(credit: NYSF)

Last weekend I went out for some street food, and ended up in Union Square.  One vendor that caught my eye was a new food cart called Morocho.  They were parked on the sidewalk on Union Square West between 14-15 St, and the sign said Peruvian Fusion.

I spoke with the chef, Miguel Samanez, who told me this was their first month on the street.  Miguel was born in Brazil to Brazilian and Peruvian parents, but actually grew up in the Midwest from age 9.  Someone must have taught this guy how to cook Peruvian food though, because it was delicious.

As I usually do at a new place, I asked for the chef’s recommendation.  He suggested Aji de Gallina, a chicken, egg and potato dish that cost $7.  The menu looked really interesting and I wanted to try a 2nd item, so he then suggested a lomo saltado taco, which cost $5.

Aji de Gallina (credit: NYSF)

I started with the lomo saltado taco, which had strips of rib-eye steak, red onions, tomatoes, cilantro, scallions, soy sauce, garlic and a touch of oyster sauce.

The lomo saltado came on two soft corn tortillas in a container.  I’m glad it was in a container because I had to eat some of it with a fork before I could pick up the taco.  Not only was it too hot to pick up, but there was a bunch of sauce on the bottom, and too much food to lift it without making a mess.  The fork helped get things down to a manageable level.

Wow, this was an excellent taco!  The strips of beef were thick, marinated and tender, and each item could be tasted in the mix, especially the red onions and sauce.  Even the tortilla had a pronounced corn taste.  It wasn’t just a vehicle for the fillings.

(credit: NYSF)

With the soy sauce, oyster sauce and garlic, I can see where the “fusion” comes from.  There was definitely an Asian influence in this dish, but it was nothing at all like the Korean tacos we’ve had.  It was more of a Japanese influence, which isn’t surprising considering Peru has a large Japanese population.  Peru even had a president of Japanese descent (Alberto Fujimori) for most of the 1990′s.

When I first ordered, I thought $5 for a taco was kind of pricey, but this was a substantial dish…and I still had the aji de gallina to eat!

Opening up the 2nd container, which was significantly heavier than the first, there were two quarters of a hard-boiled egg and slices of olives over a shredded chicken dish in a bright yellow sauce.

I’m not familiar with Peruvian cuisine, but the sauce was aji amarillo, a creamy (sweet) yellow pepper sauce with parmesan cheese in it.  A large amount of saucy pulled chicken was served over a bed of sliced potatoes and lettuce, which gave the dish some heft.

I know it’s spring heading into summer, but this dish would have kept you warm during a cold winter.  Did I mention it tasted amazing too?  Eggy, cheesy, saucy chicken served over potatoes – what’s not to love?  The olives even added some tang to a few bites.

The menu is pretty meaty, but there are at least two dishes for vegetarians that looked good too.  I wasn’t familiar with Peruvian dishes or sauces, and if you’re not, you can check out the menu below and the various sauces here.

You can follow Morocho on twitter here or on our Mobile Munchies twitter feed, although they park on Union Square West between 14-15 St for lunch and dinner.  No website yet, but their facebook is here.

I must say Morocho was one of my favorite new street food vendors of the year.  I will definitely be going back to try the rest of the menu over time, although I’m not sure about the veal heart anticuchos.

(credit: NYSF)

(credit: NYSF)

With what seemed like every food website offering their list of “Best Mexican Food” places last week, I wasn’t going to go down that road.  But I stumbled upon a Mexican food cart last week that is as authentic as it gets - Antojitos Mexicanos.

The cart is run by a husband and wife team on the east side of 6th Ave between 28th & 29th St.  I wasn’t looking for them, and had actually never heard of them before, but when you see a cart with half a dozen locals waiting for lunch, that merits further investigation.

As I walked up to the cart, one guy walked away with a plate full of tacos that looked good, so I ordered 3 tacos: one chicken, one beef and one chorizo.  They cost $2.50 each.

(credit: NYSF)

English was not this vendor’s strong suit, but there was enough to ask a couple of questions and to order.  He also asked if I wanted it spicy, which is a big sí.

According to Wikipedia, an antojito is a Mexican street snack that does not count as a full meal, but just as an appetizer, even though some are very large and substantial.  Antojitos are frequently consumed on the streets or in street markets and are considered informal cheap food.

These may have been appetizers, but they were large and substantial.  There was lots of meat on each taco, which were topped with lettuce, tomato, onions, crema, crumbled cojita cheese, cilantro and thankfully, two tortillas per taco.  There were even a few sliced radishes.  Both the radishes and two tortillas per taco were the giveaways these were authentic Mexican tacos.

(credit: NYSF)

I love all kinds of sausages, and crumbled, grilled chorizo in a taco is tough to beat.  It was meaty without a lot of filler, and one side of the meat was crispy from the grill.

As far as heat, the salsa verde (green hot sauce) had some serious burn, so decline it if you don’t like spicy food.

The chicken was similar to the chorizo, in that one side was crispy and one side was soft.  This was really good too, although I did enjoy the chorizo a bit more.

(credit: NYSF)

The beef taco was decent, but I preferred the chorizo and chicken tacos.

I don’t believe Antojitos Mexicanos has a website or twitter account, but they are on the east side of 6th Ave between 28th-29th St every weekday.  This area just south of Herald Square is a street food wasteland, so this was a good find for the area.

The other recommendation I can make is a place to sit enjoy your lunch.  After getting your food from Antojitos Mexicanos, cross 6th Ave and continue a few steps west on 29th St.  Just behind the Eventi Hotel is a nice public park with plenty of tables and a fountain where you can sit and enjoy your lunch.

(credit: NYSF)

(credit: Zagat)

As reported in Gothamist, Bark Hot Dogs is expanding to High Line Park later this month.  On May 26th the “hot dog stand” will open at the Chelsea Market Passage on 10th Avenue between 15th and 16th streets.

The menu will be smaller with the classic dog, veggie dog, smoked cheddar brat, hamburger and veggie burger.

Bark’s operation in Brooklyn Bridge Park also returns this spring, with an additional sixty-seat indoor space. It will have the same menu as the High Line stand, but with the thirst-quenching addition of draft and canned beer, as well as wine.

Both locations will be open through at least mid-October.

(credit: NYSF)

We first spotted NYC Healthy Bites on 14th St near Union Square one weekend, but didn’t have a chance to try them until Choice Streets.  At Choice Streets, we only had a sample taste of their food, but last week we had a chance to visit them for lunch.

For a while, they were uptown by Columbia University for lunch, but have recently been coming downtown to West 4th St by NYU.

All the hot dogs and sausages are organic.  The hot dogs are made by Applegate Farms and the sausages are made by Al Fresco.  They had a special of any 2 style hot dogs for $7.75, so I ordered a Diablo Dog and a Sweet Dog.

Diablo Dog (credit: NYSF)

You have a few choices to make before lunch is served.  There are two types of hot dogs (beef & chicken), two types of sausages (spicy jalapeño chicken and sweet Italian chicken), and a vegan sausage (Italian with basil & sun-dried tomato). The buns are  either classic or whole wheat.  Then there are 7 different styles to choose from on the menu.

I started with a beef Diablo Dog on a classic bun with cheese.  This had chopped red onions, tomatoes and a spicy cilantro sauce.

The beef hot dog was garlicky and beefy, much more so than a regular street hot dog, although it was the same size.  The cilantro sauce was actually pretty spicy, with the raw red onions adding a little more bite and the chopped tomatoes cooling things off a little, but only a little.   Guess that’s why they call it a diabl0 (devil) dog.

The shredded cheddar and jack cheese looked nice, but were kind of buried by the cilantro sauce.  Overall the Diablo Dog dog was decent, but next time I would probably get a German Dog with sauerkraut, onions, paprika and spicy brown mustard.

Sweet Dog (credit: NYSF)

For the Sweet Dog I got a chicken hot dog on a whole wheat bun.  It was topped with grilled caramelized onions and sweet pickle relish mayo sauce.

Biting into the hot dog, my first reaction was about the sauce.  It was basically Russian dressing with a fancy name.  I like Russian dressing on salad or a Reuben sandwich, but it was never my condiment of choice on a hot dog.

The onions were good and the whole wheat bun was a nice change of pace, but the chicken dog was curiously bland.  I took a bite of the dog without any toppings to be sure, and I was right – this was a boring hot dog.

While I wouldn’t recommend the chicken hot dog, the beef dog was tasty.  The sausages looked interesting too.

You can find NYC Healthy Bites on twitter here or on our Mobile Munchies twitter feed.  They seem to be either by Columbia or NYU most days, so check twitter to find them.  We have no idea where they will be once school’s out.

(credit: NYSF)

See below for UPDATE.

We don’t usually post on weekends, but this is special!

Last year at Taste of the Parks, our friends at Kelvin Slush told us about a new cart they won a bid for with the NYC Parks Dept.  We were even more excited than usual because the park they were coming to was in our neighborhood!

Today we were out running errands and ran across the new Kelvin Slush cart in the Little Red Park on the corner of Bleecker St & 6th Ave!  It has all the same great menu items that helped them win the 2010 Vendy Award for Best Dessert.

Now you know where to get a Kelvin Slush without having to worry about where the truck is.  Once the new cart is up and running, they expect it to be open from 12-9pm seven days a week.  Lots of train come into the West 4th St Station, and Kelvin is only a couple of blocks away.

For our inaugural slush from Kelvin’s Ice Cube, we had our new friend Josh make a ginger base with raspberry mixed in. What an amazing combination!

UPDATE 5/6/12 – The Ice Cube will not be out for a few days so they can tweak some things on the cart.  We will let you know when it returns.

(credit: NYSF)

(credit: NYSF)

We first saw the Rouge Tomate cart at last year’s Taste of the Parks event, where the NYC Parks Dept were showing off some of the new vendors in various NYC parks.  The Rouge Tomate cart served a chilled white gazpacho soup made with cucumbers, grapes, almonds and whole yogurt pureed into a small, delicious taste of 3 or 4 bites.

Rouge Tomate is a restaurant at 10 East 60th St, but their cart is on 5th Ave at 64th St, right outside the Central Park Arsenal and one of the Central Park Zoo entrances.

We heard the cart opened last week, and the menu was totally revamped.  Instead of grilled cheese, BLT’s and other sandwiches, they switched to burgers, and one in particular caught our eye – the Moroccan chicken burger for $8.

(credit: NYSF)

I’m not usually a big fan of chicken or turkey burgers, but with Moroccan spices in the meat, harissa, and a minted yogurt sauce, it was worth taking a chance.

My hunch was proven right when I opened the container.  Maybe is was the dappled sunlight poking through the trees in Central Park, but this was one of the most beautiful grilled burgers I’ve seen.  It literally glistened in the sun.

(credit: NYSF)

While the burger was the centerpiece of lunch, there were plenty of other ingredients, both above and below the patty.

The soft bun was whole wheat and came from Amy’s Bread.  On the bottom half of the roll were arugula, grilled onions and red & yellow bell pepper slices.  The chicken patty was next, then a big slice of rouge tomate (red tomato), minted yogurt sauce, and the top of the bun, which had harissa spread on it.

At home recently we’ve been making Moroccan meatballs with a minted yogurt sauce, and this was in the same family, but even better.  Minted yogurt sauce goes even better with chicken than it does with beef, and the grilled bell peppers and onions really added to the taste of the burger.

They also had small containers of pickled vegetables like jalapeños, carrots and more.  They were a nice side snack while I was eating the burger.

(credit: NYSF)

This had to be one of my favorite new lunches of the year.  Bistro Truck also does great Moroccan food, but they haven’t been out yet this year due to bureaucratic problems with the city.

My only complaint during lunch was with Mother Nature.  I wanted to try one of their ice cream sandwiches, but it was just too cold and windy.  Oh well, that gives me an excuse to go back again when the weather gets warmer.

The Rouge Tomate cart has a twitter account here, but it’s not like the location or menu changes.  In this case, that’s a good thing, because this lunch was delicious!

Wooly's Ice wins Best Dessert (credit: NYSF)

Update - Just heard from Danny, and they hit a snag with their opening.  They will be back out very soon, and we will keep you updated on exactly when.

Last year’s Vendy Award Winner for Best Dessert, Wooly’s Ice, will be coming out of hibernation and kicking off their season on Tuesday, May 1st.

Danny (middle of photo) from Wooly’s Ice told us about some changes in store for this season, including their location and a new menu item.

Starting tomorrow May 1st, Wooly’s Ice and their yellow shaved ice machine (below) will be at South St Seaport all summer, through the end of October.  Their hours will be from 12-9pm, and they are expected to be open 7 days a week!

Wooly's ice shaver in action (credit: NYSF)

Wooly’s will also be at various events throughout the summer including the Brewers Picnyc over Memorial Day weekend at Governors Island.  They snuck out one night recently at the Taiwanese Night Market, that was hosted by TAP-NY.

The most exciting news is that the menu has been updated with a brand new flavor: Mango! The new mango flavor will be served at least for the first month of operation.

You can follow Wolly’s Ice on twitter here or on our Mobile Munchies twitter feed.

Shaved ice with brownies, strawberries & leche sauce (credit: NYSF)

(credit: NYSF)

I have been to the My Biryani cart on 44th St just west of 6th Ave a few times, but never tried their kati rolls.  Time to remedy that situation.  The “gold standard” for kati rolls is Biryani Cart exactly two blocks north, but I already know how good those are.

My Biryani seemed like a ripoff of Biryani Cart when they first came out in August 2010, but seem to have come into their own recently.  In addition to kati rolls and biryani, they now have two “lunch boxes” (one meat and one veggie), which have 3 different types of Indian food in each lunch box.  The meat one looked particularly interesting with chicken tikka masala, palak chicken (a spinach base) and dal over rice for $6.

The chicken, “lamb” or veggie kati rolls, which are $3.50 each or 2 for $6.  I wasn’t in the mood for gyro meat (‘lamb”), so I got one each of chicken and veggie.

(credit: NYSF)

I tried the chicken kati roll first, in which chapati bread was stuffed with chopped pieces of white and dark meat chicken and a few grilled onions.  You can’t tell from the picture, but it was was about 7.5″ long, a decent size.

This was more a hybrid of Indian and halal street meat than straight Indian food.  The chapati bread was Indian, but the three sauces added were white, hot and green.  The first two are the standard sauces on halal carts, and I’ve seen more of carts with the green sauce lately, which is herby and usually spicy.

Between the hot sauce and green sauce, this kati roll had a nice kick, and the white sauce added a little creaminess.

The veggie roll was filled with an assortment including string beans, carrots, potatoes, lettuce, onions and more.  The sauces were the same, and it was just as spicy, as the chicken kati roll.  My sinuses have been acting up lately, and the spiciness of these rolls actually helped.

(credit: NYSF)

The kati rolls at My Biryani cart are good, but not great.  Two of these for $6 is still a tasty and filling lunch, but they really can’t compare to the original Biryani Cart just two blocks north.

I do want to go back and try the chicken lunch box though. He made it for someone else while I was waiting, and the chicken tikka masala and paka chicken (spinach base) both looked good.

My Biryani doesn’t tweet or have a website, but if you’re by 44th St & 6th Ave, they are an inexpensive, safe food cart.

One of the better and more unique vendors in midtown is the Trini-Paki Boys cart on the south side of 43rd St just east of 6th Ave.  They serve a good chicken over rice dish, but their daily specials are what you should ask about before ordering.

There could be jerk chicken, goat curry, chicken tikka masala, beef stew, oxtail stew, shark bake (not actually shark), or any number of other Caribbean and Pakistani dishes. You see the food is a combination of cuisines, just as the married owners are – one is Trinidadian and one is Pakistani.

Several of these specials were available when I recently visited, and I went for a small portion of chicken tikka masala for $6 and a Trinidadian double for $2.

Inside a Trinidadian double (credit: NYSF)

I started with the double, made by putting two thin pancakes on the grill.  When they were warmed up, he spooned some curried chickpeas and tamarind sauce onto one, put the other pancake on top, then closed it up in foil.

The double was definitely spicy, tasted of curry, and was a little sweet & tangy from the tamarind sauce.   It reminded me a little of ka-chori, an Indian dish I’ve had.  One double was somewhat filling, so I’m glad I got a small portion of chicken tikka masala, which was not so small.

(credit: NYSF)

Pieces of grilled white and dark meat chicken were placed atop basmati rice, and a little hot sauce was added.  This wasn’t like chicken tikka masala you get in Indian restaurants, it was more a homemade version.  There was a little celery and cabbage, which still crunched, and a few chickpeas.

If I didn’t know what this was, I would have guessed curry chicken, because that’s what it tasted like to me.  Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but don’t expect a textbook version of chicken tikka masala.

The small container was jam-packed to the top, and the basmati rice underneath was very nicely flavored.  You can get a medium portion for $7 and a large for $8, but you probably won’t need that unless you have a big appetite.

The Trini-Paki Boys cart doesn’t tweet or have a website, but they have delicious Caribbean and Pakistani food every weekday on the south side of 43rd St just east of 6th Ave.  You’ll be able to recognize them by the line of regulars at lunchtime

(credit: NYSF)

(credit: NYSF)

Yesterday we told you about what we thought was a new food truck from the sibling team behind the Bian Dang and Fishing Shrimp trucks.

Last night we ventured out to 4th Ave & President St in Brooklyn to see for ourselves, and found a brand new food cart.  The way things are going in NYC with food trucks these days, a cart is a cheaper and safer way to go.  Then you only have to worry about other vendors, not the police too.

It was only their 2nd day on the street, and they want to roll things out slowly, so they only had one item, Five Spice Pork Belly Buns.  They cost $3 each.

Click through to find out how it was, as well as to get a look at their future menu.

Pork bun at the cart (credit: NYSF)

The above photo is not my best one, but it gives you an idea what the pork buns look like as served at the cart.  I also took some buns home for my family, and that photo (below) is not as pretty, but gives you a better idea of what’s inside the bun.

The buns themselves were pillow soft, but are made for eating right away.  The juices from the meat soak through where the bun folds fairly quickly, so try not to travel too far before eating it.

The pulled pork was slow cooked and really tender.  The meat was topped with crushed peanuts, cilantro and the same chopped mustard greens found in Bian Dang’s dishes.

Overall it was pretty tasty, but was saltier than I like.  I could taste the five spice powder, but would have liked a stronger hand on it.  Everyone’s taste is different, but a little less salt and a little more five spice powder is my recommendation.  Don’t get me wrong – it was still really good.  I’m talking more fine-tuning than major overhaul.

Pork bun at home (credit: NYSF)

Thomas told me the next bun will be lemongrass chicken marinated with garlic and shallot infused fish oil and topped with homemade daikon and carrot relish.

The final bun they expect to roll out is spicy beef shank stewed with star anise, cinnamon and cloves and topped like the pork bun, with pickled mustard greens, crushed peanuts and cilantro.

As for where they will be parking the cart, Thomas told me that will be a matter of trial and error.  The first two days were in the Financial District, but it was tough finding a good spot.  I recommended certain parts of midtown to him, so we’ll see.

One thing that seems certain is dinner in the 4th Ave/President St area of Brooklyn.  It’s only a few blocks from the commissary where they park the cart overnight, so stopping there for a few hours makes perfect sense.  For those of us who don’t live around there, it’s right by the Union St station on the R train.

I’m looking forward to trying the other two buns, especially the spicy beef.  Cinnamon, clove and star anise is a popular spice combination in my house, and it should be delicious with some heat on one of these buns.

You can follow Fun Buns NYC on twitter here.