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Our story
A gringo, a frita master and a Magic Box
How a Miami frita counter, a homemade trailer and one very loyal apprentice became a catering company that cooks Cuban fritas all over Florida.
Where it started
Raised on Calle Ocho fritas
El Gringo de las Fritas grew out of El Mago de las Fritas, the West Miami frita counter on SW 8th Street where "El Mago," the magician, built a loyal following one thin, chorizo-spiced patty at a time. Lunch rushes there came from the offices nearby and from travelers fresh off flights into MIA, all looking for the same thing: a real frita.
Our founder came into that kitchen as the gringo of the crew. He stayed for years, learned the recipe the hard way at the griddle, ran the line and helped grow the business. The nickname stuck, and so did the frita.
When it was time to take that food on the road and to every corner of Florida, the name was obvious: El Gringo de las Fritas.
Timeline
From the griddle to the highway
- 2009
Learning from El Mago
The apprenticeship begins at El Mago de las Fritas in West Miami: 90/10 beef ground fresh, chorizo and Cuban spices mixed by hand, and bread delivered every morning from a Cuban bakery.
- 2013
Building the Magic Box
We built a stainless-steel trailer kitchen from the frame up so the frita could leave the counter. It would become the Magic Box.
- 2015
On the road
The Magic Box hits food truck rallies, festivals, art walks and private parties across South Florida, cooking fritas to order wherever it parks.
- 2017
El Gringo de las Fritas is born
The catering company gets its own name and its eagle. Magic Box catering is now powered by El Gringo de las Fritas, with new recipes like the Steak Bomb, Consuelo's Revenge, smoked chicken and the zucchini frita.
- 2018
The Burger Bash
We cook for the crowd at the Heineken Light Burger Bash at the South Beach Wine & Food Festival on Miami Beach, alongside some of the best burger makers in the country.
- Today
Statewide catering
From Miami to the Panhandle, we bring the Magic Box, the crew and the full frita setup to weddings, offices, festivals and backyards across Florida.
How we work
Handcrafted means handcrafted
Cooked to order
No warming trays. Every frita hits the flat-top when it is ordered, right in front of your guests.
Real Cuban bread
Cuban buns and long bread from Cuban bakeries, toasted with butter on the griddle.
Seasoned by hand
Our frita blend is mixed in-house with chorizo, garlic, paprika and cumin, the way we learned it.
Hablamos español
A bilingual crew that is as comfortable at a quinceañera as at a corporate campus lunch.
Out and about
Scenes from the road
Bring the frita to your next event
Tell us the date, the city and the headcount. We bring the Magic Box, the crew and the griddle, and cook every order fresh on site.