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/

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