Borinquen Lunch Box

5+ stars
I have been a fan of this truck since it started. The food is always very good.
They catered a party for me where the food was even better than what I had eaten from the truck.
You can’t go wrong.

Boricua al fin! Having been so far from home for a few months I had this really bad cravings of good Puertorrican food. When I asked my friend if he knew of any good places in the DC area with Puertorrican food I immediately forced him to take me there (well, not really). I had a really good tripleta! (Which I really missed) but I know they had a few other good stuff like empanadillas and tostones! They also had mofongo!!! Yum! Anyways, if you are lucky enough to be close by and miss home sweet home food, This is the place to go. However, I should mention that is a little pricey. But for that tripleta I would have paid a $ 100!!! Good stuff!

If you like empanadas, you NEED to track down Borinquen Lunch Box! Perfectly crispy, proportionately priced– this restored my faith in empanadas after having several lackluster experiences at various restaurants. I tried the beef– amazing flavor, not overly spicy but with a nice kick, and a nice helping of peppers inside too. The selling points for me were 1. The flavor of the beef itself and 2. The crispness of the shell. I will definitely seek out Borinquen in the future for a quick lunch or snack!

This truck comes to the Mark Center on Thursdays so I decided to try it out for lunch today. I ordered a beef empanada and was a little taken back by how light the bag felt and I soon found out why. I bit into my empanada and peeked inside to reveal literally a teaspoon (maybe less) of beef filling sitting in the bottom. It was pretty much hollow inside. Very disappointed. The flavor was good but I wish there was a reasonable amount of filling inside. Wth.

Yayyyyyy… Felt like home :) I’m a happy camper. I graduated from culinary school and I’m critical specially of food from my country but the food here is very good and the owner is super nice. My hubby and I enjoyed it a lot. My favorite was the yuca alcapurria and the arroz con gandules tasted like «navidad boricua» AKA Puerto Rican Christmas. Tostones were good and fresh with the mayoketchup. Very proud
Ps. Witness the owner giving food to a homeless guy and that shows his heart. He didn’t know I would include it here but those are the true heroes among us… Sigue como eres Boricua

(The person who wrote this is a real boricua/​puertorrican!)
He esperado este momento para hacer mi «review» de este lugar y lo escribo en español, ya que se supone que, empleados y dueños del lugar lo hablen.
Hay personas en el mundo que salen de sus naciones para el progreso, ya sea económico, mejor vida y buscan un pedazo de su tierra, la mayoría de las veces en las comidas autóctonas, cerca de donde viven. Fue lo que hice al encontrar BLB.
Fuí al mediodía, en el Mark Center, hice una fila como de 25 minutos, con alrededor de 7 personas antes de mí (mucho tiempo esperando), muy contento le hablo en uno de los idiomas oficiales de Puerto Rico/​Borinquen, el español, y me contesta: «mmm, sorry. I don’t speak spanish.» Como ehhhh??? Realmente me dejó caer al piso.
Me llevé la comida y cuando la probé fue que realmente me desilusionó casi por completo. Pedí el plato del día, arroz blanco grano largo, habichuelas rojas y pastelón. El arroz estaba bien, el sabor de las habichuelas completamente lejano al sabor tradicional de unas habichuelas criollas boricuas, con un exceso de sodio que a cualquier paciente de hipertensión le subiríà la presión en minutos, y el pastelón…realmente muy buen sabor y los plátanos maduros/​amarillos son hervidos y majados, so no hay exceso de grasa.
Realmente le doy 2 estrellas por el buen sabor del pastelón. Pudieron haber tenido un comprador frecuente.

Heartfelt thanks to Maurie and his crew for the over the top catering service at my daughter’s wedding. You have a customer for life.

If you’re one of those people that is typically sketched out by food truck (why would you be?), if there’s a single food truck you should try, it should be Borinquen Lunch Box.
Before having BLB, I didn’t really have a benchmark for Puerto Rican food. BLB will surely set your standard for Puerto Rican food very high. One of the stand out menu items is the tripleta, a trifecta of tasty made of ham, pork and steak, stuffed into a sub bun, garnished with crispy potatoes.
Also a worthy dish: their empanadas! Little fried pockets of beef goodness (also come in chicken, veggie, and pizza).

Just came back from a feast from Borinquen lunch box. Being Puertorican, Borinquen lunch box is a little gem that reminds me of some of the most delicious flavors from home. They have a daily special that you can check on their facebook or Twitter account. However, I wanted to try the «classics» so I went for the alcapurria (fried green plantain stuffed with beef «picadillo»). It’s definitely a Puertorican classic! I also had the beef empanadilla and I loved how light and crispy the batter was. Finally I had the tripleta. The Tripleta sandwich is a street food/​late night sandwich in Puerto Rico. You can find it on food trucks all over the Island.
Its a delicious big sandwich stuffed with diced ham, pork and skirt steak. It also has potatoes sticks and mayo ketchup sauce which is a mayo and ketchup and garlic sauce traditionally used in PR. Borinquen lunch box does an Amazing job bringing the Tripleta to life. The bread is called «pan sobao» and its a sweet lard puertorican bread. I asked the owners of the truck where they get it and he said he makes it, which makes the tripleta that much tastier.
I will definitely go back to try their specials! This food truck is a MUST.

I was super excited when I saw that there’s be a new food truck in my area (Fairfax). I ordered the Cubano because I’ve been dying to have a Cuban sandwich and let me just say this was B-​O-​M-​B!!! The bread was a bit flaky on the outside and soft on the inside. The pork melted in your mouth and with the combination of mustard, cheese, and pickles it was amazing. I hear they’re going to be at Taste of DC; I may just have to stop by again. Please put willow Oaks on your schedule regularly!!!

If you are into stalking food trucks, this is the one for you. you will need to follow them in Facebook and Twitter just to find out where they are.
I’m from Maryland and I make a monthly trip into DC just for a «tripleta» or for their «arroz con pollo». They are consistent and the flavors as good as back home.
I had them cater a party at our house and WOW!!! My guests were so impressed. During the Holidays, I order pasteles, morcillas and alcapurrias from them. Huge his with my boricuas.

Awesome to find this truck near work. Tripleta was perfectly seasoned big pile of meat! The beef empanada was delicious as well as the watermelon juice. I look forward to the next time!

The first time I came across this food truck, I was having a pretty lousy day & I was heading to Union Station to grab lunch. Being Puerto Rican, I was immediately drawn in by the fact that a Puerto Rican food truck existed. They really got me when their special that day was Pernil (pork shoulder) & arroz con habichuelas (white rice & pink beans) aka my absolute favorite PR dish that my family makes. I called my mom immediately and told her how perfect this find was, and how necessary it was on such a lousy day. Since then I’ve had a field day trying their specials and everything else on their menu. I’ve had the pastelon (sweet plantain lasagna), alcapurrias (plantain stuffed with ground beef), empanadas (chicken & beef), and today I had their grilled chicken sandwich. Let’s talk about this sandwich. First of all, and for me the best part, the sandwich comes on pan sobao. There is literally no sandwich like one on pan sobao or pan de agua, which they also have for their Cuban I believe. I grew up getting a fresh loaf from the bakery by my grandmother’s house whenever I visited her & it’s to die for. They make there own & it’s just as fantastic as I could ever want it to be. PLEASE SELL THIS BREAD BY THE LOAF! The rest of the sandwich was equally as amazing. The chicken was marinated perfectly and diced meat was much better than just a fillet. Also the tomatoes on my sandwich were really awesome. Tomatoes aren’t something I usually comment on, but I was particularly surprised at how good they were. They’ve been away from the Union Station area for a bit, so I’m really happy they’re back this month & I can’t wait for more Puerto Rican goodness :-)

Oh mah gawd. It’s not often that I jump on Unilocal,and gush about something that Unilocalers consistantly point out in their reviews, but with Borinquen Lunch Box, the Tripletas Sandwhich is the real deal. It’s the original sin; shame, pleasure, self loathing, and satisfaction.
A HUGE hoagie style roll, stuffed with three different types of meat, it looked like ham, a slow cooked pork and small pieces of beef. I didnt get any of the lettuce or the tomatos Ive read other people say comes with it (i didnt decline it, just didnt get it) and I think it would have been a good balance to the richness of the meat trio. The potato sticks did a great job of bringing a tecture to the sandwhich, I’ve had something similar (not here) that had French’s crispy fried onions and pepperjack cheese.
The sandwhich is huge. I wish (now that I’m sitting here feeling like a fat mess) that I had split one with my wife, rather than getting my own. Someone said it was about the size of a Chipotle burrito, which is a great description of the side, and that is not an exaggeration. Had an empanada (just to try it) and it was delicious as well.
If you get an opportunity, eat a tripleta.

Wow I am impressed. I got the Tripletas Sandwich aka Triple Meat Sandwich. It had roasted pork, diced ham, skirt steak, potato sticks w/​a mayo/​ketchup sauce on a soft bun. It was the size of a Chipotle burrito. Man it had good flavors. I loved the seasoning. I asked for the sauce on the side and I liked pouring it on a little at a time so the bread wouldn’t get soggy. I thought I would get sick of eating it since it was so much meat, but no I happily ate it all.
My coworker ordered the 3 empanadas, trying each flavor out; beef, chicken, and veggie. I think she liked the beef the best. I tried a piece and it also had good flavors and was nice and crispy. My coworker did say she wished it came with a Chimichurri sauce or something to dip. She also got the watermelon lemonade and that was delicious, a little on the sweet side, but easily fixed by adding a little water to it.
The Tripletas Sanwich was $ 9.50 and I wish it came with a little side of some sort. Overall I was happy and I would love to eat it again.

I’m a big fan of the Borinquen Lunch Box. Honestly, the tripletas sandwich is just plain delicious, savory and intense. Worth it every time. Of course, the cubano is nothing to turn your nose up at either.
Service can be a bit slow, but just plan for it — it’s actually improved from when they started. My only suggestion for a menu item is… mafongo!

Borinquen Food Truck! Boriquen is a sector of Puerto Rico… did ya know? Google did! This food truck happened to be at the Curbside Cookoff that happened this past weekend in Wheaton MD.
What did I get from this busy truck operation. I got two empanadas– one chicken — one beef and something called an alcapurria.
The empanadas were both delicious. I just wish that some sort of salsa were to be served with the. Just a little something fresh (maybe a slaw).
The alcapurria was surely my favorite thing. A plantain wrapped around a mixture of spiced beef and delicious. Man was this good! I’ve never encountered such a thing. I didn’t really taste the plantain. I tasted a delicious mildly chewy coating around a vibrant mixture of meat and spices.
SO GOOD! I would definitely hit this place up again.

I have eaten here two times, and both times the food was really good. First of all, the owners are super friendly and accommodating. Service is prompt and if there happens to be a wait, it’s worth it. I’ve had both the pernil (roast pork) with arroz con gandules (rice and chickpeas), which is a special and the tripleta (ham, skirt steak and pork) sandwich. The pernil special was great. Tasted just like my grandma used to make. Don’t skip on the tostones (fried green plantain) as a side. The tripleta was nothing like any tripleta I’ve had back in Puerto Rico, but it’s not bad. It’s meat with bread, so if you’re into that, by all means go for it.
The different fritters are also very good. Their alcapurrias (plantain and meat fritter) are incredible. Their empanadillas (empanadas) are also very good.
They also serve the best cheese flan I have EVER had.
If you happen to eat there at dinner time or their last stop of the day as if they have any pan sobao (sweet lard bread) leftover and take some home. You’ll thank me when you try it.
All in all, this truck is great. One star less for the so-​so sandwich. But I will definitely be returning over and over. It’s a little piece of home.

Holy Batman, Robin.
My fiancé is Puerto Rican so I“ve been wanting to try some PR food beyond arroz con pollo, which he makes, and I hate. Enter La Tripletas. I was not sure if for a light lunch I should really be going for a three meat sandwich, but man, being uncertain never felt so right.
I ended up only eating half of my skirt steak/​pulled pork/​diced ham/​mayo/​ketchup/​potato sticks sandwich and saving the rest for the next day, which just meant I could have Borinquen twice in my life. I was a little dismayed by a $ 9 sandwich, but it made two lunches, which makes this probably the cheapest lunch I’ve ever had in DC.
The meat is so flavorful, the bread so fluffy, the sandwich so heavy… you just really can’t go wrong.

Tripletas Sandwich $ 9 (⁶⁄₅ NOMs)
i’m in love, WOW not just one meat, but three meats in one amazing sandwich (rosted pork, skirt steak, ham). And look chips on top! Oh yea they know a way into my heart!!! The flavor mix was super nomnom and unlike anything I’ve tasted before. Might be my new favorite truck. Ah I want more!
Alcapurrias $ 3 (²⁄₅ NOMs)
This sounded so cool, but sadly beef-​filled plantain fritters was just not impressive at all. I do approve of lots of beefiness inside, but the flavor was a bit bland. Have you tried it? #truckeroo

DC has some of the most unique food trucks I’ve seen — and this is coming from a New Yorker. I consider NYC to be the most blessed in terms of number of food trucks, but I have to admit DC may have NYC beat in the variety of food represented by trucks and city’s support for food trucks. I love that the trucks are clustered together in parks around lunchtime. You’d never be bored with lunch options if you were so lucky to work in the area.
That being said, I’m super glad to have tried Borinquen Lunch Box. My friend and I got the empanadas and the fried plantain wrapped beef — we had to control ourselves since we were also getting food from other trucks.
The empanadas were pretty good, the chicken was flavorful but the empanada was only half full. The beef one was delicious but had a strong olive flavor, which was not clear from the menu. I loved it, however, but my friend Carla D. (who I learned is adverse to olives) spat out her mouthful. In public. Which is just one of the many reasons why I love her. I wouldn’t say these were any better than the empanadas you can get in NYC.
The fried plantain-​wrapped ground beef empanada, on the other hand, is much more unique. It’s a small but extremely filling and greasy creation. Did I enjoy it? Yes. Did I regret it after? Definitely a little. I’m intrigued enough by what I’ve sampled so far to get a sandwich next time.