Growing up in the Philippines, Mary Chappell watched a lot of “Beverly Hills, 90210″ and “Baywatch.” From those sunny and glamourous TV depictions of Southern California, she assumed that’s what life was like in all the United States. In the early ‘90s, Chappell experienced culture shock when, at age 12, her family moved to Baldwin County, Alabama, after the U.S. military base her mom worked at closed.

“Baldwin County was mainly farms back in the day,” Chappell recalls now, “so I was rather disappointed that it wasn’t like ‘90210.’” After a good-natured laugh, she adds, “But thank goodness we didn’t live far from Gulf Shores,” so her family got to enjoy frequent beach trips together. And even in rural Alabama, living conditions were far better than they’d been in Chappell’s homeland.

Decades later, Chappell is carving her own trailer-sized slice of the American Dream. Her mobile food business, Flippin’ Filipino, which rootsy dishes she grew up with, has become a local standout and received national recognition.

In late 2022, prestigious culinary magazine Food & Wine, highlighted Flippin’ Filipino as the Alabama entry in its “The Best Places to Eat Filipino Food in Every State” list. Since Alabama lands first alphabetically among U.S. states, the blurb on Chappell’s business had the prime spot of first selection in Food & Wine’s list, compiled and written by Nicole Adrienne Ponseca and Danielle Muzones.

Chappell is grateful for the recognition, which she says came about after Food & Wine’s writers read a piece a local business writer had done on Flippin’ Filipino. “This is my dream being filled,” she says of her business. “And not just mine, but also for my family.”

Formerly a medical assistant by trade, Chappell started Flippin’ Filipino in May 2021. During the pandemic, the dermatology clinic where she worked cut her hours to 20 each week. As a single mom of two young girls, those financials weren’t going to cut it. “It really gave me the drive to pursue something to supplement the extra income,” she says.

At first, she’d cook for her medical coworkers, bringing in lunches. Then people started placing orders with her for lunches. She increased her side-hustle with a table and a tent at Greene Street Market, a popular farmers market held Thursday evenings in downtown Huntsville. She’d cook and bring in traditional fare in heated aluminum pans. Dishes like pancit, caldereta, pork kabobs, lumpias, adobo.

The reaction was hot. At Greene Street, she’d often sell-out of food and Flippin’ Filipino quickly developed regulars, crucial currencies in building any business. When pandemic stimulus checks arrived, she put those funds towards building up from a farmers market vendor to a food truck biz.

The dermatology clinic let her do her hours there within three days a week. The other two weekdays, she poured her energy into Flippin’ Filipino. She did that for about three months.

And I saw what I was making in those couple of days was more than what I would make for the whole month [working parttime at the clinic],” Chappell says. “And so it was no brainer for me to hang-up, you know, the medical business. I’d said a lot of prayers, and it really was the best decision I’ve ever made.”

After renting a trailer for a while, Chappell invested in her own, which she tows with a pickup truck.

The first time I tried to check out Flippin’ Filipino, about a month ago during a lunch service at local engineer firm Northrop Grumman, they were sold out by the time I got there. The next time, I made sure to call in my order ahead of time and get there at the beginning of service.

The food more than met my expectations. Flippin’ Filipino sells combos in one, two and three item configurations, in which you pick from five or so entrées. If you know and love Filipino food, this allows you to click your greatest-hits. If you’re a newbie, like yours truly, it’s a fantastic way to try things on for size. In the current Huntsville market, the pricing’s in the average range for mom-and-pops, but the flavor and value are excellent.

The caldereta was probably my fave. A savory/zesty stew of pork, carrots, potatoes, peas and peppers in tomato-sauce. Some easy heat to it. Accessible international comfort food.

Also loved the pork inihaw. Slices of braised pig with smoky and sweet notes that accent the natural-forward flavors, which also include serrano pepper and onions. The chicken adobo, you can also get pork, was super tender garlic-and-vinegar-kissed and served with a side of steamed rice.

The combos also include a couple lumpias. These are crunchy and crushable — jammed with seasoned pork, minced onion, celery, garlic, carrots. Basically, meatier, Mr. Fantastic-elongated, cigarillo-like improvements on Asian eggrolls. Also loved the Filipino barbecue skewers. More natural sapors and grilled goodness, and a child-friendly order in both flavor and presentation. Meanwhile, pancit is a soulful Filipino rice noodle mainstay with garlic and veggies.

Besides their food, an appeal of Flippin’ Filipino is they’re not overexposed. They usually only do a couple of public-facing services each week, including business-parking lot lunches, festivals, nearby orchards, etc. Before services, the cook their food at a commissary on Highway 72 East. Most weeks Flippin’ Filipino do three or so lunch services at Redstone Arsenal’s NASA Food Truck Corral, a vital gig for a mobile food vendor, as it’s year-round.

Chappell says she sometimes thinks about growing Flippin’ Filipino into a brick-and-mortar restaurant someday. But she’s in no rush. “The food truck industry gives you the flexibility that brick-and-mortar doesn’t give,” she says. You go to your customers, as opposed to having to wait for customers to come to you. “I like to go to a place where I am expected. And I don’t want to be waiting.”

As a child back in the Philippines, Chappell learned to love cooking at age 9 by helping her auntie Maribel, who supplemented the family income with her own street-food business. Chappell says Filipino food is “family oriented. I really had a humble upbringing. It was very tight knit. He would sit around and roll hundreds of lumpias together.”

Her auntie cooked barbecue pork, like the kind Chappell now serves on skewers with Flippin’ Filipino, and chicken feet, slow-braised for crispy exterior, tender interior and full of flavor.

Besides Filipino, Chappell’s favorite stuff to eat includes the warming, satisfying pho soups of Vietnamese cuisines. Now engaged to be married, when off work and at home Chappell cooks extra-trad Filipino like pinakbet, a vegetable dish, and dinuguan, a pork blood stew.

About a year ago, she was able to hire an employee, Marilou Miller, another native of the Philippines, and she’s been the perfect sidekick. “I wanted somebody that was familiar with the food, had experience cooking and new exactly is needed to be done.”

Asked about other interests or hobbies, Chappell says, “To tell you the truth, my friends and I my family and I we love to gather and eat, so I’m always cooking regardless of where I am. That’s what I love.”

For Flippin’ Filipino’s hours of operation, which change weekly, and more info, follow them on Facebook and Instagram.

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