Zagat’s Food Truck Frenzy

Monday, May 23 was Zagat's very first Food Truck Frenzy and I was fortunate enough to be invited to attend. On my way there it was raining and I wasn't sure if it would be as enjoyable in a terential downpour. Since I am more like a flying monkey than the Green Witch and water doesn't melt me, I decided to make the best of it. I'm glad I did too, because it was wicked.

 When I arrived, the first thing I noticed was how many others braved the storms and came down to 21^st and 22^nd streets for some vehicular vittles. Initially I just wandered around taking in the sights, admiring the colorful trucks, marveling at the lines formed at each truck. The experience was sort of like being on a mid-town cruise ship; lines for food, food with lines, and more food and more lines.

The mobile chefs and their crews were obviously preparing for long lines though, because all of the lines I stood on moved rather quickly, bar one. The line that took the longest for me was the Korilla BBQ truck. The thing is it was one of only two trucks I wanted to, and did, return to. I got the beef taco and asked them to make it extra spicy for me. The beef was moist, the hot sauce was flavorful though not as spicy as I would have liked, and the vegetable mix gave it a nice balance.

My favorite food from the trucks by far was the La Cense Beef Burger truck's Mini Burgers. They gave you the option of grilled onions, cheese, both onions and cheese, or plain. I went for broke and got everything and all I can say is, HEAVEN ON A BUN. I don't know if the fact that they are grass fed had anything to do with the moistness of the burger, but I don't recall a better tasting burger that I've ever eaten.

I stopped at as many trucks as I could and sampled when I could. There were 25 people food trucks and 1 pet food truck spread over two blocks. Besides that, I was getting full after the pet food truck. Not really, I didn't eat at that one but I did stop by to speak with them. I stopped by the Fresh Pet truck to joke with them because they didn't get a spot on the street map identifying where each truck was. They informed me that they had "crashed the party" trying to get some brand recognition. There was no harm in it though because they were giving free pet food samples, and they weren't selling anything, they said.

The nice folks at Zagat set up a VIP room at B.E.S. Restaurant on 22^nd St. for media and, well, VIP's. Inside the VIP room I had the good fortune to meet Leslie Lampert, proprietor of Ladle of Love, and Café of Love, located in Mt. Kisco, NY. Leslie also runs a food truck at Tavern on The Green, also called Ladle of Love. For my dining pleasure Leslie had three of her soups, the Harvest Celebration, the Shrimp and Corn Chowder, and the Chilled Gazpacho, poured out in shot glasses. Those shot glasses of soup were some of the best "bites" of food I've eaten, and definitely the best thing I had that day.

All in all I had a great time. I walked a little, talked a little, ate a lot, and didn't melt. Thank you Zagat, for the opportunity to taste all of the flavors of New York.


Some of the participating food trucks were:

Bian Dang, Big D's Grub, Big Gay Ice Cream Truck, Bistro Truck, Cinnamon Snail, Coolhaus, Cupcake Crew, Cupcake Stop, Desi Truck, Eddie's Pizza, Endless Summer Tacos, Feed Your Hole, Joyride Truck, Katchkie Truck, Kelvin Natural Slush Co., Korilla Food Truck, La Cense Beef Burger, Luke's Lobster Truck, Mexicue, Mud Truck, Souvlaki GR, Steak Truck, Sweetery, Treats Truck and Van Leeuwen Ice Cream