You say smoothie; Victor Sosa says licuado. But when the drinks are as refreshing as the ones at the Sosa Fruit Truck, there’s really no need to mince words. Just point and order. You can’t go wrong.
After ten years in business Victor is a street-vending veteran, but at the Red Hook Ball Fields, where some vendors have been for over twenty years, he’s still the new kid on the block. Like the Vaquero Fruit Truck across the way, Victor and his wife, Santana, sell fresh-cut fruit, elotes, and a variety of cold drinks. On the surface, the trucks may seem similar, but if you take a closer look at the menu, you’ll see some differences. For starters the Sosas have licuados, or what some call batidos, smoothie-like beverages made with a milk base and lots of fresh fruit. The licuados at Sosa Fruit come in papaya, strawberry, and mango, and they very much live up to their “blended wonders” tagline on the menu.
The elotes—corn on a stick brushed with mayo and then dressed with lime, cotija cheese, and cayenne pepper—are prepared al gusto or “to taste.” If you don’t like the char from grill, you can have the corn boiled instead. Their horchata, a sweetened rice drink, is especially rich from the ground almonds used to prepare their version of the iced drink.
Victor started his business with one product: mangoes. “The idea was to sell something, so I started selling mangoes, no food only fruits,” he says. He still does a brisk mango trade, going through cases upon cases of the green and sweet varieties each weekend, with the green mangoes being the more popular of the two. Victor offers his fresh-cut mangoes with chile powder, freshly squeezed lime juice, and a touch of salt—just the way they are served by street vendors in Mexico. Victor doesn’t skimp on the lime, and he definitely doesn’t use bottled juice from concentrate. The effect is sweet, salty, sour, spicy, and just plain good.
Like many of his fellow vendors, Victor emigrated from Puebla in Central Mexico. In addition to the fruits and drinks, he also sells nuts, dried pumpkin seeds, and jamoncillo de pepita, a traditional fudge-like candy made from ground pumpkin seeds and sugar. Each bar of jamoncillo is accented with a stripe of vivid pink dye, making it visually arresting, as well as a sweet and satisfying little snack.
Like many of his fans, Victor mourns the loss of the days at the ball fields when they had the open air mercado-feel of a Latin American food bazaar. “Before, we didn’t sell from the truck. We sold from a table. There were no trucks,” he says. Gone are the weather-worn tarps and tables where visitors could watch the food being prepared right in before their eyes. Upgrading from simple folding tables to fully equipped mobile kitchens has been a big investment for the vendors, and it’s hard not to be discouraged when the crowds have been thinning with the passing years. “In previous years there were more people … many people came before, not now. Before, there were more people playing [soccer]. Now there are just a few.”
“They [the changes] are bad because you invest a lot but don’t make a lot.”
Inspired by Victor Sosa’s recipes.
One of the most popular beverages at the Red Hook Ball Fields is the Watermelon Agua Fresca, a simple and utterly refreshing drink consisting of blended watermelon, ice, and a spritz of lime. Add a splash of rum or vodka for a light and fruity summer cocktail.
8 cups seedless watermelon pieces, cubed
2 tablespoons lime juice (about one lime), if desired
Add the watermelon, lime juice, and 3 tablespoons cold water to a blender. Pulse for a few seconds to break up the watermelon, and then blend on high until smooth, about a minute. Serve over ice.
Green mangoes with lime, chile powder, and salt are the soft pretzel of Mexican street food. In major Mexican cities you can find vendors pushing little shopping carts stocked with cases of mangoes and their fixings. The Sosas began their business at the ball fields selling mangoes, and the Chile Mangoes remain one of their most popular items.
1 green mango, peeled and cut into wedges
2 tablespoons lime juice (about 1 lime)
salt, to taste
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper or ancho pepper, or more to taste
Place cut mango into a bowl for serving. Toss with lime juice, then sprinkle with salt and cayenne pepper to taste. Toss to coat and serve immediately.
