Best of Jersey Vendy Award Finalists Announced

The finalists for the Best of Jersey category in the upcoming 2011 Vendy Awards were recently announced. The three finalists are the Cinnamon Snail, Two Pitas in a Pod, and the Taco Truck.
The Cinnamon Snail is an organic vegan truck, offering breakfast and lunch and dessert pastries as well. The truck can usually be found in Hoboken, nearby the train station and has a special brunch menu available Thursday through Sunday. The Cinnamon Snail was chosen because of their unique, creative and ethical food. The owners of the truck are friendly and outgoing, and change their menu seasonally and often update with daily specials.

Two Pitas in a Pod serves Mediterranean food and fusion specials from around the world. The truck can be seen around Hoboken, Jersey City and Newark, and has received a lot of press recently as one of New Jersey’s most renowned food trucks. A lot of the truck’s popularity has stemmed from the friendly, humorous owners of the truck, who provide excellent, timely service. Of course the food is excellent as well, all the sauces are homemade, and the owners grind the meats themselves, taking a great deal of pride in their truck.

The last New Jersey finalist, the Taco Truck, also travels throughout Hoboken, Newark and Jersey City serving authentic Mexican street food. The Truck makes uses locally grown, organic products whenever possible, and constantly creates unique new tacos for its lunch and dinner menus. Their al pastor taco is a fan favorite, and they accept online orders as well. The Taco Truck takes sustainability very seriously as well, and composts and recycles all of their leftover food and packaging.

These three trucks will all be present alongside the finalists from other categories at this years Vendy Awards, September 24^th at Governor’s Island.

2.5 Million New Yorkers Have Trouble Affording Food

Startling news came in from the USDA today about hunger and poverty rates in New York City. The survey measured results from 2008 and 2010, and found that 2.5 million New Yorkers couldn’t afford enough food, a 50 percent increase from a similar survey taken from 2005 and 2007. The data goes deeper to note that 702,000 state residents are classified as officially going hungry, while one in seven cannot afford food at some point in a given year. These results are higher than any ever recorded before, and mark a severe problem in New York.
According to the USDA, numbers leveled off in 2010 after a three year drop, but have taken a turn for the worse. High levels of funding for state-sponsored programs may have accounted for less hunger in recent years, but recent budget cuts may have reversed this. In 2010 President Obama and Congress cut federal funding for food banks, soup kitchens and food pantries by 40% nationwide (and in New York City).

Joel Berg, executive director of the New York City Coalition Against Hunger said “This is the highest level of state hunger since the government started counting it. This new data proves that, over the last few years, millions of New Yorkers were at the edge of an economic cliff, with many falling off into hunger but some barely hanging on with the aid of government nutrition programs”.
New Yorker’s inside and outside of the food industry can help to rectify this situation. Nonprofits organizations are always looking for volunteers, like the Hot Bread Kitchen, which offers training to low income women to develop their own businesses. Other organizations like City Harvest work to collect excess food from restaurants and deliver them to those in need. With hunger rates rising and government programs declining, more weight than ever falls upon our efforts and those of nonprofits to keep our city full.

Great, Quality Lunch at Amma Restaurant

Amma is a delightful Indian restaurant located in midtown, Manhattan on 51^st Street. Aside from their delicious lunch and dinner menus and immense wine selection, their takeout lunch menu is great as well, and perfect for a delicious break in the middle of the day. The lunch specials are moderately priced, ranging from $9-$12 for a complete takeout lunch box. These boxes are more than enough for one person, and come loaded with the main dish of your choice, rice, naan, a vegetable of the day, and daal. For the main dish customers can choose from a variety of meat, cooked in different sauces, or from one of Amma’s many vegetarian specials.

Having tried Amma’s lunch specials many times before, I can attest to the quality of nearly every dish. The sauces are always rich and full-bodied, with generous chunks of tender meat in them. The rice is flavorful as well, but the sauces completely overpower their taste. Some of the richest dishes are the lamb vindaloo or chicken tikka masala. Daal is usually never a flavorful food, but Amma’s daal is mildly sweet and delicious all on its own. The vegetables vary by day, by are cooked in a traditional Indian style and complement well with the rich sauces. One of the most irresistible parts of these lunch specials is the naan. Perfectly flaky and cooked just right, the naan is packaged in tin foil to retain its heat and is delicious by itself or paired with some of the complementary sauces. Overall, Amma is one of New York City’s finest Indian restaurants, and their lunch special is a deal not to miss.You can order from Amma online here.

Anticipation Builds Up for this Year's Vendy Awards

                It may be a little early, but here at Foodtoeat we can barely stop talking about the upcoming Vendy Awards. Held on September 24^th, The Vendy Awards honor some of New York’s best and most innovative street vendors in an intense cook-off at Governors Island. Finalists in the competition are nominated by everyday people through an online form, and winners are decided in four categories; people’s choice, desserts, rookie of the year and Vendy Cup winner.

                While this competition is only in its sixth year, it’s already spread outside of New York, with the first ever Philadelphia Vendy Awards held earlier this summer. Once the event starts, vendors begin serving up food on Governor’s Islands for guests and judges. The day features a raffle, music, entertainment and plenty of wine and beer. Though an integral part of the experience involves standing in line waiting for food.

                Last year Astoria’s King of Falafel dominated the competition, though every year it seems a different vendor comes out on top. While attendees vote for some of the categories, The Vendy’s esteemed judges decide who wins the grand prize. Proceeds from this event help support the Street Vendor Project, a non-profit organization working for the rights of New York City street vendors. The Street Vendor Project has been actively working to solve the trucks’ legal troubles with the city, and have drafted a petition to allow food trucks to stay in their preferred locations. This organization honors worthy street vendors who have been denied their rights, they rely on donations to continue.

                We may still have some time to wait until the Vendy Awards, but this event is surely not one to be missed. Just think, unlimited food, drinks and entertainment all on an island? Sounds like a vacation to me.

To purchase your tickets to the 2011 Vendy’s click here. 

Quality Korean Food in a Cart

Bapcha food cart is Korean-style vendor on West 49^th Street and Avenue of the Americas. They serve a variety of Korean Barbecued meats, as well as some vegetarian noodle options. Their cart was pricier than I had hoped, but quality Korean food tends to be more expensive than most other New York street food. I ordered a Galbi Box for $8, thin slices of barbecued beef over rice and served with lettuce and egg. The chef drizzled hot sauce over the beef and a sweet type of vinaigrette over the lettuce. The beef was tender and well flavored, and the white rice underneath absorbed a lot of the flavor from the beef. The lettuce was a good choice when paired with the heavy barbecued flavor from the beef, giving the meal a good sense of balance.

The egg portion added an excellent touch of authenticity to the meal, though was blander than I had hoped. The beef easily stole the show, but would have been hard to finish without the other servings. The portion was slightly smaller than I had hoped, with only four or five slices of beef. In the end I was left over with extra rice, but the juices from the beef left it with a savory taste. For $8 I expected more food for the price, but the meal was delicious enough and demonstrated that Bapcha certainly knows it’s Korean food.

To order online from Bapcha click here.

Eggstravaganza Cart

Eggstravaganza Cart is a savory breakfast oasis open when few other vendors have set out or opened their doors. The small cart features Mexican style breakfast food, and seems permanently parked in midtown, on 52^nd street. The vendor is perfectly arranged for early risers, as it opens at 4am and stays until 2:30pm, just after the lunch rush. I tried a steak and egg taco and a western omelette, for $4 and $5.25 respectively. The portions were decent but I would have expected slightly more for the cost. The two orders collectively more than filled me up, but individually one order would not have been enough.

I love salsa with my eggs, and was pleased with the generous portion Eggstravaganza gave me. The salsa was milder than I expected, but accompanied the steak and eggs very well. The tortilla was surprisingly good as well, better than some taco trucks that I have tasted from in the area. Eggstravaganza Cart offers satisfying food in the morning, and opens earlier than the sun rises most days. Though the portions may not be grand, it hits the spot first thing in the morning.
To order from Eggstravaganza Cart, click here.

The Great Food Truck Race is Kicking Off

The Great Food Truck Race is a welcome departure from the standard food network reality show featuring master chefs and elaborate kitchens. The Great Food Truck Race focuses on ‘gourmet’ food trucks, as they are pitted against each other to sell the most lunches and escape weekly elimination. The show offers unexpected insight into the daily lives of mobile food vendors, and travels with them as they travel from coast to coast selling their often unique signature meals. A large portion of the country is still weary at the thought of eating from food trucks, and something this show does well is advertising the true value of mobile food. The chefs who operate these trucks are often professionally acclaimed, and their food is nothing to look down upon.

                Season 2 premieres August 15^th on the Food Network, and will feature eight new trucks from around the country. One of these trucks is New York City’s very own Korilla BBQ, though the vast majority is from California. Hosted by famed restaurateur Chef Tyler Florence, the show will certainly kick up some appetites and raise some awareness for gourmet food trucks. We’ll be back with our very own take on the premiere, come two weeks.

The Future of Food Trucks in Our Cities

Food trucks have come under increased scrutiny this year as restaurants, store owners and police have clashed with them for limited real estate in Manhattan and other urban areas throughout the country. With trucks and carts becoming increasingly popular, more chain companies are looking to get involved in the mobile game; with Taco Bell and Jack in the Box unveiling their trucks, and even Trojan set to release a contraceptive truck.

                Legislators face a difficult decision ahead as they debate how to address these trucks in each city. While food trucks are hip, give entrepreneurs an ease of entry into the restaurant business, and serve a growing demand, they are able to tactfully maneuver throughout urban landscapes to follow crowds. This gives them an undeniable advantage over brick and mortar businesses, and their lack of rent fees makes it very difficult for these grounded businesses to remain competitive. In New York, discussions have been made to turn a parking lot in Long Island City into a type of food truck safe haven, where they could park without disturbing local businesses and traffic and attract visitors to their condensed location. The problem with this, food trucks would lose most of their lunch business in Manhattan, with no guarantee that their customers would commute to Long Island City, Queens.

                In cities across the US, legislators are restricting the movements of food trucks to specific areas so as to protect local businesses. Parking regulations are the most popular way to curtail their movement, as cities understand the potential value of food trucks, given that they are placed in a public space without too much business.

                Ultimately, food trucks create a dichotomy in urban areas because they can stimulate the economy and attract an eclectic group of visitors. However, they can also hurt preexisting businesses, clog up streets and release fumes into the air, disturbing residential areas. Though food trucks offer a distinct product and enliven certain areas of many cities, they must adhere to the rules of their trade and act responsibly around their brick and mortar peers, or else public support may collude with government regulation to send these mobile vendors far away. 

El Rey del Sabor _ Midtown Taco Cart

El Rey Del Sabor is a small taco cart on 60^th Street in Midtown. Though New York City often gets blamed for its subpar Mexican food, I decided to test these rumors and try some signature tacos from this authentic cart. I sampled a beef taco and an al pastor taco, both drenched with hot sauce as I requested. For those that are not familiar with al pastor, it is traditional marinated pork, cooked in a similar style to shawarma.  The al pastor I have had in California has been excellent, and I had understandably high expectations for this as well.

Sadly the al pastor underwhelmed me, the meat was drier than I anticipated and didn’t have that dynamic taste I had come to expect. The tacos had a good amount of cilantro, salsa and hot sauce, but the meat and tortillas could definitely have been improved upon. I felt similarly about the beef taco; not a bad taco by any means, but with some improvements in the meat preparation and tortilla selection, these could have been extraordinary tacos. The salsa was flavorful, hot sauce delicious and proportions just right for a $3 taco, but the tortilla was thick and bland. I’ve heard of taco makers recently investing more time and energy into tortilla preparation, which is one avenue El Rey Del Sabor may want to investigate. Tortillas are often overlooked for the innards of the taco, but they really are just as important. Overall, these weren’t bad tacos for New York at all, but did little to improve New York’s taco reputation in comparison to those that are closer to the border.
To order from El Rey del Sabor, click here

Uncle Gussy's Traditional Greek Food

I had been looking forward to eating at Uncle Gussy’s for some time, mostly because of the luscious description of their tzatziki sauce, made by the truck owners’ very own mother. In fact the website goes into great detail about their family’s longtime stake in the food industry; so armed with this knowledge I prepared myself for some excellent Greek food.

            The food was moderately priced, ranging from $4-$7 and featuring pitas, salads and rice platters. I opted for the lamb gyro rice platter, less messy than a pita. The owners were very friendly, the wait not too long (I beat the lunch rush) and the truck itself seemed extremely clean. I received a generous portion of lamb and rice.  In the corner was a small salad, and I received two small containers of tzatziki and hot sauce, which I promptly dumped on top of the whole concoction. The website did not let me down when it touted its tasty sauces. The cool, lemony flavor of the tzatziki sauce complemented with the lightly spiced, drier lamb meat perfectly. The hot sauce packed a perfect level of heat for me, and was especially invigorating mixed with the rice. The seasoned rice absorbed a lot of the lamb’s flavor, and the small salad provided a welcome break from the hearty meat and rice. All around the meal was satisfying and delicious, kudos to Mrs. Gussy for her secret tzatziki recipe. My only complaint was the amount of sauce I was provided. I could have dumped three containers of tzatziki on the platter and still wanted more. So my suggestion to you would be to ask for extra sauce, after all they are labeled as free on the menu.
            To order from Uncle Gussy's, click here. 

Food Trucks Far and Wide

In recent years food has become as trendy as various fashions, seasonally going in style and after time, drifting away into the recesses of our bellies, not to be thought of again. Whether it be cupcakes, super fruits or bacon, food crazes have become widespread with real implications in the food industry. Food trucks have capitalized on these fads in recent years, adding innovative elements of traditional cultural recipes to create contemporary twists on new ethnic dishes. Nationwide these mobile vendors are breathing new life into the industry, from Korean tacos in California to new express French food. Food trucks have all the resources at their disposal to create truly unique cuisine, and have been a staple in New York’s lunch scene for many years. While street vendors may have traditionally started selling hot dogs or mixed nuts, today’s vendors are selling sophisticated and highly stylized dishes with loyal fan followings. Street vendors have largely taken to Twitter to address their customers, alerting them about daily location changes amidst Manhattans sporadically patrolled streets. So what is it about these food trucks that have caught so much attention?

The most obvious answer is one you don’t even need to stop and think about…all it takes is a sniff. That’s right; the smell of delicious sizzling meats, tangy sauces and fried goodness suffuses throughout New York’s crowded streets, tempting even the haughtiest of eaters. In fact, food trucks are perfectly engineered to be an efficient lunch time choice based on their simple business model. Their hours of activity always collide with lunchtime, they avoid rent and many overhead costs, employ minimal staff, and the food is guiltlessly designed for the average office worker to pick up and enjoy in the comfort of his own desk. Thus, food trucks are designed to sync perfectly with a New Yorker’s bustling lifestyle. All too often our jobs demand so much out of us that in order to return home at a reasonable hour we forego certain luxuries, namely lunch. Food trucks have found their niche in these workers, not requiring seating for their busy customers who have a choice of parks, steps, or their own desks to eat at.

Food trucks don’t solely exist in New York however, and have strong presences in many urban areas. Los Angeles has an enormous food truck community, boasting an estimated 7000 taco trucks alone. Food trucks of different variety exist throughout the United States, such as Hawaii’s sprawling shrimp trucks. The key to some of their widespread success lies in their cultural roots. Glancing at food trucks across the nation, they all offer a taste of culture, homegrown recipes or unique fusion ideas. These cultures vary widely from Belgian waffles to Halal food, yet each promises a taste of something new and exciting. With more Americans opening up their palettes to ethnic foods, food trucks provide an affordable means to sample cuisine that ordinarily one would have to pay upwards of fifteen dollars for at a restaurant.

Many of these trucks have been dubbed “specialty trucks”, for the exotic cuisine they serve and for their unique truck designs and catchy names. These specialty trucks tend to roam around their cities more, with a recognizable design for their loyal customer base. They garner special attention for their elusive, unique offers, and for many customers of these trucks, catching them is a large part of the eating experience. Some of these trucks have come to take on a legendary status, like New York’s Rickshaw Dumpling Truck, or the growing fleet of Kogi trucks in Los Angeles. These trucks involve citygoers in an authentic experience, searching for the trucks, finding somewhere to sit and eat, and then relaying the savory experience to friends and family. Many hip urbanites find a definite charm in these trucks, supporting small business and maintaining an outdoor, anti-establishment feel. In many ways these food trucks respond to an entire generation who grew up on junk food, casting aside the pretenses of five star restaurants for a truly satisfying and affordable meal. Food trucks serve a wide range of Americans, and gain new followers every day. Their mobile nature allows them to achieve immense profitability, while continually pushing the limits on their exotic food. Though they have been increasingly pushed out of popular areas by police pressure, rest assured that their Twitter feeds will keep you in the loop; and as long as we continue to salivate when we catch a scent from blocks away, there will always be a place for food trucks in our cities.