(credit: NYSF)
Seoul Food may not have been the first Korean food truck in NYC, but since they hit the street a little over a year ago, they have become a stalwart of the scene.
We’ve slowly been working our way down the menu, but never tried their buns and sliders. You can get 2 sliders for $5.95, and a bun for $3.50, which is exactly what we did.
(credit: NYSF)
(credit: NYSF)
Are food trucks getting too successful for their capabilities? That’s the question I walked away with after ordering from Seoul Food, the Korean food truck that has been around since last December. I asked the same question after waiting 30 minutes at Cinnamon Snail last week.
There were a lot of people who already ordered and were waiting for their lunch when I walked up. The guy taking my order said 10 minutes, which seemed optimistic. After waiting 15 minutes and starting to see people who ordered after me get their food, I went to the pick-up window. To my surprise, they didn’t have an order with my name on it. What?! Don’t they know who I am (said with mock indignation)!
I told the woman my order was bibimbap with brown rice, which cost $10.75 after tax. My missing lunch was put together right away, which only took a couple more minutes, and I walked away with my bibimbap. (That would make a great song title – My Bibimbap.)
Settling down for lunch outside a couple of blocks away, it was time to see if lunch was worth the tsuris.
(credit: NYSF)
One of the newer food trucks around is Seoul Food, another Korean vendor to go alongside Korilla BBQ, Big D’s Grub Truck, Kimchi Taco Truck, and Bob & Jo – and that doesn’t even count the Korean carts like Bapcha and Gobuki. Some of these vendors fuse Korean and Mexican cuisine, and some have more traditional Korean food.
Seoul Food serves both. They have fusion cuisine like Korean tacos, burritos and sliders – but they also have more traditional Korean food like bibimbap and rice platters – and they even make a Korean version of the Vietnamese banh mi sandwich, which we had on our First Look back in mid-December on their 2nd day out.
This time we decided to try a Kalbi Short Rib Burrito for $8.50.
Some places pride themselves on the size of their burritos, but this one was only about 6.5 inches long. When ordering you have a choice of brown or white rice, a flour or whole wheat tortilla, and spicy mayo or low-fat sour cream.
It was pretty thick and full though. Inside the wrap there was plenty of marinated short rib, romaine lettuce, cheddar cheese, kimchi aioli, onions, cilantro, the rice and spicy mayo.
The first bite was spicy and sweet, with the flavor of the marinated beef and kimchi aioli front and center. The kalbi really caught my attention, as it had more sweetness from the mirin-type marinade than many of the other Korean vendors.
The burrito was a bit spicy, but not too much, with the rice, lettuce and cheese moderating the amount of spiciness.
This was a very tasty burrito, and it was filling too. What it lacked in length, it more than made up for in width and flavor. At $8.50 for a burrito or $8.95 for 3 tacos (plus tax), they are a bit pricey, but the food is fresh and tasty, and the portions aren’t skimpy.
You can follow Seoul Food on twitter here or on our Mobile Munchies twitter feed with lots of other vendors. You can also see their full menu here, here and here.
There has been an explosion of Korean food trucks in New York in the past year or two. The first one I was aware of was Krave Korean BBQ in Jersey City, then in NYC we got Korilla BBQ, Big D’s Grub Truck, Kimchi Taco Truck, and Bob & Jo – and that doesn’t even count the Korean carts like Bapcha and Gobuki. Some of them fuse Korean and Mexican cuisine and some have more traditional Korean food.
The latest entrant, Seoul Food, serves both. They have fusion cuisine like Korean tacos, burritos and sliders – but they also have more traditional Korean food like bibimbap and rice platters – and they even make a Korean version of the Vietnamese banh mi sandwich.
Seoul Food is also taking social media to the next level by giving away food for social media activity. You can get a free taco by “Liking” them or posting a photo on facebook, or checking in on foursquare. You can get free fries by following them on twitter or tweeting about the truck.
I went to the Seoul Food truck on Friday, which they told me was only their 2nd day in Manhattan, although I know they had a few “soft opening” days about a month ago, both in NYC and Hoboken.
On Friday there were serious problems in the service department, with long waits, point-of-sale equipment issues, and being out of several items by 1:15pm or so.
There were about 10 people in line when I arrived, but it took 20 minutes to even place my order, and another 15 before it was ready. We will make sure to try them again soon to see if the service issues have been sorted out. Please let us know what your experience was like.
As for food, we ordered a banh mi sandwich with sweet & spicy pork ($8.50 plus tax), and got a free taco for liking them on facebook, for which we selected kalbi (short rib).
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