The Story of Gringo Tacos in the Heart of Ho Chi Minh City

Love is perhaps the most powerful motivator in the world. It inspires us to strive for greatness. It provides the passion necessary to complete whatever tasks and goals we may have to the best of our abilities. It pushes us to work harder to provide for the ones we love.

For Doug Stratton, love has been the foundation and driving force behind his celebrated Gringo Tacos y Cantina in HCMC. This love not only refers to his love of Mexican cuisine but also and most importantly, his love for his girlfriend Trang Bui.

This kind of tenderness may come as a bit of a shock when based solely on appearances. As perhaps the perfect representation of a true man’s man, Doug has an imposing stature and towers over most people he meets. Unsurprisingly, he spent years as a younger man working as a bouncer back home in his native Southern California.

There came a point in his life, however — as in everyone’s life if allowed the opportunity, when he decided to make a change and follow his true passions. He was tired of having a ‘job’ and so he began the journey of discovery, analyzing the various things he actually enjoyed doing. This process kept leading him back to a core interest — cuisine.

He decided to enroll in a culinary school to begin his new life. During his education, he was instructed and mentored under the tutelage of not one but 2 renowned chefs famous for their expertise and work in Thomas Keller’s legendary Michelin 3-Starred restaurant French Laundry .

In 2005, he visited Vietnam for the first time. One of his valued instructors was Vietnamese and wished to show her star pupil the culinary innovations which the country is now more widely renowned for. Doug immediately fell in love with the country.

HCMC and Vietnam, in general, was very different then from how it is today. He describes how The Caravelle Hotel in District 1 was actually the tallest building in the city at the time and in that case, most likely the country. It was wholly foreign and exotic to a Western perspective, and for an adventurous man like Doug Stratton — truly exciting. The visit left a strong impression on him and he continued to visit Vietnam on holidays for years.

Back home in Southern California, he spent 15 years in fine dining, specializing in Asian fusion. Having trained under such talented chefs, he learned from the best and over years of hard work and long hours, he mastered the intricacies and every facet of the job.

His love of Vietnam was always in the back of his head however and one day he decided to take a risk and finally make the move to Vietnam.

Shortly after his arrival, he met a special woman, Ms. Trang Bui. They fell deeply in love with each other and have been together ever since. Something was missing though — his first love — Mexican food. The only options available at the time were Tex-Mex and for anyone with half the experience and expertise of Mr. Stratton, it certainly wasn’t enough.

Growing up, Doug was surrounded by Mexican culture and would typically eat Mexican food 3–5 times a week. As a result of being on the Mexico-United States border and having been a part of Mexico for some time during the 1800s, Southern California is a region of the United States of America that is famous for its Mexican influences.

He craved for an authentic Mexican eating experience in Vietnam. His girlfriend, Ms. Trang suggested he take matters into his own hands and utilize his expertise for the benefit of the city. Merely 18 days later, he opened up the Gringo Tacos stand inside the famous Ben Thanh Street Food Market.

In honouring the food he grew up with and knows so well, they decided to make everything from scratch using only the freshest high-quality ingredients. This includes their queso fresco (fresh cheese), Mexican crema, all of their sauces and salsas and even their corn tortillas and tortilla chips.

Every morning they would visit the local markets to select the best produce, and even import any ingredients and equipment needed all the way from Mexico. With all of this attention to detail in offering the city an authentic experience, the Gringo Taco stand soon built up a strong reputation.

Word spread fast and the business grew in popularity. Two months after opening the taco stand they began making deliveries to people all over the city. The taco stand was the first step to test the market and it far exceeded their expectations.

Within 8 months of opening, the Gringo Taco brand had exploded in popularity and they had opened a second location at 137 Calmette Street in D1, HCMC out of necessity.

With this new location and additional space, they expanded their delicious menu offering even more of the flavours everyone loves. They even opened a bar area which includes one of the most extensive collections of Tequila in the city, serving up a wide variety of delicious, specialty Mexican cocktails for new and returning guests every night.

With an acute eye for detail, they decorated their new location with all of the intricacies of Mexican culture one could possibly think of, including the importance of community. Any visitor will be struck by the warm and inviting atmosphere and exceptional guest experience they have so expertly crafted.

For the kitchen, instead of hiring old and experienced veteran chefs who are typically set in their ways and not open to new ideas and new ways of cooking, Doug decided once again to try something different.

Taking an owner approach to the kitchen and all areas of the business he found it was important to step back and find chefs with less than 2 years of experience who were eagerly wanting to learn.

This allowed him to teach, shape and mold them with the expertise he had accumulated after all of his years in the kitchen. It allowed him the freedom to focus on other pressing issues that typically arise daily with any business while remaining confident in the quality of what was coming out of the kitchen.

In the front house, Gringo Tacos y Cantina offers equally exceptional service. This is due in large part to the criteria he looks for in his hiring.

With less emphasis on experience and more on character, he always finds the right person for the job. Hiring based on personality, he places great esteem towards those who are friendly and show a good heart.

These are people with endless potential and characteristics necessary for success in a family, good-natured environment.

His intuitions have worked out well thus far as the taco stand in Ben Thanh Market is run wholly by his team and he hasn’t needed to visit it since they opened their second location in January of 2018.

The passion he carries bleeds through into everything he does. When asked about his motivation he spoke admirably about his girlfriend Trang.

Besides the obvious wishes of providing guests with a good experience with good service and of course the best food possible, with the success of Gringo Tacos y Cantina, he wishes to provide his girlfriend Trang with ‘the life she deserves’.

As the motivator behind opening the taco stand in the first place as well as handling part of the operation side of the business, Ms. Trang has solidified a tremendously valuable place in Doug’s heart. He strives to be able to take care of her and works long hours every day to get closer to this goal. It is not likely that there is any stronger motivation than that.

With plans to expand the business into Hoi An and beyond there is no telling where the Gringo Tacos y Cantina might end up in the future but as a labour of love, it is certain that Doug will be grinding away, day in and day out to ensure one day his goals can be reached.

There aren’t too many widely accepted universal truths in the world. There are perhaps some, such as those regarding love as stated in the introduction, but arguably another example could very well be that Mexican food is delicious. Doug Stratton and Trang Bui along with their trusted team of young and hungry servers and chefs exemplify all of this in their everyday creations and for that — on behalf of everyone in the city, we sincerely thank them.