D'Toque Is a Salvadoran Food Truck From the Co-Owner of Areyto

In 2016, Erik Carballo and his business partner, Yari Ortiz, launched a Puerto Rican food truck. Since then, Areyto has developed a loyal following, and gained notoriety in February 2020 when it appeared on an episode of Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives.

After that, Carballo, who is originally from El Salvador, started considering a new concept highlighting the cuisine of his home country. "There are a couple of Salvadoran restaurants and food trucks around the city, but to be honest with you, I don't particularly like those places very much. I feel like Salvadoran food has potential, and that is why I decided to open this truck. I want to keep the traditional flavors but offer items in more of a hipster way. All these people are cooking old-school Salvadoran food, and I want to bring something new to this city — classic dishes but with a different twist," he explains.

The name reflects a more modern approach, too. "'D'toque' in El Salvador is like a slang to say, 'This is so good.' It's used by the younger generations, so we say ''D'toque' when something is on point," Carballo says.

D'Toque officially hit the streets in late December 2022. "We started slow, doing a couple of breweries around the city here and there only one or two days per week. Now it's 2024, and we're going out four to five days a week because this truck is getting popular," he notes.
The truck's most popular item is its pupusas. "We use corn masa and mix it by hand to form dough balls. Then we stuff them with a bunch of different fillings like chorizo and cheese or beans and cheese," Carballo explains. "After cooking, we serve the pupusas with a side of curtido — it's like a Salvadoran cabbage slaw — and a side of Salvadoran sauce. It's a red sauce that's totally different than Mexican sauce. It's a tomato-based sauce that is very flavorful, but not spicy like Mexican sauce."

D'Toque also serves tortilla frita, handmade corn tortillas fried until crispy and served with sour cream and cheese. "Our tortillas are not like the Mexican ones. Mexican tortillas are very thin and flat, but Salvadoran ones are very thick and we fry them; we don't just put them on the grill," Carballo says. "We also add a little secret blend of Salvadoran seasoning on them so the tortilla itself tastes very, very good. You take that with a bit of cheese and dip it in sour cream — so good, man."
D'Toque's menu also includes a variety of bowls with a base of casamiento, the Salvadoran version of rice and beans. For a sweet treat, try the maduros, fried sweet plantains served with sour cream on the side.

Running two popular food trucks is challenging, Carballo admits, but his wife, Yocelyn, is an exceptional cook and has taken over most of the day-to-day operations for D'Toque. "People think that having a food truck is just like having fun or whatever, but it's the opposite. You have to work crazy hours, drive around the city, and every day is different. It's hard, you know? So my goal is, at the end of this year, I'm going to have a Salvadoran restaurant. ... It will have a very good bar with very good drinks, and it will be a place for a good party," he concludes.

To find the D'Toque food truck and keep up with its brick-and-mortar plans, follow it on Instagram @dtoquefoodtruck.