The Best Thing I Had In My Mouth - The Taco Truck

On Sunday, I finally made it downtown to visit the High Line - Section 2.  It was actually pretty crowded and hot, so we ended up making a bee-line for The Lot On Tap, which is an a outdoor bar surrounded by various food trucks, with picnic tables in the center.

Parked: Food Truck Festival

Over Labor Day weekend, I headed downtown with my picnic blanket and took the free ferry over to Governors Island to enjoy some treats from the Parked: Food Truck Festival.  It was a gorgeous, breezy day (thanks to Hurricane Earl), perfect for laying in the grass.  Unfortunately, the combination of the nice weather and the festival caused the island to be rather crowded.  My friend proclaimed, "The reason we don't do anything cool, is because it is always crowded."  This is true, but I tried to keep a positive attitude as we approached the island.  Plus there were some great food vendors to look forward to, such as Rick Shaw Dumplings, The Cinnamon Snail, and Red Hook Lobster Pound.

I had envisioned the food trucks to be placed around the small island, but to my dismay, all the trucks were parked in a circle on a large patch of dying grass.  Some vendors did not even bring their trucks, but just set up tents.  Long lines soon ensued, and a tangle of people we created in the center of the circle.  It got me to wondering what I was getting myself into.  My friend and I ended up picking the Desi Food Truck (Indian cuisine) to eat from, because it was the best decorated.

While he stood in line at Desi, I stopped by Van Leeuwen Artisan Ice Cream truck to give it my third and final try (see my previous review here).  Fortunately, the line went moderately quick, and the service was very friendly.  I chose their two most popular flavors - hazelnut and espresso ice cream.  I was disappointed for the third and final time.  At first lick, the hazlenut ice cream really screamed hazelnut, but by the fifth lick I started to notice the icy texture, and lack of flavor.  The espresso on the other hand, actually was creamy and tasted delicious, although you could get a pint of Haagen-Dazs and have better.  I will say that is was a nice way to waste some time, as my friend had moved about 5 feet from the spot I had seen him last.

By the time an hour went by, yes an HOUR, we had made friends with the guys in front of us.  We discussed and demonstrated the various ways to prevent people from walking through us in order to get to another line.  Dancing, elbows, lunges, and shoulder-to-shoulder action are all ways to do this somewhat successfully.  At least it entertained us.  Then by the time we had made it to the upper quarter of the line, the owner of the truck past out some menus.  This is when I realized the food truck was on 27th and Fifth Avenue, literally a block away from my office.  UGGHHHH - I knew this truck looked familar.  Finally after an hour and a half, we made it to the front of the line, only to be told they were out of the aloo masala kati roll, my food of choice.  A mixture of devastation and anger filled my body, I had to walk away from the truck, as my friend ordered the chicken tiki masala and the last paneer masala kati roll.

New friends photographing their iPhone timer, clocking at 1.5 hours.

So the verdict - was the food worth an hour and a half?  Absolutely not.  My friend said the chicken tiki masala was alright, but my kati roll was actually pretty tasty.  Besides the disappointing Food Truck Festival, the rest of the day was nice and relaxing.  I definitely recommend going to Governors Island before it closes for the winter, and instead of attending a food truck festival, visit your favorite food trucks in their usual locations.  Lucky for us, we made up for our food faux-pas by eating at Cafe Havana in the evening.  More on that later :)

Last year around this time, I posted about Torta Barozzi, the most amazing chocolate cake ever.  If you have a little time, you must make it!

Van Leeuwen Artisan Ice Cream

Anytime I mention the yellow ice cream truck, aka Van Leeuwen Artisan Ice Cream, people sigh deeply and say, "I love their ice cream...its sooooo good."  I think they even close their eyes while they talk about it.  I can't help it, but I roll my eyes.  One of the yellow trucks is a few blocks away from my office, so I have stopped by twice.  I will admit the truck is super cute.  It is a pale yellow that is soft and sweet, and the illustrations on the side of the truck always makes me slow down and ponder whether I should get a scoop.  On my first visit, I chose strawberry ice cream.  It was the middle of June - strawberry season, and I had very high hopes.  The most obvious problem I had with the ice cream was that there were no chunks of strawberries - it was all one smooth, light pink scoop.  WHAT?  Hello - show case your seasonal ingredients!  The other issue was that it just wasn't creamy enough.  The ice cream had a an icy and grainy texture, which surprises me because on their website they state the finished product contains 18 percent butterfat and 30 percent overrun, which is typical to premium standards according to Harold McGee in On Food and Cooking.  Overall, the strawberry ice cream had a nice, natural flavor, but I still walked back to work disappointed.

After I explained my first experience to friends, they were in shock.  Perhaps, I had chosen the wrong flavor?  In my opinion, there shouldn't be a wrong flavor, if there is - don't put it on the menu.  So a few weeks ago I went back in hope for the little yellow truck to redeem itself.  This time I chose an Earl Grey ice cream cone.  Okay, I know this is an untraditional flavor, but I wasn't interested in the hazelnut ice cream that everyone raves about.  The flavor was light, subtle, and quietly complex with hints of orange mixed with the tea.  Unfortunately, I still could not get past the icy texture.  This ice cream was even worse than the first.  There were actual small chunks of ice in every bite! 

Small strawberry ice cream cone - $3.95

So now that I have talked trash about Van Leeuwen's, I will give them props for using hormone-free milk and cream from farmers in Lewis County, New York.  Their disposable goods are 100 percent renewable too!  They use Bagasse, a fiber made from sugar cane husks for their cups and napkins, and they use corn husk for their drinking cups, spoons, and straws.  And on top of that, 1 percent of their profits go to Wildlife Direct, to protect the endangered Mountain Gorilla.  


So if you are in New York, I recommend going to the little yellow truck on 23rd Street and Fifth Avenue and paying $3.95 for a small cone (which is actually quite big) and decide for yourself.  Get the hazelnut or coffee ice cream, but I would actually recommend just making your own.  Van Leeuwen's has nothing on David Lebovitz!