At long last, wholesome and hearty Cuban cuisine has hit the map on California’s Monterey Peninsula. The flamboyant new Babaloo Cuban Cuisine food truck is the first mobile culinary operation to make classic Cuban meals available to local residents and visitors starved for authentic Caribbean fare.
Babaloo serves up fresh, organic Cuban dishes at rotating locations around the area. We specialize in classic Cuban sandwiches pressed “a la plancha”–on the grill–and our entire menu is geared toward both the health-conscious and the foodie on-the-go. If you’re one of Monterey’s countless locavores, you’ll be thrilled to know our organic ingredients are sourced from local vendors dedicated to sustainable farming methods. Traditional Cuban items made with natural and grass-fed pork and organic chicken share the limelight with vegetarian and gluten-free offerings. It’s all part of the Babaloo mission to be completely sustainable, to support our community by using locally grown produce and natural meats, and to lend a helping hand whenever possible.
The Duchess
The Duchess is our 1986 Chevy truck, a well-traveled P30 Stepvan. She’s had many incarnations, to be sure, but I’v got that deep-down feeling the Babaloo version wil be her crowning glory. She’s never been a Latin lady before, but this really seems her tue calling. I briefly named her “Amazon,” because she’s oh-so-big and bad-ass. When her Cuban makeover was complete, though, that rumba dance scene painted on her “big side” made it look like she’s dancing herself. It reminded me of my mom, who is forever in spiked heels, big hoop earrings and colorful dresses, and who never stops shakin’ her hips. When I remembered mom’s childhood nickname, “La Duquesa,” I laughed and thought, Who better to bring some spicy Cuban flavorto our Peninsula part of the world than “The Duchess”?
Gladys Parada, Babaloo Founder
When I settled on the Monterey Peninsula in 2004, I was entranced by almost everything — the sun, the sea, the sky. But something was missing: the delicious food of my ancestors. My lifelong hobby of cooking my native Cuban cuisine has been enhanced by a range of experiences–from study in private kitchens (while a student at the University of Madrid) to the multi-ethnic atmosphere of Washington, D.C., where I held an administrative post at the U.S. House of Representatives.
My climb through the restaurant business has taken me from the garde manger station to the demands of being a chef-owner. Since 2004, I’ve managed various fine dining restaurants, including Pacific’s Edge at The Highlands Inn, Quail Lodge, and Citronelle at Carmel Valley Ranch.
In a recent fit of babaloonacy, I asked my longtime friend, Carol Cahill, to help me start this new adventure. Since meeting in college in 1984, we’ve mixed friends, families and maybe a couple of drinks. Carol and I now have combined our career paths for the joys of Babaloo, an enterprise dedicated to using local vendors, produce and workers to deliver irresistible, healthy Cuban food on wheels for the first time to the Monterey Peninsula. And to do out part for sustainability.
