For the residents of Rivermead, Hiyam Makarios is a familiar face behind the front desk or around campus as a “jack of all trades.” But most Saturdays, Makarios can be found in an entirely different role: as head chef at the “Yalla” Lebanese food truck in Rindge.
“A lot of the residents come visit me, it is so much fun to share my food with them,” Makarios said.
Makarios said her family started the food truck seven years ago because she and her husband “missed Lebanese food.”
Yalla is a family affair. Makarios, who grew up in Montreal, learned all about Lebanese cooking from her mother, whom the family calls “Sito.” Makarios’ two sons, Jesse Guerra and Jake Guerra, who both live in Peterborough, also help out with the truck.
“Food is just a big part of our culture and who we are. My mother and father are both from Lebanon, they came to Canada straight off the boat, and they have been in Montreal for 65 years,” Makarios said. “My mother brought all of her recipes, all of her spices, all their traditions from Lebanon. We wanted to make people feel the same about Lebanese food as we feel about it. We just love to share what we have, our food and our culture; because it’s so amazing.”
Jesse Guerra says his mother wanted to bring Lebanese culture “to a place where it didn’t exist.”
“We have enjoyed meeting people as far away as Australia who’ve come to the truck and are familiar with our food, and we’ve loved meeting members of the local community who are seeking a new taste,” Guerra said. “We are a passionate crew in all aspects, from the first order placed to the last bite.”
Yalla can usually be found at the Irving Oil station at the intersection of Route 202 and Route 119 on Saturdays, unless the family is are working a festival.
“We are mostly in Rindge now, and we are parked at the Irving station, because the owner, Ahmed Mortada, is also Lebanese, and he just loves having the food there,” Makarios said. “This is our fourth summer there.”
Makarios said she is planning to retire in the next few years and is looking forward to being able to devote more time to Yalla.
“Right now, we all have full time jobs, because we need health insurance and we need to be able to survive, but in the future, we will see what happens,” she said.
Most foods on Yalla’s menu will be familiar even to people who have never eaten at a Lebanese restaurant, including hummus, falafel, tabouleh, beef shawarma and lamb kafta.
“The difference is, between our food and what you might see in store, is we make it all from scratch — the hummus, the tabouleh, the falafel. It is all fresh — you can feel and taste and see it is fresh,” she said.
Makarios says lamb kofta is probably the most popular dish.
“Our lamb is really special; it’s very hard to find good lamb. Our kofta is ground lamb with spices, onion, parsley. That and the falafel usually sell out first,” she said. “Everything is popular — the hummus and baba ganoush, the fava beans, tabouli with parsley. It all sells out.”
Makarios urges people who have never tried Lebanese food to “just give it a try.”
“There is not a lot for ethnic cuisine in Rindge. I always encourage people who have never tried Lebanese food to just give it a taste. We use a lot of spices, but it’s not spicy hot, it’s just very well seasoned, and it’s different,” she said.
Makarios said in the future, she would like to make the truck, which runs off a generator, more sustainable.
“I’m trying to find small solar panels for the truck, but they don’t make them yet,” she said. “We’d like to get rid of the generator as soon as we can.”
Makarios said one recent customer requested a hot dog and was disappointed that Yalla didn’t have them, but when she convinced him to try lamb kofta, he was hooked.
“He said, ‘Oh my goodness, that is amazing. I will be back!'” she said.
Yalla will be at the Monadnock Clean Energy Fair on September 27 and the Annual Monadnock Model Train Festival in November 8, as well as many fall festivals in the region.
An updated calendar and the menu can be found on the “Yalla Lebanese Food Truck” Facebook page.