Keeping up tradition: Owner of new Mexican food trailer says homemade is worth the effort

Jill Doss-Raines
·5 min read
Burrito Bistro NC food trailer owner Hugo Sosa said while making items homemade is more time-consuming, the result is worth it when it comes to taste and flavor. In his new, tiny food trailer in Mebane, he is making the tortillas for his tacos, guacamole, pico de gallo, agua fresca drinks and more. Sosa presses his homemade corn flour dough into a tortilla in this photo.

MEBANE —Hugo Sosa came to North Carolina from Guadalajara, Mexico, 20 years ago to begin his journey to become an architect.

What he found out, however, is he really liked designing and building authentic Mexican food more than designing buildings. The Burlington resident opened Burrito Bistro NC food trailer in Mebane about two months ago and has already garnered a following of people who keep up with the food trailer's whereabouts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Most days the tiny 8-foot wide by 14-foot long food trailer is parked in the Valero gas station parking lot at 7615 Highway 70. As word is getting out about his homemade corn flour tortillas that cradle his tacos, more and more Alamance and Orange counties employers and special event organizers are asking Sosa to bring his food trailer to them.

Sosa is trying to set himself apart from Mexican food trailers and restaurants offering Mexican cuisine by keeping his menu small and making condiments, such as salsa, pico de gallo, guacamole, agua frescas, and more homemade.

"I do my food the traditional way," Sosa said. "This is the food you would get if you came to my home and the way you would get it. Making the corn flour dough and then pressing each tortilla before making the taco takes more time, but for me, it's worth it. There's more flavor."

The different shapes of the tortillas add to the character and let diners know this is no machine-made and pressed tortilla that was made and bagged months ago.

Hugo Sosa opened Burrito Bistro NC food trailer in Mebane about seven weeks ago. He is setting himself apart from other dining options offering Mexican food by offering a small, menu comprised of homemade items, instead of prepacked food. Sosa even cuts himself the small, quarter-inch pieces of beef used for his carne asada meat from a 50-pound piece of round beef.

The menu for Burrito Bistro NC is intentionally small. He would rather do a few things great, than offer a lot of different foods and have to cut corners with quality. He is small business's  butcher and the cook.

Customers can choose from five different meals — tacos (4 to an order), burritos (wrapped in a tortilla or as a bowl), nachos, quesadilla or a torta. Customers choose a meat for each which includes lamb, carne asada, ground beef, chorizo, carnitas pork or chicken.

Sides include chips, black beans, rice, pico de gallo, guacamole, crema, pickled onions and cheese.

"We have a small space, so I didn't want a huge menu," he explained. "I want to do the foods I make the best way. That takes time, so that is another reason the menu is small. I do it, so I control the quality."

Employee Mary Baird praises Sosa's attention to detail and quality.

"This is all him," she said. "He cares about his food and what he serves."

A small bar of toppings takes up a corner on the Burrito Bistro NC food trailer in Mebane. Owner Hugo Sosa makes his pickled onions and pico de gallo condiments.
A small bar of toppings takes up a corner on the Burrito Bistro NC food trailer in Mebane. Owner Hugo Sosa makes his pickled onions and pico de gallo condiments.

He is so hands-on that he cuts the carne asada meat himself from a 50-pound round beef piece he purchases. First he cleans away the unnecessary fat and then carefully turns the huge piece of beef into a mound of quarter-inch cubes.

Next, Sosa makes a sauce infused with guajillo peppers for the meat. The sauce is placed on the grill and then the meat is put on top of the sauce. Sosa gives a few quick turns with his spatula and the carne asada is ready to be loaded into taco shells and topped with cilantro and onion.

"He's like this with all his food," she said. "His beans are not from a can. He soaks them overnight, and then seasons and simmers them slowly the next day. When people taste his food, they comment on how different his food tastes. It is different because he is really cooking it. He's not warming canned food."

Sosa and Baird met while working at a Durham Mexican restaurant together. He knew when he decided to open his own food business, he wanted Baird with him. She handles the social media, books the trailer at area employers and special events and works the front window taking orders and payments.

Hugo Sosa (right) asked former coworker Mary Baird to work with him when he decided to open his own food trailer. The two worked together at a Mexican restaurant in Durham and developed a professional partnership that Sosa said would be good for his new business. Baird handles the front window, booking engagements and social media.
Hugo Sosa (right) asked former coworker Mary Baird to work with him when he decided to open his own food trailer. The two worked together at a Mexican restaurant in Durham and developed a professional partnership that Sosa said would be good for his new business. Baird handles the front window, booking engagements and social media.

"We work together very well," Sosa said. "I wanted to do my own thing and I knew Mary would be the person to do this with."

Sosa began working in the food industry 20 years ago when he arrived in North Carolina. His original plan was to attend college to become an architect. He attended college for a while but needed a way to pay his bills and keep food on the table. That's when he started a two decades career working in area Mexican restaurants.

He said he has watched as customers would come in and become overwhelmed with five to eight-page menus. His also seen the short cuts some kitchen take to get food out quickly. He wants no part of either,

"This is simple food," he said, " so I wanted to keep the menu simple."

Sosa also prepares traditional Mexican drinks daily such as watermelon or Jamaica agua frescas. These are drinks blending fruits and water together with some sugar and lime juice, One of the most popular is called Jamaica and is made from hibiscus flowers. The dark red drink is sweet and tart. He also makes horchata, a milk- and rice-based drink, flavored with cinnamon

The guacamole, like most other food items at Burrito Bistro NC, is homemade by owenr Hugo Sosa.
The guacamole, like most other food items at Burrito Bistro NC, is homemade by owenr Hugo Sosa.

Unless a local employer or organizer of a special event has booked Burrito Bistro NC, the food trailer is typically parked in the Valero gas station parking lot from 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Sunday and Monday and Wednesday to Saturday. It is closed on Tuesdays. If you want to place an order for pick up or book the food trailer for an event, call (919) 627-7094.

"I love doing this in a trailer," Sosa said. "It's interesting because we can take our food to where ever the people are. I was disappointed the first week we opened. I didn't have as many people as I wanted, but that was me being impatient. No one knew about us. After we went to Polar Panda Snoballs, people really took note of us and asked where we will be next and how to find us. Now people know our trailer. Sometimes when we are driving to set up, there are cars behind our trailer following us."

- Jill Doss-Raines is the food and restaurant writer for the Times-News. She is always looking for tips about Alamance County's food scene. Contact me at jill.doss-raines@the-dispatch.com.

This article originally appeared on Times-News: Mexican food lovers have a new food trailer to try in Mebane