Phoenix is home to a wide array of food trucks; these are their stories. To see all installments of the Phoenix Food Trucks series,
click here.
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Donned in a camouflaged vest and hat, a friendly man greets customers, answering their questions about food most of them have never heard of. A small Filipino woman works furiously at a grill behind him, turning meat five inches away from the burning fire, creating a meal that she has eaten since her childhood.
In a love story turned business venture, Brian Webb and his wife, Margita, have filled a gap in the food industry by providing authentic Filipino food to the city of Phoenix — out of a food truck.
The two tend to joke when asked about how they met, Brian citing love at first sight and Margita claiming she couldn’t even remember his name. But when the couple met through mutual friends in 2007, neither of them could’ve guessed what their future entailed.
At the time, Brian was the head chef at a local sushi restaurant but longed to open his own business. As the pair got to know each other through phone conversations and dating, Brian was introduced to Margita’s Filipino cuisine. No stranger to the kitchen, Brian used his experience as a head chef to learn the recipes and techniques involved in cooking Filipino food.
After dating for two years, Brian and Margita were married on Mactan Island in the Philippines. It was here that Brian really understood and embraced the Filipino food culture.
In the Philippines, locals ensure the freshness of their food through a process Brian called “shoot to kill.” At the meat and fish markets there, people choose the meat or fish that they want to buy, most of it recently slaughtered or still alive. They then take the food to the chef, who cooks it to each customer’s taste.
“Around 4:30 in the afternoon, the town fills with smoke from the street vendors firing up the barbeques,” Brian said.
When they returned to the United States, Brian set to work on a restaurant concept that would allow him to utilize the experience he gained from the street vendors on Mactan Island. In his original concept, he wanted the same scenario played out, although in a more-refined presentation. Much like customers choose the lobster they want to eat at a seafood restaurant, Brian wanted to offer guests an array of fresh meat and seafood that was cooked to order.
When the couple could not find a suitable restaurant to do business, they opted for a food truck instead. Brian said the concept has been adapted in the sense that there is no array of meat to choose, but the food’s Filipino authenticity has remained true.
Designed as an abandoned military vehicle, Hey Joe! Filipino Street Food is a throwback to the World War II era in its name and design. In the Philippines, non-Filipinos, especially those in the military, are referred to as “Joe.” Naming their food truck business “Hey Joe!” was intended as a joke.
“It’s like my wife is saying, ‘Hey Joe! Try this food!’” Brian said.
Michon Javelosa, 31, a social-media marketer out of Mesa, has been coming to Food Truck Fridays every week for the past four or five months. Hey Joe! Filipino Street Food is a usual subject on her blog about vegan, vegetarian and raw food adventures in the Valley, as it always has a vegan mung bean dish option available.
“I love Hey Joe!” Javelosa said. “It’s about educating people about vegan options they have and diversifying.”
Life on the road has its ups and downs, but Brian feels lucky to spend most of the day with his wife. Operating a food truck, owners must spend early mornings loading the truck, and spend late nights cleaning it. As for Hey Joe! Filipino Street Food, the Webbs must dump the hot oils that cook some of their dishes every night before they pack up to drive home.
Only recently have they garnered enough business at Food Truck Fridays and other locations in the Valley, including private parties, to begin earning a profit.
Siokey Galvez, 32, is proud of her heritage as a native Phoenician. She comes roughly every other week to Food Truck Friday with her friends, who travel from Tucson. A marketing specialist, Galvez is impressed by the Webbs’ speedy service when they cook her favorite dishes, lumpia and pork belly.
“Food that’s good takes a long time everywhere else,” Galvez said. “Hey Joe! gives new meaning to roach coaches.”
In the future, Brian and Margita hope to see their original dream occupy a permanent location, serving fresh food at a fine-dining Filipino restaurant. But until then, they are content with educating customers about unique food that heralds from a unique culture, all out of a food truck.
“I just thought I was cooking good food,” Brian said. “I wasn’t expecting to be bringing the people of Phoenix culture.”
Contact the reporter at dmzayas@asu.edu
