to ask where she and Los Compas went. Apparently that spot up the street with the casita didn’t work out and they just needed some time to fix the truck, focus on catering while trying to find a place to park again.

    That Greek church has been empty for quite a while due to a fire causing more damage than they could afford to repair and the plot in front of it was nearly rent free. Once again, thank you food truck gods! Only this time in front of an actual church. Hallelujah!

    All was right with the world again. Well, not really. But our little midtown world is right having Los Compas back and, hopefully, here to stay. A year without my beloved chicken burrito with everything was a dark year indeed. In these trying and confusing times it’s always nice to know you can roll up to a familiar spot, hear that radio play boisterous Tejano music, grab a Mexican Coke (the only Coke you should ever drink by the way) and nosh on delicious comfort food.

    Gracias Los Compas. ¡Sois los mejores!

    This thing right here is what keeps me from being “not slim”

    Tacos Los Compas

    1245 E. Ft. Lowell.

    Weds – Sun : 10am – 5pm

    https://www.facebook.com/LosCompasDeTucson/

  • Lost Articles: Herculean Chicken and Yum Yum Pocha

    Lost Articles: Herculean Chicken and Yum Yum Pocha

    Much like losing the Tucson Weekly as their food writer when Covid hit in 2020, I had a good backlog of articles ready to go but never saw the light of published day when I and other writers were all let go by a popular Tucson food based website in late 2023.

    Okay, by “good backlog” I meant two.

    Its always heartbreaking when I have to send that text/email/whatever to whomever I had in the can and report “Hey, yeah, I was just let go so they’re not going to run my story on you.”

    After spending a decent amount of time with each subject, usually a few hours before or after a busy service, chatting and taking photos, we create a bit of an immediate bond. Normally, when an article gets published and I see whoever I featured out in the wild again, there’s always that happy memory glint of how we came to know one another in the first place. That article I wrote.

    But then there’s the other, the one where we see each other again and I have to give a shrug and apology before putting my order in. Its only happened like a handful of times. No literally. Like five times.

    Here are the two that didn’t make it into that popular Tucson Food sItE.

    Here’s the thing, each one had an extensive interview on my old phone with a transcription of our conversation. Those interviews are long gone. So basically what I am going for here are just uploading photos from each one with a little blurb explaining who they are, what they serve, how they do it, etc, without any real actual context from our time together.

    Lets get into it.

    Alberta and Jake serving up some Thai chicken realness

    1) Hurculean Chicken

      When I hung out with chef and owner Alberta Chu, along with her husband Kyle manning the fryer, they were doing a pop up on the back patio of Hello Bicycle. It was a beautiful warm day and there was a good turn out for their Taiwanese inspired fried chicken.

      All I can say is that Alberta and Kyle set me up! They had me try their popcorn chicken, which got them started in the first place, serving folks in bars and certain events, fried chicken served over rice, a huge chicken cut let served in a paper bag, and this super dope chicken sandwich.

      Everything was delicious. Flavorful, spicy, cooked to perfection and above all crispy on the outside and tender on the in.

      Here’s a great article about them from This Is Tucson.

      Enjoy!

      Herculean’s fried chicken platter
      Huge, and amazing, fried chicken cutlet
      Gotta season that popcorn chicken proper
      Alberta Chu with a platter of yes please
      So much chicken, so little time

      2) Yum Yum Pocha

      As the former food truck guy for the aforementioned food site, my gig was to hunt down new mobile eateries or celebrate some classics. When I got word about a Korean food truck called Yum Yum Pocha that was serving ramyeon (Korean ramen) and rice bowls I had to get on that.

      I caught up with Yum Yum’s chef and owner Miyou Wallace in the parking lot of the Foothills Mall as she and her husband John were set up on the cusp of an artisan market.

      They had me try their three meat ramyeon, vegetable ramen, and something called mandoo, which is a fried or steamed dumpling filled with either kimchi, meat or veggies. Ramyeon is normally a bit spicier than the ramen you are usually used to. Which is what I prefer. So good. Miyou’s ramen was delicious as well; lots of soft noodles bathed in a deeply flavored broth with tons of fresh greens swimming on top.

      The mandoos were crazy tasty. Potstickers and eggrolls are one thing, and one of my favorite things, but after trying Yum Yum’s mandoos all I can say is ‘Yahoo!”

      Anyway, This Is Tucson did a piece on them so you can read that here.

      Cheers!

      Let the Yum Yum yumminess begin
      Veggie ramen, in repose
      Ramyeon doin’ it thing
      Have you caught mandoo mania yet?
      House made fish sauce…delish
      Hello Miyou, and thank you!
      Find it because you need it
      Three meats ramyeon had me three times doing a happy jig

      Words and Pictures

      Mark Whittaker

      yeahwritemark@gmail.com