New York Street Food

(credit: NYSF)

Last week we reported about food trucks returning to the old Tavern on the Green site.  We really enjoyed going there last summer, but the city’s Parks Department said it would not allow the trucks to return this season because of upcoming renovations at the site

Pera Turkish Tacos and Van Leeuwen Artisan Ice Cream were reportedly serving towards the end of last week, so we stopped by the site yesterday, pieced some information together, and now we think we know what’s going on.

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(credit: New York Street Food)

Pera Turkish Tacos made some news last summer when they were at the old Tavern on the Green space on West 67th St with a few other food trucks.  Pera was the first food truck in NYC to be granted a liquor license!

Unfortunately, that space was closed for food trucks at the end of last summer, although there’s a beautiful new Central Park Visitors Center in the location.  While the Pera restaurant still exists near Grand Central, the truck kind of fell off the map.

That’s why we were excited to see the Pera Turkish Tacos truck reappear when the LIC Food Truck Lot opened last week.  The only question was if the menu or quality had changed.

What's inside? (credit: New York Street Food)

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The Pera Turkish Tacos truck at Tavern on the Green is the 1st food truck in NYC to be given a liquor license by the NYS Liquor Authority.   By next week, Pera’s Turkish Tacos will offer beer, wine and cocktails (vodka, rum, gin, tequila and whiskey based, including frozen options) during regular operating hours.

But don’t think about taking your drinks into Central Park.  Consumption will be limited to the truck’s assigned seating area in the Tavern on the Green Food Truck Terrace, which is located just south of the intersection of W. 67th Street and Park Drive in Central Park. (more…)

The four food trucks located on the old Tavern On The Green spot (Central Park West & 67th St) will be opening Saturday for the season.  As reported by Zagat Trucks, they will be giving away free food from 2-4pm on Saturday (4/16), and a live band will also be playing.

You probably know Van Leeuwen Artisan Ice Cream and Rickshaw Dumplings, but the other two vendors were unfamiliar to us until we tried them last year…and they were both excellent.

We tried two items from Pera Turkish Tacos last year – lavender & honey roasted chicken on lavash bread ($3.50) and smoked lamb on a zucchini pancake ($3.75).

Both were delicious, but the standout was the zucchini pancake used as a Turkish taco wrapper.  It was eggy with dill, chives and small pieces of zucchini in the batter – and that doesn’t even address the bbq lamb and feta inside!

We are also really looking forward to the grilled spicy shrimp taco from Pera, which we didn’t get a chance to try last year.  Full menu here.

chicken taco in lavash bread (top) & smoked lamb in a zucchini pancake (bottom)

The 4th vendor, Ladle of Love, was very good too.  They serve soups, stews and sandwiches, and I had their beef bourguignon.  You could taste the red wine, beef broth and herbs like bay leaf and thyme in the sauce.

The chef also gave me tastes of two sandwiches to try: a BLT chicken sandwich on ciabatta with chipotle aioli mayo and a serrano ham and manchego cheese with watercress, also on ciabatta bread.  Both were very tasty.  Full menu here.

The Fine Print: The deal lasts from 2–4 PM, and diners can get one menu item from each truck for free.

After Saturday, the trucks will be open every day from 11 AM to dusk throughout the summer.

NYSF Update – 10/19/10:  I received an email from a representative of Pera who told me they are currently operating with a temporary truck while their permanent mobile food unit is being built.  They expect to have that truck in place at Tavern by mid-November and it will enable them to expand the menu a bit, as well as offer seasonal specials.

NYSF Note: I’m currently in London for 10 days, but will be posting reviews of some lunches I haven’t had a chance to post yet.  First up is Pera Turkish Tacos from the new Tavern on the Green food truck plaza which I went to last Friday, the first day it opened.  Here’s my review.

When I heard about the new food truck plaza where Tavern On The Green used to be (CPW & 67^th St), I had to check it out.  In place of where one of the most famous restaurants in the world used to be, there is a new state-of-the-art NYC Visitors Bureau and an open plaza with 4 food trucks permanently parked there – 2 of which were familiar with and 2 which were new

The familiar trucks were Van Leeuwen Artisan Ice Cream and Rickshaw Dumpling Truck, both of which I’ve written about before, so I won’t talk about them now.

The 2 new trucks were Ladle of Love, a soup and stew cart, and Pera, which has Turkish Tacos.  Guess which one I wanted to try first?

Pera is a Turkish restaurant located at 303 Madison Ave, between 41st & 42nd St.  Now they have a truck, and it had two types of tacos with several choices of fillings – lavash bread tacos and zucchini pancake tacos – as well as a hummus bar (3 types), several side dishes, desserts and hot & cold drinks.

Today’s Lunch is lavender & honey roasted chicken on lavash bread ($3.50) and smoked lamb on a zucchini pancake ($3.75).

chicken taco on lavash bread (top) and smoked lamb on a zucchini pancake (bottom)

Below is their full menu.

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