Breakfast Theater At Dunkin’ Donuts
What's in the bag?
I had to work on Memorial Day, and was unpleasantly surprised to find that my ever-reliable New York City wasn’t feeling especially cooperative down by the office. Most of the vendors were closed. Granted, I can’t say I was especially surprised, but generally a deli or two might be open. On Memorial Day, guess again. Down near Hudson Street, the one open shop was a Dunkin’ Donuts. Ergo, breakfast.
They offered something called a breakfast wrap with egg and cheese for .99 cents. Adding bacon or sausage would bring the price up to $1.29. They were also half the calories (and less than half the price) of their other eggy offerings, so I figured what the heck, let’s give them a run.
Uh-huh.
I ordered two of them. Now I know, what should I expect from a Dunkin’ Donuts? I understand that they sell donuts. I know its unlikely they’d have fresh eggs. But perhaps they had someone grilling ’em up?
Nope. The woman behind the counter reached into the cold storage lockers, and produced a semi-circular, fluffy yellow patty. She pulled out a flour tortilla, a piece of American cheese, and a strip of pre-cooked bacon.
There was a precise method to the assembly. First, she put down the perfectly round tortilla. Then on went the square piece of cheese. Then the strip of bacon. Then the half-moon of the fluffy, yellow patty. At this point, she folded the tortilla over, and pressed down hard. Then she placed a mesh grid over them, and stuck them into what I took to be her industrial microwave.
Is that Yellow #5 I see?
Why is the patty crescent shaped? So that when final assembly is complete, it matches perfectly the rim of the tortilla. I can see that Mark, before building Yankee Stadium, spent some time at Dunkin’ Donuts corporate HQ.
I’m not sure what the patty is. Can eggs be cooked, molded, and shipped on an industrial scale? Refrigerated? Retain their fluffiness through all of that?
Can they?
Evidently, the answer to those questions is 'yep.'
I was so unsure of what the substance was that I was eating that I logged on to the Dunkin’ Donuts website and went digging through their nutritional information to find out. But there’s nothing there about it NOT being egg, and they continually call it egg, so I imagine they’ve figured out some way to make it perform to the level of trained seal (the circus animal, not the fellows who gunned down Bin Laden). I hate to think of how they have achieved this, it seems inconceivable it’s merely a matter of molding, cooking and shipping it. Maybe there’s a freezing process in there somewhere? Do they use some product to help it survive?
I’ll say this, after the nuking (or ovening) the wrap itself was faintly crispy, the bacon was quite hot and salty, the cheese what you’d expect, leaving only the fluffy yellow patty which I really didn’t want to think too much about. It looked like breakfast, its flavor evoked breakfast, and it was very inexpensive.
If you like airplane food, you’re going to love this.
Dunkin’ Donuts
Locations everywhere For more information, check their website.The Jalapeño NYC Truck Continues The Truck Craze
What is this large, green thing?
It seems the flood of food trucks can not be stopped. Everywhere I turn a new one (or at least a truck that’s new to me) turns up. The latest example: the Jalapeño NYC truck, which offers tacos for $2.50 and burritos for $7.50, plus a number of awesome sounding specialties that I’d very much like to try if I return to it (a traditinal Cemita, for example, with oaxaca cheese, beans, avocado and chipotle).
Gotta love that logo. Simple, classic.
I have to say with the burgeoning number of gourmet trucks rolling through New York these days, it was nice to see one take a more simply-designed approach. I thought the image on the side of the sweating pepper was pretty funny.
Handwritten menu was somewhat hard to read. The prices, not so much.
Their menu encompasses both sides of the counter, with tacos and tamales on the right and those other specialties (and of course burritos) on the left. I was impressed by the depth of selection. However, when I ordered my al pastor tacos, I was told they didn’t have pineapple, so they suggested the “enchiladas taco” instead, which was apparently spicy pork. Heck, at $2.50 a taco, it seemed well worth a run (the al pastor would’ve been $3).
The condiment counter. Very nice touch.
One thing I liked about the truck was it’s seasoning station at the front. The offered fresh limes, a variety of salsas, peppers and radishes. How excellent.
The spicy pork tacos, aka 'enchiladas,' from the Jalapeno NYC truck.
Let me say that after I agreed to the order I was totally confused as to what to expect. I thought enchiladas were tortillas with a filling covered in cheese. I was pleased when I got the simple-seeming, hearty pair of tacos. Just $5. However, for something called spicy pork, it was not noticeably spicy. It was well cooked and flavorful, and I was delighted to be able to squeeze a little fresh lime over them.
A closer look... .
The onions and other loose veggies didn’t really pop, flavor-wise, though the corn tacos were delicious.
Since the image on the side of the truck (sweating pepper) – and the truck’s name (Jalapeno NYC) – and the dish itself (spicy pork) all suggested spicy heat, I was really surprised to find this smoky, flavorful taco to be not spicy at all. That said, I didn’t mind. I should add that I did not apply any of the salsas that were offered on the counter of the truck, which I suppose must add the kick you might expect from a place that calls itself Jalapeno NYC.
All of this is not a knock on the food, which was simple and hearty, as I mentioned. Very straight, classic and tasty taco for just $2.50. I’d certainly go back, and look forward to trying their other stuff. I imagine their burrito must be a whopper.
Jalapeño NYC Truck
Travels around NYC For more information, follow them on Twitter.Crisp Offers Variation On Falafel From Their Truck
Unlike most trucks, you order at the driver's-side window, and collect at the back.
Crisp is a small chain of, well, artisinal falafel joints in NYC with a trio of locations. I’d never been to one. But like many other vendors, they’ve got a truck out on the streets now, and I felt the urge to try it.
There's a falafel in that elaborate box.
Crisp isn’t particularly cheap. It cost a total of $10.26 for my “Parisian” falafel (more on that shortly) and a side of fries. Granted, the fries were just $1, but nonetheless, when you consider that you can get Mamoun’s for so much less (and how tasty it is), Crisp had better dazzle.
The elaborate 'handbag.' Rather clever, really.
One thing that might be driving the price of their falafel up is their elaborate packaging, which they dub “the handbag.” Actually, it is fairly awesome, if somewhat wasteful. It has a zip-pull in the middle of it which essentially decapitates the box, revealing the falafel within. This gives you something quite convenient (and not messy!) to hold onto as you begin devouring the sandwich. Nonetheless, it’s an elaborate piece of tech for a falafel.
Looks pretty fresh, no?
A couple of quick notes: they seemed to still be working out some kinks at the truck. When someone else snitched my fries from the man at the counter, he gave me a $2.25 “Gaucho mint tea” for free to apologize for the delay. I’m glad he did, it was very tasty. It comes unsweetened, though he offered a plastic tube of syrup to add to it. I’m pretty sure, though, that I wouldn’t pay $2.25 for the smallish cup of the stuff, but it was pleasant.
Anyway, back to the falafel. As I mentioned, Crisp offers what I call “artisinal” falafel, meaning that they try to twist the falafel concept around and add a variety of different ingredients, spreads and flavors. For example, they offer a Mexican take (cilantro pesto, avocado, corn, salsa, nachos and jalapeno dressing), an African (peanut sauce, sweet potatoes, corn salad, cherry tomatoes, onions, habanero harissa sauce) among others. I chose the Parisian, which included sundried tomato spread, goat cheese, roasted peppers, greens and onions.
The fresh salad fixings really stood out.
Far and away, this is the freshest and, well, most crisp salad components I’ve had in a falafel. Usually they are wilted and look a bit rough around the edges. Not so at Crisp, where I think their name is especially apropos. I was delighted with the quality and quantity of lettuce, cherry tomato and onions in the sandwich. The fries, which was certainly a good portion for just $1, were lightly fried and tasty. It wasn’t clear I need them, since the falafel itself is a significant portion.
Herein lies the rub.
If there’s a trouble with the Crisp falafel, it is not the ingredients. The problem (elaborate packaging notwithstanding) is the construction. My Parisian falafel, with goat cheese and sundried tomato spread, tasted just like any other falafel I’d had (albeit with fresher vegetables than most) until I got to the bottom. You see, whoever had constructed the sandwich had put the goat cheese and sundried tomato spread in first, in a dollop. Everything else sat on top of it. If they had taken one second more to spread these things along the interior walls of the pita, the entire sandwich would’ve been infused with their delicious flavor. Instead, they were reduced to a delicious desert-like concoction.
Look, it’s a pricey falafel – the Parisian was $8.75 on its own, a standard falafel is $6.75. Mamoun’s is cheaper and excellent, Taim is still the reining, defending champ in terms of overall succulence and quality. But Crisp offers an excellent contender, and a worthy challenge in its own right. I’ll go again, when I’m flush.
Crisp
Multiple locations in NYC Truck moves around, follow them on Twitter www.eatatcrisp.com
Ladies and gentlemen, 'Big Red.'
You could’ve knocked me over with a feather when I saw there was a lobster roll truck parked across the street from my office today. I charged toward it, thinking it was surely the newly-debuted Luke’s Lobster truck. But I was wrong: there is a second lobster truck on the scene!
It’s the Red Hook Lobster Pound Truck, also known as “Big Red.”
“We know who the best one is,” said one man behind the counter with a wink.
It is incredible to me to think there are now two lobster roll trucks on the road. Can any other city in the U.S. can make the same claim? New York’s status as the street food capital of the United States seems assured. Take that, L.A.
Love the rear-view friendly logo.
By far my favorite feature of the truck, other than the delicious lobster, is the hilarious rear-view friendly logo on the front. That’s genius.
So how is the Red Hook Lobster Pound’s truck fare?
Well, it is different (a bit) from what you get at the pound itself. I opted for the Connecticut-style roll, because I adore the Hot Lob at Abbott’s. Also, Luke’s does not offer a Hot Lob competitor (actually, score one for RLHP for variety alone), they stick strictly with the Maine-style roll.
The steaming tin of hot lobster meat.
At Big Red, they pull the hot lobster meat from a square tin sitting atop the hot plate. The good news is that the lobster is indeed quite hot, but it is also sopping from being poached in warm butter. When applied to the bun, which is not toasted, the bun almost instantly turned to mush. The result is extremely unwieldy, like a hot dog overloaded with sauerkraut with the bun giving way. You had better find somewhere to sit before eating it – then, perhaps, you could really enjoy it. No such luck for me.
The roll itself, cleverly tucked into a paper sleeve.
I was so concerned about the wind stripping all the heat from it I ate it standing up. Chunks of precious lobster spilled away from the ruined, soaked bun. Based on my experience today, I can’t recommend the Connecticut-style roll from the truck. Keep in mind: the rolls are $16 – or $18 if you get them with chips and a drink.
Further, the taste wasn’t quite as delicious as what I had visiting the Pound itself. The lobster was hot and fresh but the flavor wasn’t quite as rich and buttery. There was almost a faint red pepper to it, and some of that faint briny fishiness I previously wrote about.
In the interest of full disclosure, I’ve been going to the spectacular Luke’s Lobster pretty much every weekend since it opened in my neighborhood so my palette right now is geared that way.
Next time I will get the Big Red’s Maine-style, hoping it is more user friendly.
ME LIKE EAT 