New York Street Food

About 10 days ago we went out to Williamsburg to have a NYSF First Look at the Real Good Truck and their wafflewiches – sandwiches on waffles.  We enjoyed a jalapeño cheddar bratwurst on a fresh waffle that day.

The Real Good Truck has just started coming into Manhattan this week, and we were able to get down to the Flatiron District for lunch.

Last week Matthew gave me a taste of their bbq brisket, which was tasty.  My intention today was to get the BBQ brisketwich, but it wasn’t on the menu, so Today’s Lunch was a yakinikuwich ($7).

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How do you get through a very cold winter’s night in Japan?  If you’re Eric Meal Time, it’s with a can of potato & cheese soup from a vending machine, plus yakitori and a fire-roasted sweet potato from street vendors.

On the New York Street Food Tour over the summer, I told people about how there used to be potato and sweet potato vendors on the streets of New York too.  Hot potatoes were used by people as “pocket warmers” during the day, then made into meals at night.

My mother-in-law, who is around 80, told us about her father coming home from work with potatoes in his pockets, which they would use for part of that night’s dinner.  Now that’s what I call multi-tasking.

1942 - Vendor selling hot sweet potatoes on East 7th St

One of the more striking food trucks we’ve seen lately is Happy Eating in Nashville, which is painted in the popular Japanese anime style.

Steve Haruch from Nashville Scene recently stopped by and I got to sample their take on Japanese street food.  He got the daily special, which was “rice burgers”.

Contrary to the name, they are not burgers made of rice, but two slider-sized beef patties, garnished with pickled daikon and wasabi sauce, and set between a set of rice wheels to form a sticky, meaty treat.   They also came with a serving of sweet potato fries, which were lightly dusted with a curry powder of some sort, plus some wasabi mayo for dipping.   Steve gives several thumbs up to both.

He also ordered a few other dishes.  Click through for the rest of his report, and a copy of the menu.

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One of my favorite meals is ramen.  Nothing like a great broth with noodles and lots of other stuff in it, especially in the cold weather.  After trying some Korean snacks from Ahn-Joo, I came across Rokyo Gourmet Ramen and knew immediately what I was having for dinner at the Highland Park Din-Din-A-Go-Go.

Well, it’s not cold in L.A., but I still was eagerly looking forward to trying ramen from Rokyo.  The sign said their noodles are organic, and they make them fresh every day. They also let you choose which toppings you want in the ramen.

I’ll tell you what toppings I chose after the jump, but just look at this baby! Wow!

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A few weeks ago, I was contacted by the team from Glaze Teriyaki Grill (638 Lexington Ave bet 54-55th St).  They saw our posts raving about Num Pang, and thought that Glaze Teriyaki Grill might also be a good candidate for our Honorary Street Food category.

It’s taken me a while to get there, but I recently did.  My lunch was a combo of salmon and chicken teriyaki ($10) over rice from Glaze Teriyaki Grill.  Might they be the next addition to our Honorary Street Food category?

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