New York Street Food

(credit: NYSF)

In case you were not aware, today in National Garlic Day. In honor of the occasion, we are reviewing Toum, which is the word for “garlic” in Arabic. How can you not love the logo of a smiling head of garlic on the side of the truck.

We’ve had most of the items on Toum’s menu, but one we haven’t tried yet is their kofta sandwich for $8.50. Not being sure how large it was, we also got a side order of fries for $3.

(credit: NYSF)

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(credit: NYSF)

If you enjoy Middle Eastern food, Toum is a definite step up from the unnamed halal carts that populate most corners of midtown and downtown Manhattan. Yes, they are also a little more expensive, but the difference in price is readily apparent in the food.

We have enjoyed several nice lunches from Toum (which means “garlic” in Arabic), but haven’t had a chance to try their go-to dish, chicken shawarma. A couple of times previously, the chicken shawarma sold out before we got there.

This time it was a cold and rainy day, so there was very little chance of the chicken shawarma selling out before we got there. A sandwich costs $7 and a platter is $10, and we went for the sandwich.

When you see what this sandwich looks like being made, you’ll see why it sold out before we could order the last two times we were there.

(credit: NYSF)

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(credit: NYSF)

The Toum food truck has only been serving their authentic Lebanese cuisine to New Yorkers since the middle of the summer, but they seem to be catching on in a big way. Maybe too big, judging by the crowd at the truck recently in midtown.

There were about 18 people waiting for their orders when I walked up, and it took close to 30 minutes to get my order. That long a wait time may keep people from coming back, which would be a shame, because the food is good.

When we ordered, Simon told us there might not be any chicken shawarma left by the time it was our turn, so we ordered the beef kebab platter for $11.

(credit: NYSF)

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(credit: NYSF)

The most recent food truck to hit the street is Toum, which we had a First Look at about two weeks ago.

The second thing we noticed on the menu was Lebanese pizza for $4. Based on the price, this seemed like it would be less than a full meal, so we also ordered a spinach pie for $2.

(credit: NYSF)

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(credit: NYSF)

After leaving an appointment yesterday, we walked up lower Fifth Avenue to 23rd St without a concrete decision of what to get for lunch. In the 10 blocks from 13th to 23rd St, something would probably catch our eye.

As luck would have it, we spotted a new red and white food truck across the street between 20th and 21st St called Toum. Upon closer inspection, there was a picture of a smiling clove of garlic wearing a chef’s toque with a Cedar of Lebanon on it, and “authentic lebanese cuisine” below it. OK, let’s take a closer look.

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