The best food trucks in New York City

by Jessica Marati on

In recent years, food trucks have taken over the streets of New York City. But for the casual observer, it can be difficult to distinguish between the good (organic, artisanal, locally-sourced), the bad (hello street meat), and the ugly (any of the cupcake carts in SoHo) when it comes to street food. To help, we’ve compiled a slideshow of some of our favorite mobile restaurants in NYC. You can thank us later.

%Gallery-144628%Big Gay Ice Cream Truck
The truck is in the garage until spring, but ice cream lovers hankering for treats like the Salty Pimp (vanilla ice cream, dulce de leche, sea salt, chocolate dip) or Mermaid (vanilla ice cream, key lime curd, crushed graham crackers, whipped cream) can stop by the new Big Gay Ice Cream Shop on East 7th Street.

Bistro Truck
A step up from your standard gyro stand, Bistro Truck serves high-quality Moroccan-Mediterranean food, like lamb over couscous, grass fed beef bistro burgers, and more. White linen napkins not included. Check their weekly schedule for locations.

Calexico
With carts in SoHo and Flatiron, restaurants in Greenpoint and Red Hook, and appearances on Food Truck Revolution and the Cooking Channel under their belts, the brothers behind Calexico are taking over New York with fresh tacos, burritos, and quesadillas.

Halal Guys at 53rd and 6th
Their website proclaims, “We are different.” Maybe that’s why hundreds of people line up at the corner of 53rd and 6th Avenue each day for the Halal Guys’ chicken, gyro, and mixed platters and sandwiches, while other midtown gyro vendors stay empty.

King of Falafel
The King of Falafel’s falafel, shawarma, and chicken platters are more than worth the trip into the Astoria, where he holds court at the corner of 30th Street and Broadway.

Korilla BBQ
Korean tacos? Why not? The guys behind Korilla BBQ whip up fusion foods like bulgogi burritos and house-made tofu chosun bowls at locations around Manhattan. Check their Truck Finder to track them down.

Jamaican Dutchy
Try a taste of Jamaica (jah) at the Jamaican Dutchy truck, which serves full sized and mini meals of specialties like jerk chicken and curry goat. Follow them on Twitter to see where they’re parked.

N.Y. Dosas
The best vegetarian dosas in town can be found at Thiru Kumar’s food cart, which is usually parked on Washington Square Park, at West 4th Street and Sullivan. The accompanying chutney is unreal.

Red Hook Lobster Truck
Red Hook Lobster Pound’s famous lobster rolls are now available on the road! Rolls are available Maine-style, with mayo, or Connecticut-style, with butter. Both are excellent. Stalk them on Twitter.

Solber Pupusas
Last year’s Vendy Award winner serves authentic El Salvadoran pupusas, grilled corn masa patties stuffed with cheese and delicious fillings. You can find them at the Red Hook Ball Fields, or at the Fort Greene Brooklyn Flea Market.

Van Leeuwen Artisan Ice Cream
Nothing spells summer in New York like creamy red currant and Earl Grey artisanal ice cream from Van Leeuwen. Though the business has expanded to storefronts in Greenpoint, Boerum Hill, and the East Village, they still operate trucks in SoHo and Madison Square Park.

Wafels & Dinges
Traditional Belgian wafels, dinges, and speculoos can be found at the Wafels & Dinges truck, which makes the rounds around Manhattan and Brooklyn year-round. Save some room for the Belgian hot cocoa too.

[Flickr image via Bob the Astorian]

Metropolitan Museum of Art to reopen American Wing after $100 million remodel

by Sean McLachlan on


The Metropolitan Museum of Art is famous for its impressive collection of American art, including iconic images such as Emanuel Leutze’s 1851 painting Washington Crossing the Delaware. Now that collection has a larger, better designed home thanks to a $100 million renovation.

The New American Wing Galleries for Paintings, Sculpture, and Decorative Arts open Jan. 16 and total 30,000 square feet of exhibition space, which is 3,300 more than previously. It houses American art from the eighteenth to twentieth centuries and provides better lighting and access than the previous galleries.

Besides Leutze’s work, which has been given a new gilded frame, the collection is a who’s who of American art, including painters such a John Singleton Copley, Thomas Cole, and Frederic Remington. Cole’s painting View from Mount Holyoke, Northampton, Massachusetts, after a Thunderstorm-The Oxbow is also on display and is shown below. There’s also a large folk art collection, historic furniture, and work by important silversmiths such as Paul Revere.

Paintings by Emanuel Leutze and Thomas Cole courtesy Wikimedia Commons.

Video of the day: New York City 1938

by Elizabeth Seward on

Today’s Video of The Day takes us all the back to the year 1938, when New York City was ‘The Wonder City’. Watch this video through to the end and take note of all the changes you see. Not only is New York City very different these days than it was back then (even more people, even more speeding cars), but, naturally, the people of New York are different these days, too. But the differences, after they have been accounted for, aren’t actually what I find to be so striking about this video. It’s the similarities that get me. Watch as the video guides you through the Statue of Liberty and Wall Street, take note of how easily you connect with the traffic on the streets. If you have ever lived in or visited NYC, this video takes you back in time but simultaneously serves to show that NYC is, as always, pretty timeless.

Trump International celebrates 15th anniversary with $15,000 hotel package

by McLean Robbins on
Trump International Hotel & Tower New York (the only Forbes Five-Star, AAA Five-Diamond Hotel with a Five-Star, Five-Diamond restaurant in New York) is celebrating their upcoming 15th anniversary in lavish and traditional Trump style, with a $15,000 Crystal Anniversary Package.

While normally we’d make fun of such a package, the price of the accommodations and jewelry alone make this a pretty good “deal,” if you can call anything that’s $15k a deal. The package includes:

· Two nights in a one-bedroom Central Park-view suite (normally $1,000 plus per night)
· A 750ml bottle of Louis Roederer Cristal Brut Champagne
· Rock Crystal Jewelry from Ivanka Trump Fine Jewelry, including the 16″ Rose Gold Chain With Rock Crystal Center Stone, Long Rose Gold Rock Crystal and Diamond Drop Earring on Diamond French Wire, and 7.5″ Rock Crystal and Diamond Chain Bracelet
· A Shonbek Crystal Chandelier (so you can glitter like Trump at your own home)
· A pair of Christian Louboutin “Fifi” pumps, cloaked in crystals, with a 100mm heel (want to send us your pair if you don’t like them?)
· Dinner for two at Jean Georges, the hotel’s three-Michelin-Star restaurant, including a bottle of premier Champagne
· Breakfast for two daily at Nougatine

“Crystal is the traditional 15th anniversary gift, and we certainly have our share of it here at Trump International,” said General Manager Suzie Mills, who has worked at the hotel since its 1997 opening.


The Crystal Anniversary Package will be available as of the 15th anniversary of the hotel’s opening – Jan. 15, 2012 – through Jan. 15, 2013.

Getting ‘Sweet Revenge’ in New York’s West Village

by Jessica Festa on

Located in the West Village of New York, at 62 Carmine Street, is a sweet shop that puts a new spin on wine pairing.

Walking into Sweet Revenge, you will become instantly immersed in the warmth of freshly baked desserts, the cozy ambiance of the small room, smiling servers, and intimate lighting set by tiny Christmas bulbs. And, you won’t see anybody with a sweet Bellini or a full-bodied Malbec.

Instead of pairing wines with traditional cheeses and meal courses, Sweet Revenge features an extensive list of gourmet, internationally-inspired cupcakes, each offering a wine and beer suggestion next to it. Four signature options are always available, including:

  • Sweet Revenge– Peanut butter cake with a ganache center and peanut butter fudge frosting paired with Juan Benegas Malbec, Argentina, or Weihenstephaner Hefe Weiss, Germany
  • Pure– Mexican vanilla cake with Mexican vanilla buttercream paired with Principato Pinot Noir, Italy, or Kwak, Belgium
  • Dirty- Valrhona chocolate cake with dark chocolate truffle paired with Pinotage, South Africa, or Kopparberg Pear Cider, Sweden
  • Crimson & Cream– Raspberry red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting paired with a Raspberry Bellini or Belhaven, Scotland

There are also rotating cupcake selections each day, like Cafe Mocha, Dulce de Leche, Malaysian Coconut, and Mayan Chocolate, to name a few. While you don’t need to choose their suggested drink pairing I would highly recommend it, as they tend to keep the flavors in balance. I opted for the Crimson & Cream with the Raspberry Bellini and was really impressed not only with the size of the cupcake and generous amount of cream cheese frosting, but also with how well the raspberry flavors in the drink complemented the fruity red velvet cake. My companion and I also tried the Pure paired with the Principato Pinot Noir which was also very tasty, although we both agreed the Crimson & Cream had a lot more to offer in terms of palate excitement.

Happy hour is from 4-8 PM, Monday-Friday, and includes select discounted drinks and a $10 cupcake and wine/beer pairing. If you don’t go during happy hour, expect to pay $10 for the drink and $3.50 for the cupcake, which is still a great deal for the excellent service and unique experience. Also, for those without a sweet tooth, breakfast, brunch, lunch, and late night munchies, like sandwiches, salads, and fruit and cheese platters, are available. The savory cakes with wine and beer pairings are also a delicious option, especially the Jamaican Curry, which includes West Indian curry spices, chic peas, and ricotta cheese cake and coconut curry dripping sauce paired with Redcliffe Sauvignon Blanc, New Zealand, or Palma Louca, Brazil.

Hours: Monday-Thursday 7AM-11PM, Friday 7AM-12:30AM, Saturday 11AM -12:30AM, and Sunday 11AM-10PM. Subway: 1 to Houston or the ACE/BDFV to W.4th. Phone: (212) 242- 2240