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If you are lucky enough not to be on a meal plan at NYU, chances are you consumed something today that came from a cart on campus (Lamb Gyro, Gould Plaza. Yum). The Studio 20 masters students, who specialize in journalism catered to the web at our beloved Arthur L. Institute, produced this charming clip about a few of the street vendors around Astor Place and 14th Street. An “adventurous” Moroccan, an anonymous Egyptian and a generous NYPD alum are just a few of the people you have to thank for quick food between classes and hot sauce stains on your favorite t-shirt (true story, every Monday).

Here are the vendors up for the award, and where in the neighborhood you can sample them yourself:

The Treats Truck
Fri, Oct 10, noon – 3 pm: Fifth Avenue, near 14th St.

Dessert Truck
Nightly: St Marks Place and Third Avenue (Astor Place)

Van Leeuwen Ice Cream
Daily, 1 pm – 8 pm: University Place between 11th and 12th

Wafels and Dinges
Monday – Sunday, 6 pm to 9:30 pm: 14th St. and Third Avenue, in front of Trader Joe’s

Rickshaw Dumplings

I got the tip from Kenny Lao, co-founder of Rickshaw Dumplings, who spoke at NYU on Tuesday. His vision is to bring quality food to the masses at a fast-food pace. He was looking to expand business in the city – they currently have a location in the Flatiron District and here at NYU on 8th St. – but due to insane rent prices, the best option was to go mobile.

The trend towards restaurants and cafes moving to the streets is by no means new. We all see the Mud Truck at Astor Place every day, and the Wafels & Dinges truck, moved just outside of Palladium and Trader Joe’s last year. But these projects definitely mark a step away from the more common ice cream and taco trucks we all know.

Photo: Flickr courtesy of jslander

The latest dessert truck to hit the streets is the Anarchist Ice Cream Truck – which serves up flavors like “Know Your Rights” and “Graffiti Liberation” along with anarchist literature. It’s only going to be around for a week as part of the “Democracy in America: The National Campaign” art exhibition. Political dissent has never tasted so sweet.

[NYT]

Photo by: Corey Kilgannon/The New York Times

Maybe it’s the casual ease of ordering to-go at a window and instantly receiving the food in our hands. Or it could just be the memories of our mothers hollering impending punishments at our disappearing backs as we chased down the neighborhood ice cream truck, barefoot. Whatever the reason, New Yorkers are obsessed with mobile dessert trucks – just ask the New York Times and Grub Street.

I’ve visited both the Treats Truck and the Dessert Truck this summer, and yesterday I completed the artery-clogging trifecta with a trip to Van Leeuwen Artisan Ice Cream Truck.

The Treats Truck, a vehicle whose silver hue bears a slight resemblance to that of a metal trailer home, is basically a middle school bake sale on wheels without the shitty brownies baked by some kid’s incompetent mother. It serves traditional homemade baked goods, like cookies, brownies, and pecan bars. The chocolate chip cookie ($1) is crisp on the outside and soft on the inside, its chocolate chips moistened by the humidity. I also ordered the pecan butterscotch bar ($2.75), whose buttery, slightly undercooked center revealed sticky strings of dough when broken in two. Unfortunately for those in other boroughs, this truck operates mainly in Midtown.

While the Treats Truck focuses on churning out homey, comforting baked desserts, the Dessert Truck boasts more sophisticated options that are likely to be served in upscale eateries. Each dessert item on the menu goes for $5, while homemade sodas cost $3. In the evenings, this truck is located next to the Starbucks in Astor Place (I know there are two Starbucks’ within 5 feet of one another – I’m talking about the one on 3rd Ave.) The chocolate bread pudding is a decadent synthesis of soufflé and warm, dense liquid. The bread’s fluffiness is complemented by the rich pudding at the base of the dish. Spiced pineapple soda is infused with ample amounts of cinnamon which diminish the fruit’s naturally saccharine flavor. Just add some booze and this carbonated concoction would easily replace vodka & cranberry as my girly drink of choice.

Van Leeuwen Artisan Ice Cream Truck takes SoHo (the southeast corner of Prince & Greene, to be exact) by day and University Place (between 11th and 12th Streets) by night. From this pale yellow automobile comes artisanal ice cream made with the freshest, highest quality organic ingredients. The peppermint and chip’s ($3.95 for a small cup) peppermint hails from Oregon’s volcanic soils, and thinly shaved, 72% chocolate chips are distributed generously throughout each scoop. The ice cream is modest in both sweetness and gut-punching heaviness, and the flavor is refreshingly minty without an artificial aftertaste. Though for the price, the one small scoop they doled out was pretty skimpy, my mouth was left feeling tingly and cool post-consumption. If only that chill could soothe my nerves in the hot, crowded elevators in the Silver Center of Claustrophobia.

Photo by Adam Blumenberg