A blue-and-black truck strung with colorful lights pumps out the sound of happy pop music as hungry customers file in line. As you get closer, Chef Amanda Rios greets you with a smile. If you’re a regular, she’ll probably call you by name or simply say, “Hi, how are you?” After ordering, you’re soon handed the “best fish taco in Orange County.” The vibrant colors of the purple and green cabbage and chipotle sauce jump out at you. You take a bite and hear the crunch of the battered fish as an explosion of exotic flavor fills your mouth.
Playa Baby is a local food truck dishing out fresh seafood for customers in Santa Ana. The truck serves 1,500 customers a month and aims to stay mobile to keep their numbers down so they can serve the community where it needs them to be, so they can serve people of color delicious and nutritious food along with a VIP experience. It’s open Wednesday through Sunday from 7 p.m. to midnight and is mainly located at 2300 S. Birch St. To keep up with location changes, fans follow the truck on Instagram @playababytruck. The menu specializes in fish tacos but also offers shrimp tacos, tortas, tamales and refreshing house-made lemonade.
“Best shrimp tacos. I love this truck,” said customer Jennifer Molina, who comes to Playa Baby not only for its shrimp tacos but also for their great customer service.
“I come for the fish tacos but also feel like I am being served by friends,” said Sergio Martinez.
Red Feather, the founder, started Playa Baby in 2019. Now, he and his partner, Amanda Rios, work the food truck together.
“My idea was to create something that was very delicious and unique,” said Red Feather.
Red Feather began the business alone, but shortly after, he met Amanda, who helped refine and add new elements to the menu. Before entering the mobile food industry, Amanda Rios worked in high-end restaurants, serving celebrities like Dave Chappelle and Morgan Freeman.
Red Feather, who has been cooking since he was 7 years old, learned from his mother, the face of the company. An illustration of Red Feather’s mom, “Mama Chicha” as a young child with fish in a basket is featured on the truck. She helps make the tamales, which she prepares before the truck opens for the night.
Some customers may wonder, “Why are seafood tacos the only thing served on the menu? With the exception of tamales?” Red Feather said it’s what he knows. “Ancient Mexican culture used to be like that…you have to become an expert. You have to master what you make,” said Red Feather.
He recalls eating seafood for breakfast, lunch and dinner every day as a young child in the coastal city of Nayarit, Mexico.
The fish that Red Feather and Rios use is tilapia which is perfectly coated in batter and then fried in garlic oil. The fish and shrimp tacos are topped with purple and green cabbage and the customers may choose either chipotle or habanero sauce. The tamales are made daily by Mama Chicha with a choice of either pork or chicken in either red or green sauce. You can choose for it to be prepared with mayonnaise, cheese, salsa verde or opt to have it plain. The tamale is then served on top of dried corn husk.
“We want to keep this experience accessible to people of color,” Rios said. “People of color should still be able to go places and be treated like a VIP, and actually get delicious food that’s not crazy processed.”
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