New York Street Food

(credit: NYSF)

Walking by Union Square last week, we were surprised to see A-Pou’s Taste on 17th St, just west of Broadway. A-Pou’s Taste were Vendy Award Finalists in 2011 in the Rookie of the Year category, but we haven’t been there lately.

We were even more surprised to see a Basil Chicken special for $6. A-Pou’s Taste is known for their long, skinny dumplings, of which they have 4 types (beef, pork, chicken & veggie). This is the first time we’re trying anything from A-Pou’s Taste that isn’t a dumpling.

Not too long ago, we had basil chicken from Tuk Tuk Boy, a Thai cart, so this is a good opportunity to compare the two basil chicken dishes, which were quite different.

(credit: NYSF)

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(credit: NYSF)

We first ran across A-Pou’s Taste in mid-2010, when they were nominated in the Rookie of the Year category at the Vendy Awards.  Their cart is usually in the East Village around St Marks Place, and they fell off our radar for a while, as they don’t tweet or have a website.

Recently about 10 food trucks and carts were by NYU for an event, and A-Pou’s Taste was one of them.

They have 4 different types of dumplings (pork, beef, chicken and veggie) and a few other dishes.  We got a medium-sized order of pork pot stickers, which is 10 for $6.

(credit: NYSF)

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Souvlaki GR wins Vendy for Rookie of the Year

As we mentioned in our post about the Vendy Award winners, Souvlaki GR won the Rookie of the Year category.  Not a big surprise, as they had the longest lines of all the Rookie vendor nominees.  We’ve been talking about Souvlaki GR since before they hit the street at the end of August.  Thanks for backing up our hot air with your delicious food!

Souvlaki GR before the masses descended

The Rookie of the Year category was a very diverse field.  In addition to Souvlaki GR, there was Mexicue, Cinnamon Snail, 99% Vegetarian Food and A-Pou’s Taste.

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Last night was the first chance I had to try A-Pou’s Taste, a Vendy Award Finalist in the Rookie of the Year Category.  They recently opened a 2nd cart on the SW corner of 72nd St and Broadway that opens at 4pm and runs into the evening.  I went at 7pm and forgot to ask what time they closed, but would expect them to be open until at least 9 or 10 pm depending upon the night.

A-Pou’s Taste brings Chinatown to the Upper West Side, including the prices.  Their first cart alternates between Astor Place and the Financial District.  The main dishes are pot stickers and what they call “Chinese spaghetti”.  They also have a couple of soups.  Since it was my first time there, I tried some of each.

The pot stickers come in pork, beef, chicken or vegetable.  Unfortunately, they only had pork when I got there.  They were waiting for a delivery of the other kinds, but weren’t sure when they would arrive, so I got the pork.  They sell 5 pot stickers and Chinese spaghetti for $6 or 10 pot stickers and Chinese spaghetti for $8, which I bought. You can also get just 5, 10 or 15 pot stickers.

The pot stickers were long and narrow.  They appeared to be steamed in advance, and then grilled a bit when you order.  The filling was ground pork and chive, and they squirted soy sauce on the pot stickers after they were put in the container.  They were a little bit oilier than I expected, although some of the liquid was soy sauce and some was oil.

They tasted pretty good, but I can’t say they were the best pot stickers I’ve ever had.  Don’t get me wrong – they were good, just not amazing.  I would like to try some of their other dumplings though, and should get a chance at the Vendy Awards tomorrow.

The Chinese spaghetti was basically vegetable lo mein, with some carrots, green bell pepper slivers and onions.  The sauce was a little pepper-y and the hot chili sauce on the side certainly added some heat, but the noodles could have been cooked less.  It was an ok side dish, but I preferred the pot stickers.

They had 2 types of soup – hot and sour soup and corn chowder.  I got a small container of the corn chowder for $2.  A larger size was available for $3.

The corn chowder was nice and creamy with the definite taste of chicken broth.  There was a decent amount of corn, potatoes and scrambled egg (the kind you get in egg drop soup).  I didn’t try the hot and sour soup, but was certainly pleased with the taste of the corn chowder.

With the Vendy Awards tomorrow, there will be plenty of other opinions online about A-Pou’s Taste by the end of the weekend.  IMHO, they were good, but will have a difficult time winning the Rookie of the Year category over Mexicue, Souvlaki GR and the Cinnamon Snail.

The final Vendy Award nominees were announced today – for Rookie of the Year.  Last year was the first time there was a Rookie of the Year category, and the winner – Schnitzel & Things – has moved up to the main Vendy Award category this year.

This year’s Rookie of the Year nominees are (in alphabetical order):

A-Pou's Taste

A-Pou’s Taste: We have not yet had the opportunity to try the Taiwanese pot sticker dumplings of Wen Pin, who named the truck after his grandmother.  Here’s a quote from the Vendy Award website: “My life is better because of these pot stickers. Even during this hot summer, I looked forward to eating here several times a week and inhaled a plate of 10 with joy. The vendors are incredibly nice. This is an excellent addition to the street food world in NYC.”.  They are in the East Village (Astor Pl & Lafayette St) and Financial District (Broadway & Liberty St) from 11:00AM ~ 10:00PM and their twitter address is @Apouspotsticker.

Cinnamon Snail

Cinnamon Snail: Adam Sobel started his organic, vegan food truck last year, and it usually operates in Hoboken and Red Bank, NJ, although he did make it into the city for the NYC Food Film Festival and Parked.

Adam’s donuts and pastries are amazing, and his savory dishes disprove the notion that vegan food has to be bland.  Adam loves using those chili peppers, and creates intricate and complex dishes using a whole host of organic and vegan ingredients that you would never know were. twitter@veganLunchTruck and website www.cinnamonsnail.com

Mexicue

Mexicue:A combination of Mexican and barbecue - what’s not to love? David Schillace and Thomas Kelly serve up short rib tacos, smoked chicken sliders, chorizo tacos and pulled pork sliders.

However, if you want to know just how good they are, we’re huge carnivores, and our favorite dish from Mexicue is their bbq beet tacos. twitter @Mexicue and website www.MexicueNY.com

Souvlaki GR

Souvlaki GR: Our interest was piqued ever since we ran across a tweet that said “Souvlaki truck passed it’s inspection today…so proud, we are.  Gettin’ ready, folks! Guess i better crack open my “twitter for dummies”!”  We’ve been in touch with Abby, Pavlos, Kosta and their gang since before they hit the streets, and found out that we live in the same neighborhood too!

Once Souvlaki GR was out on the street, we’ve enjoyed some great, authentic chicken souvlaki, pork souvlaki, and beefteki.  Don’t forget to order the Greek fries with crumbled feta, thyme and oregano. twitter @ souvlakitruck and website www.souvlakigr.com

99% Vegetarian Food

99% Vegetarian Food: We were lucky enough to try 99% Vegetarian in midtown back in March, before they decided to move downtown for good.  Brothers Michael and Sergio Susano are now permanently stationed in the Financial District.  For everyone who asks what the other 1% is, the answer is chicken!

We enjoyed a sampler plate of their vegetarian chili, curried tofu scramble (which looked and tasted just like scrambled eggs), and our favorite – the mashed sweet potatoes.  Yum!

Congratulations to all the Vendy Rookie of the Year Finalists.  We look forward to seeing (and tasting) you at the Vendy Awards on Sept 25th.