Review: Que Sazon in St. Louis

St. Louis is so glutted with food trucks that it seems that each month there are several new ones to try. Among such trucks, Que Sazon (Spanish for “What a flavor!”) offers cuisine you’d be hard-pressed to find anywhere else: South American street food.

¿Qué es una arepa?
The heart of the menu at Que Sazon is the arepa, a flat, thick cornmeal cake cradling various meats and toppings. The arepa has been likened to the taco, yet the corn cake is split lengthwise, not folded into a shell like a taco. This means you’ll want to eat it with a knife and fork – if you pick it up, “The center cannot hold,” as the saying goes.

The corn cake, which has a texture similar to polenta, holds fillings such as the Pollo & Mango. Generous portions of pulled chicken, avocado and diced mango mingle with Que Sazon’s creamy, all-purpose chimichurri mayo sauce. It’s a summertime winner, but pales next to the Pabellon, which might fairly be called the “man’s arepa.” Shredded beef and starchy fried strips of plantain – not to mention the addition of crumbled Mexican cotija cheese – conspire to form a meat-and-potatoes-like texture. The Chimichurri & Gorgonzola arepa features boulders of Gorgonzola cheese melting onto the chimichurri-marinated beef, with sliced grape tomatoes and a tangy balsamic-cilantro dressing. It’s well suited to American palates trying an arepa for the first time. The De Pernil pork shoulder arepa, however, suffers from a spicy mango barbecue sauce with muted heat and a workaday sweetness that cancel each other out, making for an unremarkable experience.

Que Sazon occasionally offers a spicy chicken empanada (among others), though due to some trouble obtaining the ingredients, it hasn’t made it lately.

Sides aside
Nubs of fried yucca are the Latin American answer to tater tots. With the consistency of parsnips, the crispy exterior yields a chewy inside. They’re excellent as served, doused in chimichurri. Another side dish, black beans, is stewed with diced veggies and topped with more of those fried plantains and crumbled cotija. It’s a hearty dish that, with the addition of rice, could easily become a filling entree.

Tiny bubbles
The array of beverages for sale included Latin American favorites like bottled Jarritos soda, Peru’s Inca Kola (more of a cream soda than a cola) and Guarana, a brand of soda imported from Brazil. The latter has that subdued sweetness familiar to those who enjoy energy drinks.

Service with a smile
The gang aboard Que Sazon is working hard, and that means serving food just a few minutes after it’s ordered to thronging lunch crowds. They’re also happy to explain dishes to a St. Louis public that’s largely unfamiliar with South American cuisine.

Daily communication through social media is how we track food trucks. Yet Que Sazon’s social media skills are less than stellar. Its tweets are sporadic: some days I wasn’t sure they were even open. And in recent weeks, the truck has failed to show up at one tweeted destination with no notice or explanation.

The takeaway
Que Sazon, with its filling arepas, fried yucca and other treats, is a welcome and estimable addition to the Gateway City’s food truck scene. The occasional menu and logistical hiccups so far have prevented it from truly setting the world en fuego, but the truck still offers the hungry crowds that line up there a tasty education.