Patatas Bravas: a love story

When asked what my favorite vegetable is, my brain will automatically jump to my favorite green vegetable. (For the curious, it’s a solid tie between Brussels sprouts and broccoli, with arugula as a close runner up and green cabbage as an honorable mention. Wait, I almost forgot–I also love peas. Forget it, I can’t rank them; I love them all.) However, if I’m being perfectly honest and truly assessing the full array of vegetables that grow on our beautiful planet, the humble potato is definitely my most beloved vegetable. They are a starchy vegetable, but a vegetable nonetheless and, my goodness, they are certainly adept at transforming into a number of delicious dishes. Whether baked, mashed, french fried, served up in a poutine, as tots, scalloped, in a soup, a stew, a salad, or roasted and turned into a beastly breakfast taco filling, potatoes are the delicious chameleons of the vegetable world and our lives simply wouldn’t be the same without them.

Before moving to the Midwest, I’d heard of Patatas Bravas and even tried making it myself once, but no restaurants near me served it. Though this dish is native to Spain, it seems to be quite popular in my new city. My father came to visit me and, though he did travel to Spain in his youth, he’d never heard of Patatas Bravas and was curious about it. I explained to him then, as I’ll explain to you now, that at its most essential Patatas Bravas are just cubed white potatoes, fried, and served with a spicy sauce. The spicy sauce is usually orange-red in color and, traditionally, gets most of its heat and hue from a spicy paprika–though some versions of the sauce may include tomato, adding to the intense color. In my personal experience with eating Patatas Bravas, a garlicky aioli is also included and is an absolutely necessary component for making this simple dish so extraordinary. 

There is an undisputed favorite location in my city for Patatas Bravas; it’s not at a fancy restaurant. The most excellent Patatas Bravas come from my favorite food truck, Bravas. Given their name, you can be certain that their Patatas Bravas are absolute fire. In a brief online exchange with the proprietor, I actually learned that they’ve had a long time love affair with Patatas Bravas–a love affair so intense, in fact, that it birthed the food truck! For one singular potato dish to have that much power, it must be very mighty and highly delicious. Honestly, I’d walk a mile to the food truck and only get the Patatas Bravas; they’re that good. 

Bravas serves up an order of their thrice fried potatoes with both ‘Bravas sauce’ (that aforementioned spicy orange-red sauce) and aioli for only $5.50, making it a brilliantly affordable snack or reasonably priced side dish to go along with a yummy smash burger or tricked-out hotdog. In my experience, how they serve the dish to you can vary. Sometimes, I’ve gotten my order with my patatas already loaded up with both sauces, but other times I’ve received both sauces in separate, small, plastic containers, which allows me to dip the patatas and have a heightened control of my sauce ratios. Truly, both options are flawless; I’m never disappointed either way. As long as I’m eating Patatas Bravas, I’m a happy girl. 

At the end of the day, you may not get the appeal of Patatas Bravas. You may find yourself asking, “Some fried potatoes with sauces–what’s so special about that?” Well, my friend, all I can do is encourage you to try this dish and remind you that, sometimes, simplicity is the key to excellence. Patatas Bravas has very quickly become a new favorite food of mine and I feel so fortunate to be spoiled by living in close proximity to Bravas food truck’s home turf and site of their future brick-and-mortar restaurant. Their sit-down restaurant is currently set to open in Spring of 2023. They were shy of their goal and set up an Indiegogo with some very choice treats for those kind enough to donate toward the cause. They’ve reached their goal, however, there are still a few days left on the campaign. If you have any money to spare, it would be so lovely if you could find it in your heart to help out the Bravas peeps. Helping people to achieve their dreams is cool–but surpassing dreams is even cooler. Click here to be directed to their Indiegogo campaign!

If you’re ever in Fort Wayne and you see the Bravas truck slinging noms, drop whatever you’re doing and go snag yourself an order of Patatas Bravas. (If you’re extra hungry, any of their smash burgers or delish hotdogs go great with an order of Patatas Bravas! Empanadillas and burritos are also personal favorites of mine; especially the Cheesy Beefy Patito Burrito they’ve recently had on special!) Bravas is the first takeout food that I went, by myself, to pick up when I first moved here. After leaving behind close friends and a tight-knit community, I really wasn’t accustomed to eating alone. It felt strange and uncomfortable for me to head out solo to hit up a food truck. I remember heading to the food truck and thinking to myself that this would be something that would take me a long time to get comfortable with. Then I ate my first order of Patatas Bravas and suddenly I didn’t care if I had an army with me or was totally alone; delicious Bravas food would always be more than worth the lonely walk. I hope you’ll be as astonished as I am that from small potatoes comes such big flavors, big dreams, and big love.