on venturing to governors island for the vendy’s

For years, I’ve said that I would treat myself to tickets to the Vendy’s. If you’re not familiar with the Vendy’s, it’s basically street food event and competition. To me, it’s always been a missed opportunity to try out street food in parts of the city I don’t get to frequent as often and therefore, have never had the opportunity to try. It usually falls on or around my birthday weekend, so it seems as if the universe is telling me to treat myself. However, this year I actually won my way in for eating, what else, dessert. Several months back, I found myself onstage at the Bell House during Pat Kiernan’s Trivia Food Fight trying to eat as much blueberry pie as possible as Van Halen’s “Right Now” blared overhead. Tying led me to spinning the wheel o’ prizes, which led me to snagging what had been missed on the wheel – two tickets to the Vendy’s! I’m so grateful to the wonderful TrivWorks team for hooking me up with such an awesome prize.

 

I’d read up on the best time to head over, knowing there had to be a strategy. We caught the 11am ferry, ensuring we would be there with plenty of time to spare before the 12pm start time. This worked out to be wise. This allowed plenty of time for us to maneuver the multiple lines at check-in and obtain our admission bracelet before joining the main line.

The Judges

What no one mentioned is that although the event does begin with a VIP hour (during which general admission attendees have to wait in line outside of the event), that doesn’t mean there’s no food or beverage to be had. As we waited, several vendors made their way around through the crowd. Nuchas had our caffeination covered, bringing around coffee and tea, in addition to croissants. Bolivian Llama Party and Calexico took it to the next level – actually bringing out items they were serving inside the event. Spoiler alert: interesting to see that the vendor who won audience choice (Nuchas) was one of these vendors sending out samples. What can you say – New Yorkers love their caffeine. All kidding aside, I have to say I wouldn’t be surprised if that didn’t factor into the voting!

One of the first things we tried were vegan doughnuts from Cinnamon Snail. We were both craving doughnuts with it being our form of brunch this particular Saturday. They were tasty, though I must admit not my absolute favorite. The odds were ever in their favor though, as they took home the 2014 Vendy Cup.

My absolute favorite new find of the day has to be El Rey Del Taco, a food truck usually set up in Astoria, Queens. I couldn’t think of a more appropriate name, because king they are indeed! I was impressed that they were not only serving up some super fresh hot tacos, but they were serving their entire menu (with the exception of some of their beverage line-up). We went with some spicy options, and were pleased to see that

I was finally able to try a ramen burger from the Ramen Burger crew. I have to say, the tasting portion was just about perfect. I’m not sure I could handle the full-sized burger! The ramen actually was pretty fascinating serving as a faux bun. I’m sure it would be warmer if served up in restaurant, but I felt like it was somehow a less dense option than a typical bun would be. And of course the meat here was top notch.

I started with vendors we don’t have easy access to on a regular basis, but had a hard time passing up one of my all-time favorites – DOUGH. I felt so badly for them, as the yellow jackets seemed to love them the most. This didn’t seem to cause their team too much issue though, as they found a way to work around the swarm. I finally got to try the passion fruit doughnut, which was top notch as I had expected. The team actually just opened a Manhattan location, for those of you who think Brooklyn is way too far.

I made a trip by the Nuchas team, making sure to try their limited edition squid ink empanada. Pretty tasty, and I’ll admit the color added a bit of novelty. Their gazpacho was amazing as well.

I was so glad to have the opportunity to try Lechonera La Pirana. Usually you have to head up to the Bronx to try this fabulous chopped meat. I unfortunately just missed the picture of the chopping in process, but here you can see the knife he uses by hand to chop this up. Amazing.

I knew once I read the summary for newcomer Snow Day that I was going to love them. Their food is maple syrup and French Canadian inspired. They were serving two items – a maple grilled cheese and gazpacho finished with maple and Japanese ginger. It was every bit as delightful as it sounds – and led to them winning 2014 Rookie of the Year.

For more on the finalists and winners, please visit the Vendy’s Awards site here. Perhaps I will be lucky to make it out again for the Vendy’s again sometime in the future!

 

macy’s food trucks: lobster rolls & todd english

Saturday, there were lots of tasty things parked in Union Square, and this time I’m not referring to the Greenmarket for once. The featured chef that day was Todd English (I peeked into the truck and didn’t see him actually in there, so don’t think the chefs are on-site for the event). While there, they were accepting donations for Feed America.

Macy's Chefs-A-Go-Go Truck

They were scheduled to open at 11am, but were running late as the line began to build. Thankfully others waiting were kind and we all rotated, taking turns running over to get iced coffee and iced tea from the neighboring promotion, HP. If I win a tablet from my  detour, there’ll be no complaints here. Macy’s knows how to do a food truck though. Their free lobster roll was generous in both size and quantity of lobster. They had music blaring, with a DJ situated in front of the truck. And if you checked in on FourSquare or followed them on Twitter, you got a free bag.

Lobster Roll - by Todd English

I came back by again later when they started serving dessert, which was a bananas foster ice cream pop from Emeril. I’ll admit, I was sad that the cupcakes had disappeared by the time I returned, but the pop was tasty. It was just a bit messy for a warm summer afternoon. Can’t wait to see what they do next.

Dixie, my dog, tried (and failed) to swipe my bananas foster pop!

Anyone else make it out for the event?

big gay ice cream truck + bourdain, squared

I like two-fers – two things on a list. Check. Check!  I’ve been following the Big Gay Ice Cream Truck via Twitter as they make their way all around the city. Similar to my attempted approach to Mister Softie (an ever-present tempting evil!), I try to forget they exist – otherwise warm summer days turn into ice cream puddles in my hands of demolished desserts.

When I learned Anthony Bourdain’s wife would be serving up cones from their truck yesterday two hours before her husband’s book signing, I had to swing by. I’ve been following the banter between her (@OttaviaBourdain) and him (@NoReservations) since she started her account. Love it! And she did not disappoint – very much true to her feisty Twitter persona. She sang and danced, inducing a strobe-like effect occasionally in the truck.

I spy... a bonus Bourdain!

And he made a surprise appearance, standing relatively quietly in the front – taking tips, making change, and occasionally heckling his wife. Oh and posing for photos. All tips were going to Doctor’s Without Borders, and Tony was matching all tips and proceeds from the day to go to the cause as well. I’d seen Bourdain back on his tour promotion the intitial hardback version of his book “Medium Raw”. With the spotlight on him for that event, he seemed resigned to take the stage – but yesterday it was clear he was letting his wife be front and center.

So many tips...A shot with the Family Bourdain (minus their daughter)

In hindsight, I probably should have given my tip before this photo. Perhaps that would have gotten Tony to smile – ha. Jose, who was kindly taking the photograph, did wait until Ottavia stopped sticking her tongue out for this photo!

 

Yosh and I, posing with our fabulous ice cream. Shhhh - don't tell.

 

I ran into my sweet friend Yosh while waiting in line, who told me that I wasn’t allowed to buy my first ever ice cream at the Big Gay Ice Cream Truck. What a sweetheart. We both had “The Mermaid” – which was key lime curd, graham crackers, vanilla ice cream and whipped cream. Oh and delicious.

 

The Mermaid - mostly sweet, just ever so slightly tart

 

Perfect way to spend the nicest afternoon we’ve had in a while!

 

Anyone else swing by? If there are any Big Gay Ice Cream Truck afficionados out there, what is your favorite on their menu?

prospect park food truck rally

When I heard about today’s Food Truck Rally, it seemed perfect luck that my sister and  I had a photoshoot in Prospect Park with a friend just as the rally was set to start. After countless photos in the park (damp grass, but still quite fun – think the shots of us jumping are my favorite), we made our way back out to Grand Army Plaza. Before the photoshoot, we managed to snag a sample from the Treats Truck – two thin sugar cookies with a thin layer of vanilla cream in the middle. We were ready for more.

We waited a while in the line for Taim Mobile, which was primarily serving falafel. I’d really liked the falafel samples they had at the Village Voice Choice Eats. While we were waiting in line, we watched people slowly peel off to get a cupcake during the wait from the Cupcake Stop. I’d been meaning to hunt them down at some point to welcome them back to the streets. Clearly I had to have a chocolate peanut butter cupcake. The icing was light and whipped – just like I like it. The peanut butter chips were a nice touch. The chocolate cake wasn’t quite as chocolate as I like it, but was good and moist. These guys have really come a long way back from their first weekend! Turned out to be a wise move, as the wait for real food was quite lengthy.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcake - Cupcake Stop

In the end, we bailed that line and made our way over to the Rickshaw Dumpling Truck. The line doubled back in a U-shape and took us some 45 minutes+ to conquer. The idea overall of the rally was good – plenty of space. However while conceptually having full access to the trucks is nice, it just took too long for each of them to wait on the customers when they were offering their entire normal menu. I’ve oftentimes wished that vendors would offer their full selection at these events. And now I know why they don’t. Noted!

Rickshaw Dumpling Truck Menu

I’d been wanting to try Rickshaw for some time now. I ended up trying their pork dumplings, which were pork, cabbage, ginger, and scallions. You could do an order of the dumplings ($6) or for $9, could add in your choice of side dish – salad, chili rice noodle salad, or chilled edamame. I went for the combo and the noodle salad, which was made with fresh carrot, cucumber & sprouts. The dumplings were good – small, but with 6 of them in an order, it as more filling than I’d originally thought it might be. The noodle salad was actually quite flavorful as well, with the chili adding a nice spicy contrast to the cool temperature. I do have to admit with the chilly damp weather today, I would have liked a warm side, but the noodles were tasty enough to overlook that. I’d like to try their sit-down restaurant, which offers a more robust menu. [Oh and the few bites I had of a butterscotch bar from the Treats Truck were tasty as well – very moist and chewy!]

Pork Dumplings and Noodle Salad

Anyone else go to the event? What’s your favorite food truck in the city at the moment? (If you’re not in NYC, that’s ok – would love to hear about your fave where you are, if applies!)

world’s first food truck drive-in movie

World's First Food Truck Drive-In Movie - NYC Food Film Festival

It seems like forever ago that my friends and I ordered tickets to this event. I was excited about finally having the opportunity to try the food trucks I never seem to come across, who have taunted me as of late as they’ve chosen to park right at the corner of my prior office space at Broad and Water. Go ahead. Rub salt in the wound.

It was quite the visual though. In a parking lot just underneath the Brooklyn Bridge, there they were in all their glory – set up around the outlying edges. We started off though at the Cooking Channel’s truck, since we were already glistening (Southern speak for sweating bullets) and had honed in on the free popsicle distribution going on over there. Raspberry basil or jasmine rhubarb. Delish. My friends and I were briefly interviewed, during which they elaborated on their favorite ingredients and recent cooking passions, and I talked about consuming said prepared items, feebly confessing to not being quite the cooks they both were (wince).

dish buzz: cupcake stop

Cupcake Stop, Preview Night

Friday before last (May 22nd), I made sure to make it over for the Cupcake Stop’s “preview night” in advance of their actual grand opening day today. I’m an advocate of all sweets and even better when they’re on wheels en route to me. I was worried, as they were getting close to making a move. Thankfully I checked them on Twitter and made it there before they switched from their spot on 23rd and 6th to closer towards Union Square. I know some people are still on the fence about Twitter, but with vendors on wheels, it’s truly the way to go.

The preview night menu included triple chocolate, red velvet, and Oreo crumb. I liked the option in sizes. I love my sweets, but sometimes just having them available in one size (size mucho) can be a bit much. For just a dollar, you can get the smaller version. I’d say about three bites worth, so a fair sample. For $2.25, you can get the standard size. For the preview route, they had all options available in both sizes.

Oreo Crumb & Red Velvet - Cupcake Stop Preview Night

I chose to get a small red velvet and a large Oreo crumb, since I was curious to see their spin on the oreo. I started with the red velvet. I’ve been on a run of having red velvet in places where the icing was not the appropriate cream cheese. I’m not sure if it was real cream cheese, but it was pretty darn good. The consistency was very creamy and rich, which I appreciated. I was, however, disappointed in the actual cake part. It was almost too moist to get out of the wrapper. I had to dig out the top part of the cake and then split it in half to make sure there was enough icing for the other half which was way too much to figure out as I maneuvered my way down 23rd on foot. The cake was definitely done – I just think the consistency was off. The taste was not bad, just way too moist.

At the Counter - Cupcake Stop

I was a little confused by the Oreo. In an Oreo, the majority of the flavor is chocolate, however in this cupcake it was a very subtle presence. I think perhaps a chocolate cake base would have made this a more true rendition. The cake itself was actually on the dry side. It was a vanilla cake with little pieces of chocolate cookie mixed in, topped with vanilla icing with large crumbled Oreo cookies on top. I found myself just wanting chocolate after I finished this one off since it just wasn’t there. Maybe the triple chocolate was the one I should have gone for.

I do think they’ve got a great start here and I’ll definitely be back. I love that their unsold food at the end of the day is donated to charity. I’m curious to see their new offerings and I think the $1 minis are a great option. What I really want to know is when their version on the peanut butter and jelly cupcake will be making an appearance. I’m definitely rooting for this one – some kinks to work out, but I’ll be back to report more here on this arrival onto the Manhattan dessert scene.

Cupcake Stop
10am – 5pm: 5th Avenue bet. 13th and 14th Street
6pm – 10pm: 23rd Street bet. 7th and 8th Avenue