Jackfruit Cafe: Vegan Soul Food with a Celebrity

“Bye, Felicia.” Most of us know that line by now—it originated from the 1995 film “Friday” when Ice Cube told Felicia, played by Angela Means-Kaaya, to leave.

How does this relate to a vegan soul food truck, you ask? Well, Angela (Felicia) is the owner!

I recently spent over an hour at Angie’s truck, Jackfruit Cafe, tasting food, chatting with other customers and observing. Angie is simply the most kind-hearted, friendly, outgoing business owner I’ve ever met. She treats all her customers like family, asking them about their lives, providing food samples and even offering advice about healthy eating habits.

So, let’s get to the food.

The value is excellent—customers can mix and match any two menu items for just $10. I asked Angie which items she recommended, and she told me the curry coconut jackfruit taco is unique and the egg roll is simply to die for. Boy, was she right!

The taco was fresh, flavorful and had the perfect amount of spice. It, along with all other tacos available, is served on a corn tortilla topped with cilantro, onion, tomato, lettuce, purple cabbage and secret sauce. I was impressed!

Then there’s the (quite large) egg roll. Wow. It’s stuffed with impossible meat, purple cabbage and thyme, wrapped in a vegan egg roll wrap and deep fried. Finally, it’s topped with cilantro and sweet chili sauce. This warm, fresh egg roll was simply the best (and most filling) I’ve ever had. I’m still dreaming about it!

Once I started to come out of my food coma, I sat down with Angie to chat about the inspiration behind the magic. Here’s what she had to say:

Q: How long has the truck existed? A: It hasn’t even been two months, but we used to be inside a donut shop on Crenshaw for a year.

Q: What inspired you to open the food truck? A: There are so many people that don't understand why they’re sick and don’t know it’s from meat…I know for a fact it’s a result of diet.

When that Felicia thing came back, I knew the universe was setting me up to do something important…as all these things lined up [the idea] just revealed itself. I have a face and [customers] trust me—I was almost 240 pounds just two years ago.

Q: What’s your favorite thing about operating a food truck? A: The freedom!

I highly recommend checking out this incredible new addition to the community. Whether you’re vegan or not (I’m not), you won’t regret it. Until next time…bye, Felicia!