Walking down East Palo Alto’s (EPA) busy Bay Road, you’ll find food stands serving traditional dishes nestled on sidewalk corners. The vendors are all community locals, with motivating stories, passion for their businesses, and delicious food.
Hot Dogs y Tortas de Guerrero
Steps away from the Saint Francis of Assisi Catholic Church is a hot dog stand run by Nicholas Penaloza, an enthusiastic business owner waiting to serve tasty hot dogs and tortas.
Penaloza was a street vendor in Guerrero, Mexico, most known for his “tortas dormilonas,” which he described as “tortas so good they would put you right to sleep.” His hot dogs are wrapped in bacon and prepared with grilled onion, bell peppers, chili peppers, and classic hot dog condiments. These hotdogs make for the perfect on the go bite and are filled with flavor. Penaloza’s favorite part about the job is getting to meet and talk to people of different nationalities and backgrounds.
Food is served from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. all days of the week.
Antojitos Mexicanos, La Guera
Michelle Prado and Lucy Jimenez started their business on Halloween last year. Since then, they’ve specialized in selling food from various parts of Mexico, including Michoacan, Veracruz, and Mexico City.
Prado and Jimenez became close friends when they moved into the same house in EPA. Soon, they started selling single servings at a table outside their driveway and used a tarp to cover their food and workplace.
“It was really hard when we started,” Prado said. Rainy seasons only allowed them to serve on certain days, and at one point, the city tried to shut them down for not having their food permit.
Prado and Jimenez’s business has since grown into a larger stand where customers can sit, watch television in Spanish, and enjoy fresh homemade Mexican food. Their authentic morisqueta, enchiladas, flautas, and gorditas pair perfectly with their agua fresca de pina, all of which is undoubtedly fresh.
Antojitos Mexicanos is located on Ralmer Ave branching off of Bay Road. Serving times vary, but a typical schedule is 3 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Wednesday through Friday and 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturdays.
Comida Tipica de Michoacan
Maria Garcia began selling food on Bay Road this year, but she had been selling Mexican food in her hometown, Aguililla Michoacán, long before she came to the U.S.
When Garcia first arrived in the U.S., she worked in restaurants, but was “unjustly fired.” “She said, “I told myself that from that point on I would never work for anyone but myself,” she said.
Though in the past she has sold shoes, clothes, and perfume, Garcia explained that “selling food has always called [her] attention”
At her stand, Garcia sells a variety of Michoacan-style dishes, her most popular being her taquitos dorados and Morisqueta. Garcia’s cooking style is a bit on the spicier side but loved nonetheless—especially her tacos dorados and tamales.
Garcia is optimistic about her business growth. “I don’t lose faith that one day, God first, I will be more than what I have right now,” she said. You can find her selling food Monday through Friday from 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. She takes cash payments only.
