Pulled Pork Waffle from Wafels & Dinges

October 5, 2012 1 Comment

The Wafels & Dinges Truck has been a favorite New York food truck of mine since I first noticed their iconic yellow trucks and carts. I’m not a huge fan of desserts, but something about the way the truck seems to care about its city got my attention. Wafels always sets up a garbage can outside its truck to keep the streets clean, they allow you to take whatever utensils and napkins you might need to not be so wasteful, and the guys on the truck generally have great attitudes and seem to thoroughly enjoy their jobs. Given my appreciation for the truck, I was shocked to find out they offered a pulled pork waffle and I didn’t know about it.

For $10 I got a pulled pork waffle and an iced coffee, a little more than I would’ve liked to spend on lunch but for some food trucks I can make an exception. The waffle itself wasn’t huge, and I was a little worried that I would be hungry afterwards. The idea of mixing sweet and savory also had me a little skeptical about this waffle, but once I took my first bite all my fears disappeared.

The waffle was a perfect mix of savory and sweet, kind of the way you always wished a McDonald’s McGriddle would taste. The waffle has a light syrupy flavor to it which complemented the barbecue sauce and natural sweetness of the pulled pork. Towards the back of the waffle was a mound of fresh cole slaw that was a perfect antidote to the richness of the waffle and pulled pork. I needed a fork and knife to eat this meal, and by the end I was perfectly content.

Wafels & Dinges never ceases to disappoint for a great meal. The even provided a small spekuloos wafer as a dessert, and anyone who has tried Wafels’ spekuloos spread knows how great this unique Belgian sauce is. The pulled pork waffle was just as rich as any dessert, but savory too which made it the perfect lunch. Some people might still be hungry after a lunch like this, but I found it to be a perfect medium between filling me up and keeping me awake enough to get some work done after lunch.

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Food Truck Lunch from the Fishing Shrimp

September 21, 2012 3 Comments

The Fishing Shrimp Truck always seems to be just out reach for lunch, and I had almost given up on ever eating from this truck when I spied it in Midtown on a Wednesday. Fishing Shrimp is usually in Brooklyn, and they stand apart from most other food trucks with their iconic blue truck, and amusing fish and shrimp logo.

As far as I know this is the only truck dedicated to fish and chips in New York City. There are three lobster trucks with a variety of shrimp and lobster rolls, but Fishing Shrimp is unique with battered fish and shrimp, conch fritters, and even fish tacos. I decided to try a small shrimp and chips for $8.

At first glance it seemed like a pretty small basket of food for $8, but taking into account how costly fresh seafood can be, the proportions were actually very fair. I had five large pieced of fried shrimp, served over a basket full of crispy fries. One of my favorite things about this truck is the four types of condiments they lay out in the front for you to choose from. I’ve always thought that a good sauce can make or break a meal, and it was a tough choice for me between the hot sauce, tartar sauce, cocktail sauce and malt vinegar. First I poured malt vinegar all over the platter, and then dipped the fish and chips in hot sauce and tartar sauce.

The breading was light enough on the shrimp that it didn’t overwhelm the flavor at all. The shrimp was delicious, and surprisingly sweet, which complemented the fries very well. The fries themselves were occasionally soggy, but the vinegar gave them a delicious flavor (I’m a big salt and vinegar potato chip fan). In the end the meal was a very satisfying lunch, and the sauces were a perfect addition to this fried meal. Fishing Shrimp was also much less oily than I expected from a meal that was deep fried. I’ll definitely be eating from Fishing Shrimp again, and I’ve already got my eye on their conch fritters.

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Okadaman: Japanese Food Truck More Than Worth the Wait

July 13, 2012 Leave a comment

Okadaman is the new Japanese food truck that just hit New York City, with some of the most unique food I have ever seen coming out a truck. I would describe Okadaman more as a gourmet restaurant on wheels than a food truck; I just wished they had some outdoor seating to provide during the wait.

Okadaman’s signature dish, the okonomiyaki is a Japanese cross between a pancake and an omelet, and made with a interesting mix of traditional ingredients. The name comes from the okonomi, meaning “what you like” and the word yaki, meaning “cooked”.  This dish was originally served n the late 1930’s in Japan, and became increasingly popular during the war when rice became scarce.

The ingredients that go into the batter are a combination of flower, yam, water, eggs, shredded cabbage and green onion. The chefs are very particular about their batter, and even toss it out if it’s not deemed exceptional by the head chef, named Okadaman. Once the batter is placed on the grill you can choose either pork or squid as a topping.

I opted to get the lunch combo of half a squid okonomiyaki and half yakisoba. Yakisoba are fried wheat noodles similar in texture to ramen, and served with bonito flakes and thick slices of pork. At $7.50 for this combo platter, I was more than pleased with the amount of food I was served, and genuinely shocked at how good it all tasted.

The okonomiyaki has a smooth creamy taste, paired with the salty, fishy flavors from the bonito, and a delicious sweetness from the brown and white sauces gave the entire dish a deep combination of flavors. The yakisoba was just as good, with a slightly smoky taste, the familiar crunch of ramen noodles and savory hunks of pork.

Since eating from Okadaman I haven’t been able to stop raving about how good the food is; only it took about thirty minutes for my food to be prepared after I ordered. Nonetheless, I know I’ll return soon, probably for their takoyaki (octopus balls) which I’ve sampled in sushi restaurants but would love to try from an authentic truck like this.

You can now Pre-Order lunch from Okadaman here

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Bongo Brothers: New York’s Cuban Food Truck

July 5, 2012 Leave a comment

For lunch today I tried New York City’s Cuban food truck, Bongo Brothers, looking for the perfect meal for a hot summer day. This truck usually operates downtown or in the West Village during lunch time, but they ventured to Midtown twice this week.  Bongo Brothers first caught my attention with their dreamy truck design, sparsely decorated with a red and yellow palm tree logo that made me crave a vacation, hopefully their food would take care of that.

Offering sandwiches, platters and sides, I decided to get the $9 ropa vieja platter, shredded flank steak with red peppers and sautéed onions, served with white rice, black beans, and two platano maduros (sweet plantains). The meal was nicely packaged in a plastic container, which helped keep all of the flavor locked in on my walk back to the office.

The platter contained far more meat than I anticipated; almost half the box was filled with shredded steak, which is more than I can say for most meat platters I’ve eaten. Though the meat was plentiful, it wasn’t as flavorful as I had hoped. The sweetness from the plantains added a good amount of flavor though, and complemented the meat’s flavor and texture very well. The rice and beans were consistently good, and were slightly flavored from the generous helping of steak on top. The meal also came with a small bun that I assumed was meant to accompany the meat to make a small sandwich – which is exactly what I did.

Though the ‘ropa vieja’ itself wasn’t as flavorful as I had hoped, the side dishes and the quantity of meat provided more than made up for this. Bongo Brothers offers a good lunch at a great price, and in addition to the items I mentioned they have several other sandwiches and platters I would love to try, like the Cuban sandwich, the marinated pork and the mojo chicken.

You can pre-order from Bongo brothers and skip the lines here.

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Comme Ci Comme Ca Revisited

May 17, 2012 Leave a comment

It’s been a while since I’ve eaten from Comme Ci Comme Ca (also known as Chef Samir Truck), and after having a positive experience the first time there I decided to go back for seconds. For those who do not know, Comme Ci Comme Ca is a Mediterranean food truck that roams Midtown and the Financial District on weekdays.

Comme Ci Comme Ca is completely unlike any other food truck I’ve eaten. At first I thought it was a variation of the chicken over rice trucks, serving cous cous and grilled vegetables to give it more of a gourmet kick. However this truck never ceases to defy my expectations, and after eating a delicious kofte sandwich the first time I went, I knew I needed to try the Moroccan cous cous I’d heard so much about.

I ordered the beef cous cous platter for $9, and made sure to get as much sauce on it as possible. The cous cous platter came with a variety of grilled vegetables that you don’t ordinarily see in street meat. Among the veggies I could identify were butternut squash, zucchini, turnips, carrots and chick peas. The vegetables were spread out over a platter of warm, spiced cous cous with generous slices of beef. Flavored with dill, rosemary and other seasonings, the beef was amazing combined with the spicy Andalusian sauce and the spicy mint sauce. The starchy vegetables made the dish very filling, and added a great contrast to the beef.

Now that Comme Ci Comme Ca comes to Midtown fairly often, I was able to try one of his daily specials as well, a Beirut sandwich, with ground chicken, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, hummus and a variety of sauce wrapped in a pita for $7. This was my first time trying ground chicken and I was a little skeptical, but once again Comme Ci Comme Ca prepared a delicious meal. Unfortunately the pita bread didn’t hold the sandwich together very well so I had to eat the sandwich with a fork, but I didn’t mind at all. The meat was perfectly grilled and spiced again, and the sauces gave the chicken a perfect texture.

Comme Ci Comme Ca has a great menu for vegetarians as well; it seems these guys don’t miss a beat with their lunch menu. They usually park on 50th Street and Park Avenue on Wednesdays.

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Authentic Jamaican Food from Jerk Pan

April 27, 2012 Leave a comment

After weeks of seeing the popular Jamaican food truck Jerk Pan parked on 48th Street and Park Avenue, I decided to see if the large crowds had it right, and Jerk Pan really is as good as it seems. The truck has an expansive menu with entrees, sides and drinks all in different sizes. By the time I arrived their signature jerk chicken was already sold out, so I tried a curry lamb platter with rice and beans and fresh salad.

The only thing about Jerk Pan that got me a little nervous was watching the vendors prepare my food. Most food trucks have their meat semi-prepared, then cook it fully, assemble it and serve. Jerk Pan had their meat and gravy in grey containers which they scooped up, wiped along the side of the container to remove excess gravy and then slopped over the rice in a ready to go box. I’ve seen Chinese restaurants doing this a thousand times, just something about watching it happen in a food truck made me think twice about my order, but I pushed on, paid my $9 and got my curry lamb to go.

Authentic Jamaican meat comes right off the bone, and Jerk Pan’s lamb is no different. There were pieces of bone as plentiful as the meat, so this is definitely a meal you need to get a little messy with to eat. As for the taste, it was exceptional; I love spicy food, and Jerk Pan’s gravy packed a good amount of heat but definitely was not overwhelming enough to undermine the flavor of the sauce. The lamb was very tender, and the rice and beans were well cooked, and complemented the meat and gravy perfectly.

Overall I found Jerk Pan to be as authentic as it gets. To quote Midtown Lunch, the ‘anemic salad’ they served as a side was just some lettuce and tomatoes, and I didn’t bother eating much of that, but the remainder of the meal was delicious, and extremely filling. Though $9 is a little more than I would like to pay from a food truck, the food was well worth it, and I learned that when it comes to food appearances can definitely be deceiving.

In just a week you can order from Jerk Pan on FoodtoEat.com

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Pizza is More Popular Now Than Ever

April 13, 2012 Leave a comment

Consumer research surveys recently determined that more Americans are eating pizza now than ever before. 41% of those that took the survey said they now eat pizza at least once a week, while 26% said they did two years ago.

There are many reasons why this change in pizza consumption might have occurred. According to the LA Times this is due to a change in pizza variety. Unique pizzas with diverse toppings and new gourmet options have attracted new customers, and the quality of frozen pizzas has drastically improved, with taglines comparing them to popular delivery options.

Major pizza chains have also made improvement in the quality of their products. Dominoes recently changed its recipe in response to complaints about their pizzas, and Papa John’s continues to market the superior ingredients in their pizzas. In addition to chains, many small pizza retailers are offering competitive prices on their pies and slices, as the $1 slice is becoming increasingly popular in many urban areas. The New York Times recently reported on a price war between two Midtown pizzerias, as they lowered their prices to 75 cents a slice just to stay competitive with each other.

Pizza is certainly one of the more cost-effective foods out there, but the economy cannot be wholly responsible for the pizza growth, since the economy was worse two years ago before this spike in consumption. Ultimately the quality and variety of pizza is making it more appetizing to consumers, and the industry continues to find ways to make pizza profitable.

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Goat Eats Pizza at Midtown Pizzeria

March 12, 2012 1 Comment

Last week at Famous Famiglia restaurant in Midtown, Manhattan, a goat was spotted eating pizza inside the restaurant. A couple was dining at the restaurant on Wednesday night at around 11pm, and a goat which reportedly belonged to them began eating pizza with them as well, placing its two front hooves on the table, while the woman fed it pizza from her slice which appeared to have spinach on it.

Soon enough a crowd began to gather around the unlikely trio and people passing outside began snapping photos of the unlikely restaurant-guest and its Italian-style meal. The couple continued to feed the goat and paid little attention to the crowd that had gathered around them. The goat was reportedly the size of a large dog, and wore a red leash.

Famous Famiglia Pizza on 50th and Broadway has had famous visitors before, chosen as the location for a “pizza summit” in 2011 with Donald Trump and Sarah Palin. This goat has received it’s fare share of media attention recently, as the subject of several online articles and now with its own twitter account, @pizza_goat.

Famous Famiglia worker Lona Asaneni said “I don’t know who let the goats in because we normally don’t even let dogs in, but it’s big news around the pizza joint”.

Others theorized that the goat may have been a service animal or a “seeing-eye goat”.

Some customers were concerned about the sanity of having a goat eat with them, but most simply appreciated the humor of the situation. Famous Famiglia Pizza is one of New York City’s premiere pizza establishments, and if you would like to eat as well as a goat, you can order online and try their food here. Ordering now gets you 5% off, we like to call it the goat special.

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Offices in Peril, Cannot Order Lunch

January 9, 2012 Leave a comment

Last Friday the ‘premier’ online food ordering website Seamless.com crashed during peak hours, leaving thousands of people stranded without their daily company-funded lunches. Seamless immediately worked to resolve the problem, tweeting up a storm replying to people’s complaints and hurrying to ‘fix a site issue’ and asking their users to ‘follow us and DM us so we can make it up to you’.

The greater problem at hand here is that too many people rely on one website to get access to their food. In today’s world where menus have become largely obsolete and so many people have developed a phone-phobia (speaking on the phone, that is), it’s hard to imagine how to get food delivered to you without Seamless. Particularly in offices where Seamless Corporate Accounts dominate, with the website down how will employees be reimbursed for their meals and what will they do without that handy ‘repeat previous order’ option?

Offices work with multiple firms and clients to ensure that if one sector goes down the others will remain profitable. The same logic should hold true for an office’s dining needs. Large corporations that subject their employees to long hours rely on food ordering services like Seamless to provide an edible perk to keep their employees lively. These employees order the meal of their choice and get it fully refunded through Seamless House Accounts by participating companies. For these participating companies Seamless crashing disrupted their online ordering and will no doubt become a headache for payroll.

One office manager in Midtown, Manhattan preordered pizza a day in advance, and was shocked to find that the pizza arrived early at an unscheduled time. In her case, Seamless’ servers failed to hold the order until the next day, immediately releasing it to the pizzeria and causing an unwanted confrontation between the office manager and the pizzeria owner.

While mistakes can be expected from any service, the current system offices use of relying on only one ordering service is inefficient and potentially costly. For individuals who could not order online, they picked up a menu or used another online ordering service to get their meals. There are currently at least four other online ordering services in New York City which all charge restaurants and companies far less than Seamless. In the coming months, hopefully the current model will change so that the next time Seamless crashes, we’ll be ready.

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Big D’s Grub Truck does Tacos Right

December 15, 2011 Leave a comment

Today’s lunch was from the well known Big D’s Grub Truck, an Asian-South American fusion truck that has tacos, sandwiches, a full breakfast menu, dumplings and fries and now even rice platters. The truck has a different location every day, but frequents midtown on Thursdays and Fridays. Big D, also known as Dennis, derives his style of food from the traditional cooking he grew up with, a blend of Chinese, Guyanese and Southern-style cooking.

I’ve had his grinders (sandwiches) before, so I decided to try his tacos this time. 3 tacos for $7 is a great deal in my book and I got to mix and match the flavors, getting bulgogi, spicy pork and spicy chicken. The soft-shell tacos all fit nicely into a box, and each was filled with a variety of appropriate fillings such as scallions, kimchi, cucumber, cilantro and special sauce, all garnished with a lime.

The tacos were perfectly filling, and each had a unique flavor to it. I found the spicy pork taco to be the best, with the pork marinated just perfectly, and paired with fresh kimchi puree that gave the whole taco a spicy kick. The taco shells were just right as well, not to the point where they overwhelmed the flavor of the tacos but complemented it well. The bulgogi taco was also served with kimchi and scallions, and the spicy chicken was a little different, with spicy mayo and cilantro.

I’ve had tacos from Korilla BBQ and the Kimchi Taco Truck before, but I have to say that Big D’s serves my favorite tacos. While Korilla’s tacos are sometimes hit or miss, and Kimchi Taco Truck can overdo the kimchi a little, Big D’s tacos seem to find the perfect balance between savory meat and spicy condiments. For delicious and affordable tacos, order Big D’s.

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