-Have you ever eaten an Arabic taco?

Today, I'm meeting a family that brought traditional Lebanese-Mexican cuisine from their hometown of Puebla.

Los Originales Tacos Arabes De Puebla may be a mouthful of a name for a taco truck, but I hear they're some of the best in the city.

Provechito.

[music] In a corner of Boyle Heights, I met up with Arale Villegas, the eldest daughter of Mercedes, founder of Los Originales Tacos Arabes De Puebla.

Unfortunately, the family matriarch and patriarch had to head back home to Mexico, so it was up to Arale and her brothers to keep the show going.

I'm a big fan of tacos, and I've never had Tacos Arabes, so I hope you'll help me in placing the order for me.

-Yes.

This is Alfredo, he's my brother.

-Hi, Alfredo.

-Hello.

-I'm Rosie.

Nice to meet you.

-Nice to meet you too -He's going to take our order and pretty much will give you a sample of our menu -Yes, a little bit of everything.

-Yes, a little bit of everything.

Can we have a Molotes de Tinga?

-While Arale placed an order, I could feel the heat coming off the rotating spit that her brother Christian is working on.

This must be the famous trompo Los Originales are known for.

All right, and tell me what's going on over here.

This is the trompo.

-Yes.

Most people are most familiar with the trompo de pastor, but actually, this is the original trompo in Mexico It's the Arabes, but this is what started it all.

It was created by Middle Eastern immigrants.

It's become the official taco of my state of Puebla.

Not a lot of people know about it unless you're actually from Puebla.

-It smells so good.

I feel like there's different onions and herbs in here.

-Yes.

We can't say.

-Something like that.

-We will be in be in a lot of trouble [laughs] -We can't share the recipe-- -Yes, that's a secret.

--but it looks like onion and cilantro.

[laughs] It's no wonder the family keeps their recipe secret.

The whole street smells incredible from the herby, garlicky, savory aroma.

I needed to try it, but to earn my taco, the Villegas family put me to work.

I'm under the fire now.

You're going to show me how to use the trompo.

I've been in many kitchens in New York and LA, worked in kitchens, but I've never worked this.

-It's pretty easy.

-Is it?

-Mm.

Better to use the tip than the back because you'll get a finer cut with the tip.

You can place your hand up here, here, just to get a stability of it.

Just like that.

-I should get this more cooked end.

-Up here, yes.

-Why?

You make it look so easy.

-Put that muscle in.

First, I can't even touch it, it's hot.

I know, I've got muscle, come on -I'll turn it off.

I got it.

I got it.

I think I'm already getting better -You're learning.

What I really enjoy is seeing all this- All the juice?

-fat spill out.

Yes All this good stuff.

I think I got the hang of this.

After some slicing and dicing, it's time to give the carne árabe a try.

Beautiful thin slice.

Perfect for your taco.

With meat pre-cut and ready to serve, Arale introduced me to the rest of the family.

We went around back to meet Arale's brother, Alfredo, and Micaela, who works with the family.

You guys make handmade tortillas here?

-Yes.

Yes, we do.

We offer both yellow and blue Both of them are organic.

None of it is colored.

-Amazing.

While parents are away, everyone jumps in to help.

Arale handles orders and the register, Alfredo runs the kitchen, Christian slices the meat, and Micaela makes the tortillas.

It's a multitasking dance, yet the siblings manage to move around the truck gracefully.

All right.

This is my kind of spread.

There's a lot going on here, but I am dedicated to it.

Walk me through what we're looking at.

-This is our specialty, the Taco Árabes Especial, but that's kind of like my mom's creation.

She used to sell quesillo door to door before we had the food truck.

-Wow.

-She decided to add the cheese to the taco and the avocado.

I always see it kind of like an LA taco to me, more than Mexican.

-This is her specialty then?

-Yes.

It's very simple, very simple.

It's a thick flour tortilla with the meat and the sauce, and that's it Then the one right next to it is the Tacos Árabes Original.

If you go to Mexico, that's how you're going to find it.

This is so good.

Thank you.

My uncle in Mexico, so my mom's brother, showed my brother, Alfredo, how to make the salsa, and then he improved it with his own take and, yes, it's become a favorite.

Everybody loves our salsa.

-Alfredo, your reworked magic creation, spill the beans.

Give it to us.

-I cannot.

[chuckles] -Do you guys even know the recipe?

-No, we don't -I used to know it, but that when we started.

-They probably know the ingredients.

There was one time where I just wasn't here for a week, and my mom tried to make it.

-Yes, my mom made it and everyone's saying-- -Did everyone notice?

-Yes.

-Yes.

-No -Everyone said, "It's not the same."

-No way.

-Yes.

-Only you know it.

Mom doesn't even know it.

-She does not.

-While the family's specialty is the Tacos Árabes, Arale wanted to show me other dishes not to be missed.

I tried Molotes de Pollo de Tinga, Cemitas de Milanesa, and Huitlacoche Quesadillas.

I savored every bite.

You can taste the love and effort this family puts into their food, sharing with us their heritage and the indigenous flavors they grew up with.

This couldn't have happened without their mom who started it all.

-I know she got her papers in 2007, when I was a senior in high school, and in order for her to have money to go to Mexico for the ticket, she started her own DIY paqueteria.

Say that you have family members in Mexico, but you can't go because you don't have papers.

She started taking people's stuff, and then on her way back, she would bring the cheese, candy, mole paste, a lot of traditional foods, and she would sell it to all the Pueblanos here, and that's how she got money for a ticket and money so she could spend over there.

-Tell me about your mom, is she the one who started the business?

-Yes, she did.

-She did.

Okay.

-Yes, she started the business mostly because I think she found it as a connection to herself because in Puebla, her mom, and her, and her siblings also sold food as a way of survival.

I think it's something that she just knew.

-It's natural to her.

-Yes, it was natural to her.

Also, she's keeping the tradition alive and teaching us One thing she did teach us is that, whatever happens, we know how to work.

Wherever we go, like-- -You'll know how to do something.

--I know how to work.

I feel like the women in Mexican families they really hold it down.

[chuckles] -Yes.

Tell me more about that.

-I don't know They're just born like that, I guess.

[laughs] -I couldn't have said it better myself.

Mercedes and her family built a business that not only provides for them, it brings a little piece of their home to the community.

I had so much fun today meeting Arale and her brothers, Christian and Alfredo.

It was so great to get to know their family dynamics and the family history with their mother, and all their family members coming together, making this happen, and it was so great to taste the different parts of Pueblan cuisine, that authentic Mexican and Lebanese mixture.

I hope that if you find yourself in Boyle Heights, you come by to this beautiful taco truck and say hello.

SoCal Wanderer is made possible by the Wurwand Foundation's key initiative to support local entrepreneurs, FOUND/LA.