March 31, 2005
Street Food
Ah, street food. Is there nothing better? I thought so, and so was excited to try a lot of the street food in New York. After trying some of it, though, it seemed to lose its appeal. Most of the food carts are not that great. I've found a few of the more famous ones, like the Daisy May food cart, which is nice. But most of the typical rice and chicken, or kabobs on hot dog buns, are not that great.
So I decided to try a few of the more well known places recently (before I was sick, basically). I went to Kwik Meal, hearing about their sublime lamb on pita. It was quite tasty, and the lamb was melt-in-your mouth tender. However, that tenderness comes at a price, which is flavor. The lamb was not well-browned, and so didn't have a strong lamb flavor. Overall, not good enough to keep me coming back. When I was there I noticed that it was St. Patrick's day, and went to check it out, and quickly got caught in a huge crowd, in which it took me about 15 minutes to extricate myself.
But after I got out, I did see some cool groups in the parade coming down 43rd street, joining the parade.
I did take a picture of the Kwik Meal cart, but it came out blurry. Now I know, to be a food blogger, you have to take more than one picture.
My next excursion was that Friday, where I went with my friend Tash to a famous Trinidadian food cart in the Financial District. This was excellent, very authentic Trinidadian food. I got a double (two deep fried chick-pea flour bread, with curried chickpeas inside), and a oxtail roti. In the Trinidadian style, it's like a burrito with curried meat and potatoes inside, with the meat frequently having bones. Mine, being oxtail, obviously was very bony. But it was good, although I thought the oxtail could have been cooked longer so it more easily came off the bone. We had a Mauby each, which is a wonderfully bitter and sweet drink, great for fighting off the heat (at the time a sweltering 50 degrees!). The cart offered a wide range of items, most off the menu. Next time I may try a classic like a cassava pone, or some of the other treats they have. I would have taken a picture of the food, but my hands were way too messy with curry!
