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<\/p>\nWith summer in full gear, WUSF is highlighting interesting food trucks in the Tampa Bay region. <\/p>\n
And one is a taco truck with a niche \u2014 everything they sell is 100% plant-based. <\/p>\n
It’s called The Meatless Mexican. <\/p>\n
Paul Zampieri and his girlfriend Jodie Kurrle opened it last year. He said he’s been a vegetarian for most of his life and a vegan for the last eight years. So, that’s limited what he can eat at most Mexican restaurants. <\/p>\n
Because of that, he decided to build and sell his own menu. <\/p>\n
“Authentic Mexican carne asada, birria, el pastor, and we’ve taken that instead of infusing it in meat, we infuse it with soy curls, seitan and we also use a hibiscus flour as our proteins,” Zampieri said. <\/p>\n
But this unique take has naturally created a bit of hesitation from some potential customers. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The Meatless Mexican is a 100% plant-based food truck. <\/p>\n
“You say something vegan to the average person, they’re like, ‘Get away, oh my God,’ but if you tell them plant-based, they’re open to it because they look at it is it healthier choice. It’s helping the environment,” Zampieri said. <\/p>\n
That’s because eating meat does objectively hurt the environment with the amount of land and water resources it uses and the way it generates greenhouse gases. And that’s coming from a carnivore \u2014 just laying down the facts. <\/p>\n
But the pair hopes this food truck not only feeds people, but also educates and makes a positive environmental impact by not serving meat. <\/p>\n
“If just half of Florida gave it up one day a week, we would \u2014 the impact is huge. So we’re trying to promote that,” Kurrle said. <\/p>\n
But a lot of that education doesn’t land if it doesn’t taste good. My colleague Warren Buchholz and I went out to give these tacos the good old one-two chop combo. We first tried the carne asada. It was soy-based, gardenia asada \u2014 which means not carne. But we went ahead and gave it a shot. It tasted like a lighter, airy version of a heavy taco. <\/p>\n
We tried others as well, and they were all really good, but while we were open-minded to it, Zampieri said that’s not the case for everyone. Some have been vehemently against it. <\/p>\n
“I don’t argue with them. I just tell them, ‘Have a nice day. You want to try it?’ I tell them, ‘Here, try it.’ And then when they said, ‘No, I don’t want to try it.’ And I say, ‘What are you afraid you might like it,’ ” he explained. <\/p>\n
Kurrle said those situations don’t happen often, but she finds it funny when it does. <\/p>\n
“Usually they’re kind of babbling as they walk away, so we miss most of it,” she said, laughing. <\/p>\n
But overall, the two say the community feedback has been really positive. They’re finding a lot of success at plant sales, yoga sessions and events about the earth \u2014 they’re even setting up at a dispensary sometime soon. <\/p>\n
“I figured, hey, plant-based medicine, plant-based food go hand in hand, and I know when you have that plant-based medicine, you get the munchies, and we had some great munchies,” Zampieri said. <\/p>\n
If you want to try out some meatless tacos and figure out where the food truck will be, you can find The Meatless Mexican on Instagram<\/a>, Facebook<\/a>, and its website.<\/a> <\/p>\n The Bay Blend Podcast comes out every weekday. You get local headlines and discover some culture and events around the Tampa Bay area in about 5 minutes. You can\u00a0learn more here<\/a>.<\/p>\n