Waffles to the Rescue

Waffles have long stood the test of time, as a perfect vehicle for a expansive variety of other delicious foods. This breakfast classic has managed to transcend its original purpose – and made its move away from the early morning hours an into just about every other daily meal, all he way to one of our personal favorites: dessert!

Bex started her waffle empire up in Montauk last summer, and after amassing a loyal waffle loving following migrated down to NYC, where she has been awakening the waffle lover in all of us one waffle sandwich at a time.

Since Bex Waffles are not limited to just breakfast, the flavors are free to range from sweet to savory and every spot in between.  Serving scrumptious sandwiches out of their 1977 French Citroen H Van they have become not only one of the tastiest lunch options in the city, but also one of the most grammable.

Some favorites (and this is just the tip of the iceberg) include the Bex Signature, a sandwich loaded with vanilla pastry cream, drizzled with Swiss chocolate and sprinkled with powdered sugar. Over on the more savory side of things, we love the Club Med, with sundried tomato and caramelized onion hummus, roasted veggies, and crumbled feta cheese.

You can bring the cool retro vibes, and warm fluffy flavors of Bex to your next event or marketing activation. Sure to have something for everyone, next indulgent creations even include gluten free, vegetarian, and vegan options, because everyone should be able to get down with some waffle goodness!

Holy Cow!

Being a foodie is fun, and being kosher is great but sometimes the two can butt heads, like when you want a bacon cheeseburger. But guess what – those days are over! Like a gift from the heavens, JJ’s Holy Cow offers certified Glatt Kosher, artisanal organic burgers right out of their cart in the heart of downtown Brooklyn.

They don’t make it complicated either, this burger shack specializes in just that – burgers, making them perfect every time and leaving the other stuff to the other guys. If your idea of heaven involves lots and lots of hamburgers, JJ’s Holy Cow is the place for you, and if your idea of heaven doesn’t involve hamburgers? Well you can just move right along, we don’t have time for that kind of negativity here.

Our must try burgers from the Holy Cow include but are certainly not limited too: The Green Obsession, a beef burger patty on a vegan pretzel bun, loaded with avocado, arugula, fried sweet garlic peppers, and chipotle sauce in adobo – so you can get your greens in while simultaneously getting your burger fix. Our personal favorite The Sunrise in Brooklyn Burger with beef bacon, an over easy egg, and a seasonal mix of sliced root vegetables– we could eat this one for breakfast lunch and dinner.

So next time your having an event with hungry people who love good food – give them and yourself the heavenly treatment.  JJ’s Holy Cow is sure to have something to please everyone, even your vegetarian and vegan friends, as long as they don’t mind it still comes in the form of a hamburger.

New York Comic Con is Here!

This weekend! The Annual New York Comic Con has arrived, and as thousands of fans begin to flock to event – we will be there in all our heroic glory with the cream of the crop of food trucks for your nomming pleasure. Weather you go to meet your heroes, or just to dress up like them, all that running around is going to get you hungry – and as always you will be in good hands.

This year we will be posted up in not one but two locations. As usual we will be at the food truck court at the Javitz Center, in addition we will also have tasty vendors coming to the rescue at the fan zone at Hudson Yards Park across the street.

This years line up includes all our heavy hitters, coming through with the American BBQ and Vietnamese fried chicken is Big D’s Grub Truck, if it’s tacos your after – El Toro Rojo will be serving up the finest tacos, burritos and the like, with gluten-free, vegetarian, and vegan options to help save the planet one bite at a time.

Another NYC staple, Korilla BBQ will be bringing the heat, atop a bed of bulgogi, some of the best Korean BBQ the city has to offer. The Mac Truck will be serving their cheesy comfort classics, not all heroes wear capes – but more of them should be covered in cheese.

No time to stop and sit? Nuchas Empanadas will be on the scene with their hand held flaky pockets of goodness so you don’t have to skip a beat – but if you’re willing to get a little messy, Phil’s Steaks is just around the corner with melty warm cheesesteaks. And of course Gotham’s favorite Valducci’s will be serving the comic books best friend, pizza!

So get your gear, grab your buds, and come on down for some good times and the best grub in the city. See you this weekend! Check out all the details here.

Born and Raised

Unique New York, Unique New York. A place where everyone has a different story, adventure, and most importantly, a different culinary specialty.  Being the big melting pot that it is,  there’s no one food that hails as THE food of New York City, save perhaps the street hot dog, but let’s get real those get old after a while especially when there’s so much more on the streets to eat!

Our newest NYFTA member Born and Raised NYC is a magnificent example of this, bringing New Yorkers from every corner of the city together acting as a melting pot you can visit at lunchtime. (Oh and speaking of melting, they make the best quesadillas in the city.)  Specializing in flavorful delicious Latin comfort food, Born and Raised NYC is always grilling up the finest meats and produce, and melting it together in the tastiest cheeses the city has to offer.

Specializing in the classics quesadillas, Wraps, Burritos, and ofcourse Tacos for our Tuesday Instagram action. The finest most flavorful chicken, steak and chorizo. And should you feel the need to be vegetarian for the day (or if you’re a real vegetarian.) they have the tastiest cactus in Manhattan.

Book them for your next office party, birthday party, or whenever you have lots of hungry people who you know will appreciate the authentic Latin flavors of NYC!

- Your friends at the New York Food Truck Association

NYFTA Food Trucks visit Fox & Friends

Over the weekend, we stopped by the Fox & Friends plaza with several of our our Vendy Award nominated & winning food trucks. Check out the video to watch NYFTA founder Ben Goldberg and #NYFTA members Stuf'd Truck, El Toro Rojo, Nuchas & Phil's Steaks share their delicious cuisine. Big thanks to Griff Jenkins, Abby Huntsman & the entire Fox & Friends team! Are you hungry yet?? Be sure to check out all of the Vendy-nominated NYFTA members on the NYFTA Food Truck Members page.

Who ever thought you could hire award winning food truck catering?? Well, it's very possible! Submit an inquiry here and a team member will get back to you within 24 hours.

Instafamous Burgers at Black Tap

There’s something to be said a bout a classic combo,  a perfect pairing, that special feeling when things fit together just right. Sure there are many of them, but one stands high above the rest – and if you don’t feel the same… (well maybe you just haven’t experienced Black Tap NYC yet!)  We’re talking burgers and beer, craft burgers and beer to be particular, I mean this is New York City.

A new spin on the classic luncheonette – modernized for the instagram age. Back Tap offers some of the most mouth watering, and over all drool inducing New York style burgers, fries, and wings. But this is not your average bar food , and they have a plethora of above average drinks to wash them down with, mason jar cocktails for the brave, and Crazy Shakes for the very brave (yes that is a boozey milk shake).

You know we here at NYFTA love a well-rounded experience, and that’s what Black Tap prides itself on. The brain child of New York native Joe Isodori everything is expertly curated from the food, to the décor, the music, and of course the super friendly staff. Oh and did we mention that he is a Michelin star awarded chef?

With an entire cookbook filled with amazing craft burgers, and a whole other cookbook stuffed to the brim with crazy shakes the likes of which you’ve never imagined – Black Tap is guaranteed to have something to please you when you’re at your most indulgent. So weather you stop in at one of their birck and mortar locations, find them out on the city streets in their mobile kitchen, or call them over to cater your next bash, Black Tap is guaranteed to bring the best of NYC right to your dang face.

The 2017 Vendy Awards This Weekend !

The 13th Annual NYC Vendy awards are finally are this weekend on Governors Island, and of no surprise to us the finalists list is chock full of NYFTA members. The Vendy Awards are held annually here in New York City,  a celebration of the delicious and eclectic street food scene here in our city. Referred to as both the red carpet gala for New York’s pushcart heroes, and a five-hour marathon of consumption and celebration, we can’t argue either. Here’s a look at some of our members who are going to be filling our bellies this weekend.

Photo: NY Daily News

They’ve been helping us stuff our faces with their stuffed French toast all year long, and these newcomers are already taking over the scene. The STUF’D truck is up for Best Rookie Vendor, serving French toast with a big twist – they literally stuff it with stuff. Start with the meatball stuffed French toast and get back to us when you wake up from you’re well - deserved food coma.

A couple of our #tacotuesday go tos are going to be bringing the flavors of our favorite weekday to the island this weekend. Los Viajeros – founded in 2015 brings flavorful exciting dishes from the Dominican Republic, Cuba and Mexico here for our lunching pleasure. Appropriately named, Los Viajeros translates to “the travelers” and is always there to take us on a quick trip to somewhere spicy.

El Toro Rojo serves some of the best dang tacos in town, as well as other traditional Mexican fare. Usually roaming around Midtown for lunch and LIC for dinner, we will be lining up their too-good-for-words carnitas this weekend. Both Vendors are nominated in the Bad Hombres (Y Mujeres) category.

Photo: NY Daily News

And last but certainly not least – dominating the desert scene for over 10 years now, the Crepes Truck will be competing for Best Desert Vendor. Originally operating out of a 1950’s ice cream truck, the Crepes Truck now has four mobile creperies around the city, and is in the process of expanding to brick and mortar locations in town as well.

So come down this weekend and join us in celebrating all the amazing flavors that make our city so great! Tickets are on sale now here.

- Your friends at the New York Food Truck Association

The Bridge to Naples

Hailing from Naples, Italy Alessandro Capuano has set out on a mission to bring the delicious flavors of his home to the streets of New York City. After coming to the states in search of opportunity and the American dream Capuano couldn’t help but notice there was something very important missing from the New York City foodscape. Amidst all the fine dining the city has to offer there were no options for quick, casual, authentic Italian fare. He knew right away he had to change this – and following a brief return to his hometown, he came back to NYC and hit the streets with Ponti Rossi, serving the scrumptious authentic flavors of Naples here on bustling streets of New York.

And he’s lived up to his namesake, Ponti Rossi translated from Italian literally means “red bridges” and is not only the name of his neighborhood back home, but is also what he sets out to do. Ponti Rossi is meant to be a bridge from New York to Naples connecting the cities, acting as New Yorks direct link – or bridge – to genuine Italian fare.

The menu, simple and authentic, reflects the flavors of his upbringing. From delicious fresh pastas made in partnership with Italy’s own Pastificio Garofalo (one of the most important producers of pasta in Italy), homemade paninis made and pressed to order, and satisfying pastries. Ponti Rossi offers Italian food fast that still tastes like it took all Sunday to make.

- Your friends at the New York Food Truck Association

A Brief History of Waffles (And Dinges)

All the world is a waffle, and all of us are merely dinges.  The origin story of Waffles and Dinges is no less epic than the fluffy creations they are serving to this day. It all began a decade ago, when King of the Belgians Albert II got word of what were being passed off as Belgian waffles in the far away land of New York City. These soggy sorry pancake batter excuses for Belgian waffles of course would not fly – he immediately commissioned the Special Forces from the Department of Culinary Affairs, Department of Waffles to put an end to the disgrace that were these “so called” Belgian Waffles.

He knighted Thomas DeGeest to "Special Envoy for Wafels", and later crowned Rossanna Figuera as "Ambassador of Good Things". Wafels & Dinges was born. It all started with a ‘68 Chevy Truck roaming the streets of NYC. "Wafels & Dinges' mission shall be to give America's “Belgian waffles” a serious upgrade", Albert II declared. And the rest is history...

Over the last 10 years they have been making their king proud, raking up loads of awards in New York and beyond, from “Best Dessert Truck in America” to Bobby Flays throw down.

Wondering what exactly the dinges part of Waffles and Dinges is? Well we have another lesson for you. Dinges is a Belgian slang word roughly translating to ‘watchamacallit’ and in this case it refers to all the different scrumptious toppings piling on to the waffles. Chocolate fudge, whipped cream, strawberries, maple syrup, dulce de leche the list goes on and on.  A personal favorite of ours, the Waffogato – which yes is an affogato with a freaking waffle in it.

So the next time your sweet tooth is calling, satisfaction is right around the corner at Waffles and Dinges.

- Your friends at the New York Food Truck Association

Hot Days Call For Delicious Dogs

Nathan’s Famous Hot Dogs is, as its name suggests, the most famous hot dog stand in the country. The story of Nathan’s rise is one of mythic proportions—an inspiration to the New York Food Truck Association and to any American launching a business with only a few dollars in their pockets. Starting as just a single hot dog stand in 1916, the business survived the Great Depression and, throughout the last century, has grown and grown into what it is today: a flourishing chain with several recipes and a spot on the To-Eat list of any visiting tourist. Nathan’s is also the venue for the annual Hot Dog Eating Contest, an international event in the world of competitive eating that has led to the stardom of its reigning champion, Joey Chestnut. 

            A summer in New York is not quite complete without basking in the sun at least once with a delicious hot dog, and although September is creeping on us quickly and the kids are heading back to school, it’s not too late to stop by one of Nathan’s stands or restaurants on a sizzling, scorching day. Have you even been to Coney Island yet? Or the Boardwalk? What are you waiting for? Now is the best time to take a day trip to one of New York’s quintessential summer spots and grab a quintessential summer snack!

            With the weather as hot as it is, the season of rooftop parties and picnics is (thankfully) not over yet either. And what’s a better way to enjoy hanging out on your friend’s rooftop then with one of Nathan’s hot dogs? At nathansfamous.com you can find a whole range of mouthwatering recipes, from the classic Deluxe Nacho Dog, a crunchy hot dog drenched in cheese, to the New York Deli Reuben dog, a hot dog topped with Swiss, sauerkraut and thousand island dressing. I can't think of a better way to spend a day off then to spend it whipping up some classic hot dogs for party. I guarantee your friends, and your

- Your friends at the New York Food Truck Association @NYFTA