Union Square
Above the subway hub, the streets are now lined with food trucks SNACKING, SOUTH AMERICAN STYLE COOL CULTURE DIETERS, YOU’VE BEEN WARNED
If you haven’t stepped out of the Union Square Q train stop recently, you’ve probably missed the city’s newest street food scene.
Along Union Square West it’s “a food truck parade,” says Greenwich Village resident Serena Chang, who stopped by one recent Saturday to snag a mango-ginger popsicle.
In fact, says Austin Poplin, who mans one of nearly a dozen trucks that stop by the nabe, long gone are the weekends when he could roll up at 11 a.m. and find parking (“I woke up at 6,” he says, “to make sure we were getting a spot.”).
While some of the environmentally minded farmers over at the Greenmarket might raise an eyebrow at their new gas-guzzling neighbors — their motors do provide a constant hum — most Saturday shoppers are probably glad they can score a few chicken tacos along with a wheel of local cheese and a pound of peaches.
Following are five places to grab an instant park picnic, but for more on the scene and its history, check out our video on nydailynews.com.
Angela Sierra and Viviana Lewis run the Colombian food truck called
painted top to bottom with brilliant blue parrots. Most customers come for the arepas — flat Colombian corncakes griddled with a splash of butter and topped with beans, cheese or meat for $5 to $9 — but Palenque’s are dressed big-city style, says Sierra, meaning with baby arugula, a squeeze of pureed cilantro and parsley and a drizzle of chipotle mayo.
For a more traditional option, try
Palenque, the hogao: It’s a silky stew of tomatoes, green onions and olive oil, served on either an arepa or atop a pair of flattened and fried green plantains given a quick sear on the grill ($4).
Palenquehomemadecolombianfood.com
Even if most Americans haven’t tried a lassi — the sweet and savory yogurt drinks popular in India — Karan Gera hopes they’ll try one in popsicle form. Called Monsieur Singh Lassi Pops, Gera’s creations are made in Brooklyn in flavors like rose; mango, ginger and mint; or strawberry, basil and black pepper, and sold from little wheeled carts around the city.
For the past month, one has been parked at the corner of 14th St. and Union Square West. The name of the company is a riff on the Indian city of Kapurthala: The home of the fictional Mr. Singh, it’s known as the “Paris of Punjab.” Monsieursingh.com No matter the heat or humidity,
Gorilla Cheese NYC still draws a crowd for its riffs on childhood snacks like