Adrienne Shawcroft Stahl
Mike Stahl and son, Ian, at the Green Mustache Juice Bar cart.
Two recent arrivals on the food cart scene are staking out new territory. Masarap is the city’s first Filipino food cart, and the Green Mustache is taking the lead in 21st century juicing.
A green-and-white-striped refurbishing of the BJ’s Kolaches cart, the Green Mustache whips up fresh organic juices that are healthy and “green” — and, more often than not, actually green.
The signature “Green Mustache” boasts spinach, kiwi, celery, lime and cucumber, as well as Granny Smith apple juice. The Red Mustache takes it in the other direction, combining beets with Red Delicious apple. Not even the addition of stalwart kale makes this sweet drink less vibrantly beet-colored.
These two are proprietor Mike Stahl’s best sellers, he says, although the Burt Reynolds — a berry-intensive smoothie — is also quite popular.
Stahl’s day job is with ASCME, but he is also a health coach. He says juicing changed his life. “The Green Mustache started as a project because of a passion to provide some type of healthy, easy-to-access food that’s nutrient-dense and builds on a plant-based diet,” says Stahl. Recipes came from “playing around in the kitchen, putting in things I like, seeing what goes well with kale, discovering that root vegetables go well with ginger.”
Stahl is also starting to grow his own veggies — he planted beets, carrots, spinach and kale this week.
The Green Mustache is currently vending every other weekend at Mad City Bazaar, but will also be at Vegan Fest, the Isthmus Food Cart Fest and the East Side Farmers’ Market in June and July.
Masarap is only the city’s second Filipino eatery of any kind (Mabuhay on South Park Street closed last year). Masarap, which means “delicious” in Tagalog, has a focused menu of lumpia (a slender, very crispy eggroll similar to the Thai version, here available with pork, veggie or cheddar fillings); baboy-b-cue (sweet pork kebabs on rice); a pulled pork barbecue sandwich that has a little bit of char siu about it while also sporting an uncommon tang; and caldereta, a tomato-based stew that comes with tofu or chicken.
Chef-owner Bryan Draves was born in Romblon, Philippines. Many Filipino recipes use adobo spices — the caldereta especially seems as though it could come from a South American menu, with its peppers, chickpeas and green olives. Filipino food has a marked Spanish influence from its long stint as a Spanish colony.
Masarap has been vending at University Research Park Mondays and Thursdays for lunch, and as part of Let’s Eat Out some weekday evenings as well as at Epic and Mad City Bazaar. It’s best to check the Masarap Facebook page for daily locations.
