Funky Truckeria
 Copley, Ohio       Date of Visit  03/05/16        http://www.thefunkytruckeria.com

Just happened to drive by this literal hole-in-the-wall in a Barberton/Copley/Norton area plaza and decided to see what was up. We noticed on our way into the sugar skull and swirl finished steel dominated space, that there were three food trucks parked out back, one of which we had sampled prior (Orange Truk). The space is small but continuously packed and supplemented by a string of takeout orders.

We put in our order and it wasn’t long before a parade of food was headed our way. First were chips with queso and chips with salsa.
 

The salsa has all of the flavors you would expect and the queso has the same rich and insanely salty profile I’ve come to expect from young Mexican cheeses.

Rapidly, the chips were joined by the soup and balls. The balls are arancini (fried risotto nuggets) stuffed with poblano peppers, chorizo sausage, goat cheese and queso rico then topped with a roasted poblano crema and sprinkled with queso fresco. So many ingredients and flavors work very well together; taste and texture all make for a soft/crispy, hot/cold, salty/spicy, etc. dish. Very nice.
 

The soup is a Manhattan style (red tomato based instead of white cream based) shrimp and clam chowder. There is forward and evident spice. Citrus add a different kind of kick to the vegetable laden broth studded with exceptionally done seafood. The shrimp are more tender than they should be, that’s skill. The clams are every bit as tender (even more skill), you almost have to look for them in the spicy broth but their briny presence isn’t easily missed in flavor.

Three tacos completed our order, tequila-lime chicken; crispy avocado; and the funky taco of the week…el pollo loco. The tequila-lime chicken was the weakest of the bunch and without the squeeze of lime would have been disappointing top to bottom. The chicken was tender but the marinade, sauce and cheese didn’t offer anywhere the level of flavor from the other two options.
 

The taco of the week…had a flour tortilla stuffed with nicely crisped fried chicken, a bright citrus slaw, a sweet and spicy house made “loco” sauce, scallions, and a dusting of sesame seeds. Miles more interesting than the tequila lime. This was the only taco that didn’t come with a lime wedge which it didn’t need. The best turned out to be the all vegetable Crispy Avacado with fried Hass slices, poblano citrus slaw, crispy fried onions, chipotle crema, cilantro and lime in a flour tortilla. Paper thin crisp containing soft warm veg, a wide range of flavors, varying textures, a well done little combination in a well done little place. Sure you can get a pile more sustenance for your cash at the Bell but the full tables and continuous to go orders suggest enough local people may prefer a more customized approach. They funk it up pretty well at the truckeria.