New York City has become the epicenter of the food truck craze, with multicultural dishes just steps away from the steering wheel. Although parking may be an elusive commodity, these food trucks gather lines wherever they stop.

Taim Mobile

The flavors and aromas of Tel Aviv are brought to customers by way of Taim Mobile, which serves mouth watering Middle Eastern meals. The generously sized falafel sandwich is a pita packed with Israeli salad, hummus, tahini sauce, and pickled cabbage. Not to mention the deep fried green falafels themselves, which are crispy on the outside, but soft and tender on the inside.

Although I love my meat, Taim caters to all the herbivores in the city as their menu is 100 percent vegetarian. No wonder owner Einat Admony appeared on Food Network’s Throwdown with Bobby Flay, where she battled to claim the title of having the most supreme falafel.

For an original homemade smoothie to go along with the falafel, try the date-lime-banana smoothie. Dates are popular in the Middle East, and after you try this smoothie, you will understand why.

Red Hook Lobster Truck

Ever walk down the street and get a sudden craving for lobster? In a bun? As you rush to the subway? Good thing there is the Red Hook Lobster Pound Truck, which serves buttery lobster meat within the softness of a roll. Dressed with a homemade mayonnaise, the lobster roll brings this Maine staple to the urban jungle of New York City.

Already earning the nickname of Big Red, the Red Hook Lobster Pound Truck also offers a shrimp roll, stuffed with shrimp straight from Maine and served with mayonnaise infused with tarragon and garlic. Tasting the coastal cuisine of Maine has never been so easy and delicious.

Rickshaw Dumpling Truck

Street food is practically a way of life across Asian countries. It is no different for the well-known Rickshaw Dumpling Truck in New York City. Bite-sized dumplings are packed with Chinese flavors and ingredients to make each portion tantalize your palate. The chicken and Thai basil dumpling is accompanied with a peanut sate dip. With just the right amount of heat in the sauce to blend with the freshness of the basil, this dumpling is a crowd favorite.

For pork lovers, and let’s be honest, there is a lot of you out there, try the pork and Chinese chive dumpling. Served with a soy sesame dipping sauce, this dumpling oozes with traditional Chinese flavors. You will forget you just ordered it from a parked vehicle.

A refreshing drink is the calamansi-ade, the Rickshaw Dumpling Truck’s twist on lemonade. Calamansi, an Asian citrus fruit similar to a lime, is the perfect drink to wash down tasty dumplings. If the food was not enough, you can buy your very own American-Apparel-made Rickshaw Dumpling Truck shirt, too. My favorite reads: Who’s your edamame?

The Mud Truck

New Yorkers like to stay caffeinated. It might be the reason why we are dubbed the city that never sleeps. For coffee that does not have a super complicated name like a grande, nonfat, caramel, no-sugar macchiato from an establishment with a green mermaid, try The Mud Truck.

The Mud Mocha is a crowd-pleaser, and with its powerful kick of caffeine, keeps me running around the city for hours. The Mud Truck is widely known for its strong blends, but avoids any bitterness in taste. The truck itself is bright orange, which makes it almost impossible to miss, even if you have not had your morning cup of coffee yet.

Korilla BBQ

In what has become somewhat of a national trend, a city would not be complete without its version of a Korean Mexican taco. Enter Korilla BBQ. This truck reached mainstream popularity with its exposure on Food Network’s Great Food Truck Race and continues to be a dominating force in the world of New York City food trucks. While the combinations of Korean choices are abundant, my favorite is the Rib-eye of the Tiger.

Black Angus rib-eye steak is paired with bacon and kimchee fried rice, along with red kimchee and their signature Korilla sauce. It is all wrapped snugly into a burrito. I do not question that I am eating kimchee, which is a traditional Korean fermented cabbage, in a Mexican burrito shell. After eating Korilla BBQ, all I know is that I wish I had come up with the Korean-Mexican fusion myself.

Schnitzel & Things

What exactly is schnitzel, besides a word that is fun to say? Coming straight from Austria, schnitzel is simply a breaded cutlet of meat, fried to crispy, golden deliciousness. There is a lot to choose from on the Schnitzel & Things menu, but do not let the choices intimidate you. The chicken schnitzel is the way to go, or at least my taste buds think so. I like to get mine in a sandwich, but there is also the choice of having it in a wrap or as a platter.

The Austrian potato salad is a traditional side dish when having schnitzel. Yukon gold potatoes meet up with a vinaigrette made with white wine and shallots. I forget that I am standing on a congested street corner eating this dish, while the food tries to trick me into believing that I am in Vienna.

Schnitzel & Things has been serving its Austrian cuisine on the streets of New York City since 2009, when it won Rookie of the Year at the Vendy Awards. They say it is like winning an Oscar, which is a pretty big deal.

Coolhaus

I have a sweet tooth that every now and then needs to be fulfilled. When I am endlessly walking around New York City craving my next sugar fix, seeing Coolhaus parked on the corner is like seeing an oasis. This truck takes the standard ice cream sandwich to the next level with a creative array of cookie and ice cream flavors.

Mix and match anything from red velvet cookies with Meyer lemon peel ice cream, to ginger molasses cookies with carrot cake batter ice cream. Extra unique flavors in cookies include potato chip & butterscotch (yes, that is one cookie) or hotcake with flapjack. The ice cream list is long, and I would like to meet the creative mind who concocted mango sticky rice or balsamic fig & mascarpone. There is chocolate and vanilla, too, for all those who like the simple things in life.

Food trucks use Twitter as one of their main ways to communicate their daily location. However, if you are standing on a street corner wondering what great food truck is nearby, try using the Eat Street app, which pinpoints exactly what trucks are currently in your area.

Image Courtesy of   http://www.flickr.com/photos/wallyg/

The article 7 Food Trucks in New York City You Should Know About appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

New York City has joined in dining from food trucks as the popularity of the dining style has skyrocketed across many cosmopolitan cities.

Food truck festivals have sprouted up across New York City over the weekend of August 20th and 21st, bringing tasty treats to Manhattan and Brooklyn. Specialty food trucks serving anything from kimchee tacos to lobster have ushered in a new wave of fast food. They are generating loyal customers with hearty appetites.

More than 30 food trucks gathered in the heart of South Street Seaport on August 20th to share their individual cuisine. With the appropriately named PARKED festival, food trucks lined Water Street and Fulton Street as customers sampled an array of food.

The trucks were open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., which gave people plenty of time to enjoy the outdoor atmosphere of hopping from one food truck to another. Each truck provided customers with their regular menu, along with $5 and $8 meal options specifically for the festival.

The PARKED festival started just four years ago with a handful of food trucks gathering together to share a love of the culinary art. It has now expanded to a much larger festival, showcasing cuisine from around the world.

A crowd favorite at the festival was Korilla Korean taco truck, which serves the familiarity of Korean barbeque in new forms. Making tacos, burritos, and chosun bowls, people stood in long lines to taste some food from this Korean food truck. The popularity of the Korilla Korean taco truck has landed it on the second season of Food Network’s “The Great Food Truck Race,” where eight food trucks compete for a prize of $100,000.

Jumping over towards Middle Eastern cuisine, the Taim food truck cooked up their signature falafel sandwiches, along with hummus, Israeli salad and a wide selection of homemade drinks and smoothies. This Middle Eastern truck is an extension of Taim’s permanent location in the West Village, where lines are always equally long.

The popular falafel and the chef behind the creation, Einat Admony, have appeared on Food Network’s “Throwdown with Bobby Flay,” generating buzz for the cuisine.

Yet another food truck that has had Food Network exposure is Wafels & Dinges, a Belgian waffle truck that is known throughout New York City. Customers can choose between the Brussels Wafel or liege wafel, and add toppings, which are called dinges. Nutella, Belgian chocolate, and walnuts are just some options for the tasty wafels.

Wafels & Dinges also has a distinct barbeque pulled pork wafel, and their signature “de Throwdown wafel” which was highlighted on an episode of Food Network’s “Throwdown with Bobby Flay.”

Other food trucks that participated in the PARKED festival included Coolhaus Ice Cream with thick ice cream sandwiches, Kelvin Natural Slush Co, serving up shaved ice, and Red Hook Lobster Pound.  Consumers were also able to enjoy dishes from Mexicue Food Truck, Van Leeuwen Ice Cream, the Treats Truck, and Schnitzel and Things, among many others.

Along with the large selection of food, the PARKED festival also offered live music on a a main stage in South Street Seaport. Diners were able to listen to music from Two Man Gentleman Band, Soul 2 Seoul, Anais Mitchell, Naomi Shelton and the Gospel Queens, and Mikey Palms. A beer garden was created for the day as well.

Face painting was available for children, while cooking demonstrations were open for adults. The event offered plenty of free options for anyone wanting to spend some time outdoors.

Just over the bridge in Brooklyn, food trucks gathered once again on August 21st in Grand Army Plaza. The Prospect Park Alliance hosted the Food Truck Rally, which happens every third Sunday from June to October. Many of the same food trucks showed up at the Food Truck Rally and were met with equal enthusiasm from Brooklyn patrons.

Diners were able to eat grilled cheese sandwiches from Gorilla Cheese NYC, dumplings from Rickshaw Dumpling Truck and drink coffee from Mud Truck, along with other cuisines. Many chose to bring their meals into Prospect Park, just steps away from the Food Truck Rally.

The popularity of food trucks has become a staple in the New York City dining experience. Festivals like PARKED and the Food Truck Rally showcased these favorite meals on wheels throughout the weekend.

Image Courtesy of  bernardoh

The article A Weekend of Food Trucks in New York City appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.