New York Street Food

(credit: NYSF)

Last week we had a chance to try the new Miami Food Machine truck. We call this a Quasi-First Look because the truck is owned and manned by the Teran brothers, who we all know from the Bongo Brothers Cuban Food truck.

As we told you recently, Albert and Danny were sent a Cease & Desist letter from Gloria and Emilio Estefan, who own a small chain of 5 Bongos Cuban Cafes in South Florida. They thought a Cuban food truck 1,300 miles away might confuse their customers. Really?

Albert and Danny were forced off the road for a few months, and are now back as the Miami Food Machine. We’re surprised the Estefans didn’t think the new name would confuse their Miami Sound Machine fans.

The Miami Food Machine is a re-branded truck with a new menu. Danny told us the Bongo Brothers menu was more traditionally Cuban, whereas the new MFM menu is more Cuban-fusion, whatever that means.

We decided to start with their daily special, fried shrimp ($9), which you can get as tacos, sliders or a rice bowl. We opted for the rice bowl.

(credit: NYSF)

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We haven’t seen the Bongo Brothers Cuban Food truck around for a while, so we sent them an email to make sure everything was ok.

While everything is good in terms of health and family, they’ve been in legal limbo for the past 4 months. A well-known celebrity couple based in Miami sent them a cease & desist letter due to the similarity in their names.

They didn’t actually get sued, but respectfully changed their name (to avoid getting sued). Danny told us the Estefans were nice about it, and their attorney said the Miami Food Machine name was fine, so there shouldn’t be any more legal issues to deal with.

The Miami Food Machine officially opens Wednesday (3/20). Click through to see their new menu, new facebook and twitter handle, and more.

The Cubano (credit: NYSF)

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(credit: NYSF)

Bongo Brothers is the only Cuban food truck we know of in NYC. The first time we went there, we had to get a Cuban sandwich. the big question was what to get on subsequent visits.

Perusing the menu, we saw a new item, shredded chicken breast in either a platter or a sandwich. What caught our eye was one of the sauces available with this dish, guava bbq sauce.

We decided to go with the platter for $9, which came with a few side dishes. The sandwich was $7.

(credit: NYSF)

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I went to the Bongo Brother Cuban Food truck recently, but haven’t had a chance to post about the lunch.  They are off the road for a private event today, but will be back tomorrow.  Bongo Brothers will also be part of the MasterCard Priceless NY promotion going on for the next month, so keep your eyes open (or just read New York Street Food every day).

I have only had sandwiches from Bongo Brothers, and one dish I hadn’t tried yet was Lechon Asado ($9).  Yes, it was as good as it looks!

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Another beautiful day for Madison Square Eats, and it was crowded as hell!

I was going to get a burger from Bar Suzette, but as I was approaching the end of the line, the guy behind the counter shouted out that it would be at least a 20 minute wait for a cheeseburger.  Time to find another place for lunch.

The line at Cannibal Beer -N- Butcher was only a few people long, and the menu said they were the new baby brother of Resto, a pretty well-regarded restaurant, so I decided to give them a try.

The menu had 3 food items – Pig’s Head Cuban, Sloppy Lamb and Tuna Sandwich, which were each $10. There were also 4 craft beers on the menu that looked excellent, but I couldn’t today.

I had trouble deciding between the Pig’s Head Cuban and the Sloppy Lamb, and went for the Cuban.  With names like the first two, does anyone actually get the tuna sandwich? They need a snazzier name for that one. How about Charlie’s Anglers.  Nah!

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