sa国际传媒官网网页入口

Love brought Jae Stulock to the Land of Enchantment, but it was his love of New Mexico that ultimately made him call it home.

鈥淭he very common story, chasing love and a woman,鈥� that brought him to sa国际传媒官网网页入口, said Stulock, owner of Umami Moto food truck. 鈥淭he other half of the common story is that it only lasted 30 days. I decided to stay. So I bought a house and moved my business out here, and I absolutely love it out here. I tell people that, you know, I鈥檓 not from New Mexico, but I got here as quick as I could.鈥�

Something to savor: Umami Moto melds Asian cuisine with a slight twist of American flavors

Stulock relocated from Cleveland. Prior to his departure, he gained some fans with his Asian-inspired dishes that he would make at home.

鈥淚 owned a construction company before (the food truck) and in 2008 I completely lost my business,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t was terrible during that economic crash. Out east, it was a whole lot worse than it was here, apparently. I decided, I鈥檓 not going to start over again in construction, might as well start over again in something else. And people had been telling me for years that I should sell my food, particularly my pad thai, was exceptional, and so I decided to do just that, and started Umami Moto.鈥�

Stulock prefers Asian-style food and Eastern European cuisine.

鈥淢y grandmother was Hungarian, so I had a lot of exposure to that kind of cuisine through my dad鈥檚 side of the family,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd then, when I was in high school, a restaurant opened up called Johnny Mango鈥檚, and I was down in that neighborhood with some friends and we decided to stop there and check it out. And that鈥檚 when I had Thai cuisine for the first time. It was pad thai, actually, just the flavor was so different than anything that I was used to and it just blew up my mind. And I chased out my own recipe of pad thai to kind of recreate that flavor that I tasted, that was so unique, and that I had at the restaurant. And it took me about 10 years, but I ended up perfecting my personal recipe, my take on it, and that鈥檚 when I opened Umami Moto with pad thai, a pulled pork banh mi and a chicken rice bowl.鈥�

Now, the pad thai can be labor-intensive to make. So it is now reserved for slower days and pop-ups. However, patrons line up for the fish tacos made with grilled swai fish in a corn tortilla with curry, cabbage, cilantro, mint, housemade pickles and a housemade lime aioli.

Another hit is the Korean burrito.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 our flour tortilla, slightly spicy queso, napa cabbage, bulgogi beef, housemade kimchi fried rice, cilantro, onion, carrot, daikon, pickle, and we make it as spicy as you鈥檇 like,鈥� Stulock said. 鈥淭he bulgogi seasoning we make in house, queso we make in house, the kimchi for the kimchi fried rice we make in house, the carrot, daikon, pickle we make in house.鈥�

Patrons also visit the food truck for its pulled pork banh mi. The classic Vietnamese sandwich is made with mayonnaise, a special house sauce, carrot, daikon, pickle, cilantro and some jalape帽os. Its seared ahi tuna BLT is another popular request.

鈥�(It is a) quarter pound of ahi tuna, seared, sliced, put on a toasted brioche bun with our housemade Thai basil, lettuce, tomato and bacon, and it鈥檚 just a slam sandwich,鈥� Stulock said. 鈥淚t sounds so simple. It looks beautiful because of the seared ahi, but boy oh boy, the flavors really fair well.鈥�

Stulock said he is particularly proud of his smashed burger.

鈥�(It is) premium black Angus beef that we season and patty in house,鈥� he explained. 鈥淎gain we make the seasoning in house, make up the patties, toasted brioche bun, (lettuce and tomato) and cheese. It鈥檚 so good, I would say it鈥檚 one of the best burgers in town, if not the best. It鈥檚 got a very unique flavor, the beef, it鈥檚 so good, it really comes through. And it鈥檚 just a good-looking burger, too. We go through so many of those.鈥�

Umami, or savoriness, is one of the five basic tastes. It is characteristic of broths and cooked meats. That is the theme and in the namesake of the food truck for a reason.

鈥淯mami is flavoring, just quality and food,鈥� Stulock said. 鈥淎nd a lot of people think that the truck is Korean or it鈥檚 Japanese because of the name, because the word umami is a Japanese thing, but it鈥檚 very Pan-Asian and just that quality that we鈥檙e going for. And then, moto because we鈥檙e mobile.鈥�