New York Street Food

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.

Mexicue, our current NYSF Featured Vendor, tipped us off to a really cool event next month.

The Brooklyn Brewery and Edible are presenting a 5-course dinner featuring their beer and food from the following Vendy Award nominated food trucks – Mexicue, Souvlaki GR, Rickshaw Dumplings and Van Leeuwen Artisan Ice Cream.

The event costs $40 per ticket and is being held on Wed, March 23rd from 6-9pm at the Brooklyn Brewery (79 North 11th St, Brooklyn).

Tickets are not on sale yet, but we will be sure to let you know when they are.  Sounds like an awesome event!

Souvlaki GR

Thursday, August 26th is Van Leeuwen Free Ice Cream Day, presented by Gilt City New York.  To find out where the free ice cream will be, click here.

Gilt City is a website with the latest deals.  They comb through hundreds of neighborhoods and countless things to do, and boiled it all down for you.

Savor food whipped up by top chefs, score tickets to that sold out show you’ve been dying to see, and if you need dry-cleaning delivered to your door, yes, Gilt City can help with that, too.  They capture the best of your city and gives it to you for less — much less.

With temperatures approaching the 90′s today, the Huffington Post had a feature on the 10 Best Cold Treats In NYC.  Their favorite – and the favorite of many New Yorkers – is Van Leeuwen Artisan Ice Cream (VLAIC).  We’re delighted that a food truck received the top honor.  Quite appropriate for ice cream.

With 2 trucks – Panda and Roo – and a fairly new storefront in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, VLAIC has captured the taste buds of New Yorkers and in-the-know visitors alike.  It’s hard to disagree with their findings.  Earl Grey Tea flavored ice cream is a particular favorite of ours.  Unfortunately, Huff Po didn’t offer them birthday greetings, as they just turned 2 years old yesterday.

Click the following link for the rest of the cold treat list. [Huffington Post]

Some people think the end game for a food truck is to open a brick-and-mortar restaurant or store and put the ol’ truck up on cinder blocks, metaphorically speaking.  While some food trucks, such as the Dessert Truck, did this, it’s becoming much more common for a food truck vendor to open a physical location and keep the wheels on the truck turning.  The list keeps getting longer every day.

Calexico Carne Asada cart

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