But, before we started our food tour, we needed energy for the food tour - so of course we hit up Sullivan Street Bakery in Hell's Kitchen for breakfast. (I know, food before a food tour, but we were hungry).
But before the trek to Queens, Jonathan and I started the day with a little non-food tourist-attraction - we visited High Line Park in the Meatpacking District.
We jumped on the 7 train at Grand Central and 40 mins later we get off at the Junction Blvd stop. Our plan was to start at Junction Bvld and walk our way down Roosevelt Avenue. Sure we had a list of must-eat-food-items, but if something looked yummy, we could definitely work in some exceptions.
On the corner of Junction and Roosevelt is where the famed "churros cart" is supposed to be, but with dozens of food carts lining just this one corner, it was hard to figure out which one was THE cart.
Jonathan and I did a quick walk up and down the four corners - we knew we were in trouble. There were carts filled with tamales, lechon (entire pigs on a cart!), sides of rice, beans, corn...
We had to stay focused - "Churros!," Jonathan kept saying in my ear.
Fine - we'll get Churros, but I also wanted the Choclo. Choclo is a sweeter, lighter-colored corn with huge kernels. Plenty of carts served the boiled ears of corn by slathering it with mayo then topping it with crumbled cheese. (Some carts also roast them...I can do both!) We bought one to split then asked the woman where they sold Churros. She pointed down the block and we saw a small cart with a small group of women sitting on folding stools waiting for their food. We walked over and checked out her cart - it as all decked out with promising items: a tortilla press, a bucket of masa, small containers of chorizo, cheese, seasoned ground beef, lettuce, and tomatoes. Lined on the side were colorful bottles of sauces. More importantly, next to her griddle was a deep fryer, and elevated above the fryer was a contraption that apparently held the batter for the churros. All she had to do was pull down on the handle and the batter would drop right into the fryer - genius!
We ordered a bag of churros (4 sticks for $1) which she put into a brown paper bag and covered with cinnamon sugar. We munched on these while she made my order of sope con chorizo. She took a small mound of masa, flattened it into a long-circular disk and threw it on the griddle. She then topped it with chorizo, queso fresco, beans and shredded lettuce. I understand this was my first cart and this item was not on my list but how was I supposed to Not get this? I know, I know... amateur...
It was worth it though - the sope is thicker than a tortilla so the masa is soft and chewy but with a slightly crisp outside; the chorizoy sweet and salty and the melting cheese brought it all together.
We stop by the corner bodega for a drink. Jonathan had just gotten back from Peru and wanted to get some Inka Cola (a popular Peruvian soda) . Sure enough, the bodega had it so we guzzled down some of the bubblegum flavored soda then walked towards Buenos Aires Bakery for some Argetinan-style empanadas. Now, I'm kind of biased - I like my empanadas with a less-baked crust (I liked fried things, what can I say.) But the chicken filling was tasty and the bakery seemed to have a lot of other tasty things that we'll have to go back for.
These were Argentian-style empanadas, which
This is what ended up getting:
1) Dulce de Leche Pan
2) Elote with Mayo y queso
3) Churros, Sope con Chorizo
4) Argentinian-style empanadas - Buenos Aires Bakery, 90th St. & Roosevelt Ave.
5) Strawberries & milk drink, arepas de choclo with cheese - Los Chuzos Y Algo Mas, 79-01 Roosevelt Ave.
6) Samosa chat, sweets - Maharaja Sweets, 73rd St. and 37th Ave.
7) Soy garlic Korean fried chicken - Unidentified Flying Chickens, 72nd St. and Roosevelt Ave.
Krystals -
8) Halo-halo, Palobok - Jollibee, 63rd St. and Roosevelt Ave.
