Wok-O Taco, the food truck known for its Mexico City–style street tacos fused with Asian flavors, is adding new concepts and collaborations for pickup, delivery, catering, and private events. Owner Julian Engels has teamed up with veteran local chef John Komotos to create other dining concepts, such as DashBowls (rice with a choice of toppings) and is nearing the launch of Pizzarilla (with pizza toppings on a base of fried homemade tortillas). Engels’ company is one of the most recent additions to The Hill Food Co. (2360 Hampton), a ghost kitchen currently with nine restaurants under one roof in South City.
The Menu
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The tacos at the heart of Wok-O Taco’s menu are made with warm tortillas and proteins cooked in Asian styles. There are Korean bulgogi steak tacos (topped with pickled red onions, kiwi slices, cilantro, sesame seeds, and Tajin seasoning), Thai chili chicken tacos (topped with chili sauce and roasted red peppers), and Vietnamese banh mi chicken tacos (topped with lemongrass sauce, daikon radish, Persian cucumber, and shredded carrots). The same toppings are available over white rice in Wok-O Bowls.
Vegetarian options include tacos with house-seasoned tofu that’s fried and tossed with sweet chili sauce, cheese quesadillas, and a bowl of esquites (Mexican street corn with garlic, jalapeño, green onions, and crushed hot Cheetos).
For the holiday season and events such as Winterfest, Wok-O Taco added a new item: Sake-to-Me Chili, a jalapeño-laced twist on traditional Texas chili infused with sake. It’s emblematic of Engels’ willingness to run with new ideas. Such creativity led to the popular ChurRollos—a churro-style dessert that was initially fashioned for a photoshoot and improvised with a rolled-up tortilla filled with melty chocolate. Once he saw and tasted the result, he recalls, “I said it looks incredible. Let’s not make traditional churros and go with this instead.”
The rice bowls from Wok-O Taco’s sister concept DashBowls are also Mexican-Asian fusion. There’s the top-selling Burrito Bowlito Pollo, the Bowl-Gogi Bowl Steak, and the Beach Bowl Steak, with charbroiled chicken, sweet barbecue sauce, kiwi, mango, honey-grilled pineapple, and extras such as vegan green goddess vinaigrette, Mexican crema, veggies, or honey.
The New Concepts
Although DashBowls is listed under Mexican and Thai on food-delivery apps, its menu could just as easily be characterized as Korean or Tex-Mex—and customers can take the fusion even further by customizing their orders. For example, the Beach Bowls (charbroiled chicken or beef with sweet barbecue sauce, kiwi, mango, honey-grilled pineapple, and white rice) have a long list of add-in options ranging, from jicama to shredded Monterrey Jack cheese to sesame seeds.
Then there’s the forthcoming Pizzarillas concept, which evolved from idea to execution within an hour. After Engels and Komotos talked about the idea of making pizzas with a tortilla base, “John made tortilla dough, rolled it out with a wooden rolling pin, and fried them on the spot,” Engels recalls. “Then he whipped up arbol chile salsa, sliced avocados, and topped them with pickled red onion and cotija cheese.” Look for online ordering from Pizzarillas in the coming weeks.
The Team
Engels has always loved to combine different types of food in creative ways. He grew up in a Midwestern family with eclectic holiday food traditions, often centering on the Tex-Mex influences that his grandparents and uncles absorbed during their time living along the border in Texas. “We’ve always approached food with fun,” he says.
After learning from family to cook everything from barbecue to desserts, Engels received a more formal education in culinary techniques through jobs at country clubs and restaurants. He also spent time in Colombia, where he took language and dance lessons and explored the foods and flavors of South America. He became fascinated by the interplay of different culinary traditions. “There’s such a stark contrast to both Eastern and Western cooking styles and how they developed using the ingredients at hand,” he says. “The high-intensity heat of a wok is incredible to me, how it brings out and combines flavors.”
In 2022, Engels launched the Wok-O Taco food truck. (It has no affiliation with a restaurant that formerly operated under the same name in Maryland Heights.) “Nothing prepares you for the food truck business,” he says. “No matter how much experience you have, there’s so much to learn.” While the food truck is still a key part of the business, he says expanding the catering, private events, and pickup and delivery aspects should help ensure year-round sustainability.
Komotos has been involved with some of St. Louis’ most legendary restaurants, including Peno Soul Food, Sugarfire Smokehouse, and Cardwell’s at the Plaza. He also worked at the Michellin-starred restaurant The Kitchen in Sacramento.
Together, Engels and Komotos are planning collaborations with other food companies—and they already have one in the works with Pierce Creek Cattle Company, which owns The MOObile smashburger food truck. Komotos uses the company’s beef along with locally sourced produce in tasting menus for private events and wine dinners. “Their beef is top of the line—consistent quality and a beautiful product,” Engels says.
“John is a genius,” Engels adds. “Working with him is like being in a master class. I can come up with ideas, and he executes them to perfection.”
