Street Eats: PARKED! Food Truck Festival

This past weekend I attended the PARKED! Food Truck Festival that was held at the South Street Seaport with J. Found out from BigAppleNosh that it was literally happening on Saturday, and since it involved food, J and I must be there!

We got there around noon, the place was already packed with people. The sun wasn't giving any mercy either, I think I got a little burnt from waiting on those lines. I mean, I love how convenient it was that majority of the food trucks were there but I so did not love the long lines!

We browsed around a lot and only ordered a couple of things. Good thing there were a handful of trucks we already tried before so it was easy to "move on" to the next one. Overall, it was definitely fun and I was glad I got to spent some time with J.

Photos credit to J.

Kielbasa Hero

Grilled Cheese with Tomato and Bacon

Mandarin Jarrito; Brisket Slider; Short Rib Taco

We also had Dip'n'Dots. I absolutely love this type of ice cream cause it's just so fun to eat. Whenever I see it, and I make sure to have J look out for it also, I would get it. I had to stand in the shade to eat it since it tends to melt fast. Another dessert we had was shaved ice from The Shaved Ice Shop, this was a return visit for us. We had it at Hester Street Fair (which is still happening now!), and loved it. But it was a bit of a disappointment this time since they used a small bowl to hold the ice instead of the cool looking flower looking cup.

I left satisfied and stuffed. There are a couple of places I did try and would definitely want to track down the truck and eat it again.

Weekday Lunch: Eddie's Pizza Truck

I'm so glad I didn't bring lunch into work today because Eddie's Pizza Truck was parked literally right outside of my building. This isn't the first time they were here but all the other times I would always have lunch. Believe me, it was very tempting but I had no choice.

But today, it was my chance. I trek down and ordered my first bar pizza ever. They have a lunch special that was only $10 which consist of a pie of bar pizza with any one topping, salad or cookie, and soda or water. I think that's quite a bargain, cause pizza around the FiDi area is not cheap at all. Lucky me, I didn't have to wait on line since there was no line to begin with. I ordered myself the lunch special with mushrooms, salad, and a coke. Man, the soda bombed my healthy streak. The wait for the pizza to cook was probably around 5-7 minutes, not too bad.

Hopping on the elevator all giddy, I just couldn't wait to eat it. I opened the box and it was like "whoaaaaaa."

I think they did a pretty good job with my mushrooms. I mean, I don't want my entire pizza to be covered in mushrooms even though I do love them. The crust was extremely good, as thin as a tortilla which is absolutely fantastic. I loved how the cheese overrides the crust, a good pizza should be packed with cheesy goodness.

It's an adult sized personal pizza. Nothing compared to the Pizza Hut personal pies. This will knock it upside down because the quality is that much better. If you have some time to spare and want some good pizza, give Eddie's a shot.

For info on where the truck is, either follow them on twitter or check it out on their website.

Eddie's Pizza Truck
New York, NY
(917) 439-7522 

Frying Dutchmen

This food truck sells fries on the go. The only way you can find them would be following them on twitter, check out their website, or just plainly be lucky and bump into them in the streets.

It was a hot day when J and I ordered from this truck, they apparently were stationed at Union Square for maybe an hour and was planning to change locations. Good thing we caught them before they leave. They had over 15 types of sauces on their menu and not only did they have regular potato french fries, but also sweet potato fries. We wanted the combination but they told us they were out of sweet potato. I was quite disappointed but the heat was making it too uncomfortable for me to even care. Eventually, we got our fries and 2 types of sauces.

The two sauces were Vampire Repellent (Roasted Garlic & Nutmeg Aioli) and Dave's Roasted Poblano BBQ Sauce. I personally liked the BBQ sauce a lot more than the Vampire Repellent, I mean it wasn't that bad but the garlic and nutmeg with fries was just too weird for me. They have a heck more sauces that might suit each person.

I probably won't be coming back to the Frying Dutchmen just because I find that Pomme Frites are a heck lot better.

Frying Dutchmen
Various Location in NYC
(646) 397-1379

Drink Up: Kelvin Natural Slush Co.

Walking down 14 Street, I spotted the Kelvin truck. I've heard they serve some heck of a slush and the weather was perfect for a great slush like that. Although getting it dead hot on a summer day will just make the ice melt faster, which is no bueno for me. Lucky enough, J and I got this at night... absolutely perfect.

Kelvin's slush is quite simple, you get to choose from 3 different types of flavors and get to add-in a fruity puree to give your entire drink a fresh kick. J and I opted for the special of the day - the Arnold Palmer. Iced tea slush and lemonade slush.

Arnold Palmer

Definitely a nice refreshing drink. If you like slushies then this is the truck you need to find. Just the right amount of sweetness in it to quench your thirst in the summer night.

Kelvin Natural Slush Co.
Various locations in NYC.
(646) 200-5083

Degustation

After watching Anthony Bourdain's No Reservation about El Bulli, J and I decided we needed to go to Spain one day and sit through the amazing 50 course meal that Ferran Andria put together. Small tapas dishes which taste absolutely over the top. Sadly to know that El Bulli is now closed and our hope of going there has been teared apart.

But, totally not bummed. I found a place right here in NYC that comes just as close to El Bulli as possible and I took my boyfriend their for his birthday. Degustation is literally a tapas bar that serves small but extremely flavorful dishes. The flavors that are incorporated into a dish is enough to surprise you.

We both chose to do the 10-course tasting menu (yes, I know we're pigs). Actually,  we are extremely greedy when it comes to food. The following will be photos of the 10-courses and a special add-on surprise. I'll try to explain the most that I can since half the dishes from the 10-course wasn't on the menu. And let me tell you this, each dish has so many components it would make your head spin.

A small menu with spectacular dishes.

Amuse

The appetizer dish. I really don't remember what was the item on the left but it sure does look like an oreo and taste nothing like it. The middle is a Spanish Tortilla with quail egg, total bliss right there. On the right is a ball, which is fried and the interior was really soft, the texture tasted like mashed taro.

Course #1 - Oyster, Egg White Foam

So light and amazing. The egg white brought out the flavor of the oyster.

Course #2

As you can tell, I don't recall the name or what was in this dish. Shame on me! One thing I can tell you, the red/pinkish balls in the middle taste a lot like cream cheese.

Course #3 - Coconut, garlic broth, sweetened cherry

A really nice soup. I actually ate my cherry too fast but it tasted so good with the milky soup. If I ever encounter this again, I'm dunking that cherry in the soup and mixing it because the flavor is superb.

Course #4 - Fried squid, egg whip, brioche toast, pepper flakes

One of my favorite dishes. I love anything fried and J wouldn't have agreed more. This was a crazy tease because the dish was so perfect.

Course #5 - Spinach ravioli, fava beans, shallots and razor clams

I was actually scouting around for the razor clams, I love seafood! But all I find was diced little pieces of it. I mean, I'm not totally disappointed. The ravioli were good, I just wished the fava beans were cooked a bit longer...

Course #6 - Egg mousse, crushed bacon

I've seen this dish everywhere. Always wonder what it was, apparently there's no egg in this egg mousse. It's a garlic infused cream with a stock broth underneath. I can't recall exactly what kind of broth but it was so good. And the spoon was just so cute with the egg shell!

Course #7 - Sturgeon, tapioca pearls, sea beans

Oh lord. I've never love fish this much before. The sturgeon was poached and served in its own broth! I didn't want this to end. The texture of the sturgeon was meaty and bouncy at the same time, heaven!

Course #8 - Flank, grilled vegetables, mustard sauce

It always make me do a double take when I see such a small piece of meat. I mean, I ask myself is it really good? It better be good since it's just a small piece! And of course, it tasted so darn good. Oh, I also never seen such a small eggplant before. Cuteness x100!

Interlude - Rabbit loin, cod belly risotto

Because we're greedy and after seeing dishes before served, and knowing the 8th course was our savory course, we quickly put down one more dish for ourselves. J saw this and was totally intrigued by it. The risotto was absolutely decadent and filled with immense flavor.

Interlude - Dogfish, red cabbage yogurt, corn

I wondered what dogfish was, and plus it was fried so why not?! I was thinking to myself, dogfish eh? Is it anything like catfish? What's with these weird names for fishes...
The fish was really good. Lightly fried and not oily at all. It was also nicely seasoned with lemon.

Course #9 - Yogurt, shaved ice

Our pre-dessert, I liked how the yogurt was just room temperature and the red top part counter-acted that. Amazing.

Course #10 - Caramelized Torija

This officially became my most loved dessert of all times!
A crispy sweet shell on top that was caramelized with a blow torch, and the interior was just unexplainable. It was light, fluffy, chewy, soft, sweet, bouncy... so many different textures. So stinking good!

So, I've developed a passion with this place. I mean, it is good. If you watch Anthony Bourdain and understand the gastronomy in food, then you ought to come here. It's definitely a quality over quantity kind of food and you need to appreciate food to be able to appreciate a place like Degustation.

Degustation
239 E 5th St
New York, NY 10003
(212) 979-1012

Dessert Works: Just Sweet Dessert House

I always love a nice cold dessert in the hot summer heat. I haven't visit this place in a long while ever since last year. Nothing much had changed.

It's an Asian dessert house where you can get your Asian tapioca drinks, cold/warm Asian desserts, and some savory little snacks. After a nice hearty meal, J and I wanted something cold. Just off the area of St. Mark's we remembered that Just Sweet had shaved ice. A dessert that usually cures any hot summer fever.

Patbingsu

They had a variety of shaved ice and we opted for the Korean shaved ice which consist of ice, topped with sweetened condensed milk, mochi, red bean, mixed fruit, corn flakes, match powder, and green tea ice cream.

It surprisingly tasted a lot better when all the ice were melted and the difference of texture and flavor started to combine. Call me weird but it sure was good.

Just Sweet Dessert House
83 3rd Ave
New York, NY 10003
(212) 388-1380