New York Street Food

I had an opportunity to have lunch today at the Calexico Carne Asada cart on Wooster St, and that’s not something that should be taken lightly.

Calexico won the top 2008 Vendy Award with their cart in Soho, and have since expanded with a 2nd Soho cart, two carts in NYC parks, and two restaurants in Brooklyn.  Guess good things do come in pairs!

Their daily special was the Gringo Especial, which we got for Today’s Lunch as a taco, along with a pollo asada taco ($3 each).  You can get most dishes here as tacos, burritos or quesadillas.

Not the best picture we've ever taken, but the food rocked!

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The Vendley Brothers are continuing their takeover of Brooklyn.

After opening two Calexico Carne Asada carts in Soho, winning the 2008 Vendy Award, opening restaurants in Williamsburg and Greenpoint, then another cart in Brooklyn Bridge Park, the brothers have entered into another contract with the NYC Parks Dept to open a Calexico Carne Asada cart in Carroll Park.

According to Pardon Me for Asking via Fork In The Road, the Vendley brothers entered into a 5 year contract for Carroll Park, which is in Carroll Gardens between Smith St and Court St.

The Brooklyn takeover continues.

The recent NYSF Guest Post from Charlotte of Simonseeks.com entitled “An English Girl’s Take On The Best NYC Mobile Eats” reminded us of just how exceptional the food at Calexico Carne Asada is.  And the daily special of ground lamb, cilantro, onions and their “crack” chipotle salsa was the perfect excuse to go there again – so despite the crappy weather, I headed down to Soho for their cart on Wooster St, just north of Prince St.

I’ve had Calexico’s namesake carne asada, chicken and pork, but lamb was a new one.  The options were a quesadilla for $6, tacos for $3 each, or my choice for Today’s Lunch, a burrito for $8.  Click through to find out how the 2008 Vendy Award Winner did with lamb, which can be a fatty and difficult meat to tame.

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Lots of action on the food truck to store (or restaurant) front.

Last weekend we went to brunch at Elephant & Castle on Greenwich Ave in the Village.  Right next door at 70 Greenwich Ave (just east of 7th Ave) is where the new Cupcake Stop Flagship Store will be opening, hopefully in a week or two according to Lev Ekster, the owner (or should we say Cupcake Magnate).  That makes 3 “brick & mortar” locations and 2 trucks for the growing Cupcake Stop empire and 2009 Vendy Award Finalist in the Dessert category.

NYC Cravings

As we mentioned earlier this week, Diana from NYC Cravings told us they were closing the truck for the winter after this week because they were opening a place within a Korean food court at 11 West 32nd St (between 5th & 6th Ave), and they were expecting to open in about 2 weeks.  Now you won’t have to wait until next spring for Taiwanese fried chicken, pork chops, zongzi, tea eggs and more from the 2009 Vendy Award Finalist in the Rookie of the Year category.

Calexico Carne Asada

The Vendley Brothers of Calexico Carne Asada fame, who won the (main category) Vendy Cup in 2008, are about to add another outpost in their slow colonization of New York.  Their new restaurant at 645 Manhattan Ave in Greenpoint, Brooklyn joins the already popular restaurant at 122 Union Street in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn and their two carts currently operating in Soho.  The Union St restaurant won Time Out New York’s Reader’s Choice Award for the Best New Mexican Restaurant of 2010, so expectations are high for this new spot, which is scheduled to open in 1 week.

QBA Cuban Kitchen (in progress)

Last, but certainly not least, the QBA Cuban Kitchen food truck is opening a restaurant on Montclair, NJ.  No wonder we haven’t seen them on the street much lately.  Details are scarce at this point, but we’re sure chef Lynna Martinez and company have something special planned for Montclair.

I had an opportunity to be in Soho around lunchtime, a rarity, so I had to go back to Calexico Carne Asada.  You probably know who they are, but if you don’t, Calexico were winners of the top 2008 Vendy Award.  They currently have 2 carts in Soho (Wooster & Prince and Crosby & Broome), a cart in Brooklyn Bridge Park, and a restaurant at 122 Union Street in Brooklyn.

Today’s Lunch is a carne asada burrito ($8) from the Calexico Carne Asada cart on Wooster.  Are they as good as all the hype?  Click through to find out.

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