A catering small business that is known to be the Bay Area’s only vegan Puerto Rican food items procedure will before long open up a brick-and-mortar place in North Oakland. Casa Borinqueña will be environment up shop within a small, 750-square-foot room at 6211 Shattuck Avenue close to the intersection with 62nd Road. Operator Lourdes Marquez-Nau launched her Puerto Rican food stuff enterprise about 4 many years in the past and she slowly but surely created up loyal customers as a result of her catered offerings and several pop-up dining places. 

Picture Credit: Casa Borinqueña/Instagram

Marquez-Nau started out taking in vegan food items herself at the commence of the pandemic. At the time, Eater SF claimed that “The turning stage came when Marquez-Nau stopped ingesting meat herself, mostly out of health things to consider. Both of those of her parents had experienced Alzheimer’s-relevant health and fitness difficulties, and she commenced considering about making a diet plan and way of life improve, a person she ultimately felt she had to implement to her organization as effectively.”

Due to the fact Puerto Rican cuisine is largely meat-primarily based, the move to change to vegan-only choices was quite controversial inside of the regional Puerto Rican local community. “I received a great deal of backlash, in particular from persons in my local community, due to the fact Puerto Rican dishes are primarily based a lot on pork. They stored telling me there’s unquestionably no way it’s heading to fly,” Marquez-Nau instructed the SF Chronicle. The business enterprise was able to take maintain thanks to the assist of local vegans.

Lourdes Marquez-Nau will be increasing on her catering and pop-up menus but will even now depend on her customer’s favorites such as “pastelillo, a fried, empanada-like turnover loaded with vegan Impossible meat, or a deep-fried plantain stuffed with pulled OmniPork, fake pork manufactured from shiitake mushrooms, soy, and rice,” studies SF Chronicle. 

Photograph Credit history: Casa Borinqueña/Instagram

Casa Borinqueña will also function a vegan burger that is built with Unattainable patties, mofongo, and a fried plantain bun. Marquez-Nau is no stranger to vegan burgers. Her son, Darren Preston, owns the well-liked plant-based mostly Oakland cafe Malibu Burgers. We can also expect to see breakfast items. In accordance to the SF Chronicle, Marquez-Nau will serve “Puerto Rican espresso and mallorca, a comfortable roll dusted with powdered sugar.” Mallorca will also be used to develop a savory and sweet breakfast sandwich.