Rhode Island’s ‘The Bay”, featuring this month’s Rhody Gem: Matilda RI! Matilda trucks big flavors around the Ocean State- Look for Matilda RI’s truck at Twelve Guns Brewing and other locations around the state.

When it comes to what to eat, where to shop and things to do, we have compiled the ultimate list that has your plans for the next year covered. Matilda offers sweet and savory options, from breakfast varieties with plaintain, to stewed chicken and Black Angus beef.

When Tony Lugo was a teenager, his older brothers would be outside playing sports while he was in the kitchen, with his mother (Anny) and his grandmother (Ana Maitilde), learning to cook classic Dominican dishes, including pastelitos—called empanadas in other Latin American countries.

I got invited to a Matilda pop-up at ISCO Spirits on Sims Avenue in Providence (if you haven’t been to this women owned and groundbreaking distillery in the Valley neighborhood, I’m urging you to G-O) a while back, but was out of town that weekend. Well, I caught up with them yesterday at a food truck festival in NPT, and they exceeded all of my expectations.

Founded by Johnson & Wales alum (and first generation Rhode Islander) Tony Lugo, Matilda RI is a family-owned food truck that pays homage to their abuelita (grandmother), dishing out drool-worthy pastelitos and empanadas to hungry fans across the state.

Come October, the business will be operating out of its very own brick and mortar location on Greenville Avenue in Johnston.