Gourmet Food Trucks at Hell's Kitchen Flea Market

Usually we follow food trucks' tweets on Twitter to find out where they are and what they're serving.  Sometimes it's easy, while other times we're on a wild goose chase as situations (e.g. traffic, police citations, weather, etc.) change these gourmet food trucks' locations.  So when we heard that at least 6 of them would be stationary in one spot, we were eager to check them out.  We headed out to the Hell's Kitchen Flea Market this morning to brave the crowd, soak in the sun, and eat our fill of Korean BBQ, BLT burgers, vegan doughnuts, and inspired ice cream.

Half an hour into the event and already The Krave had a ton of people waiting in line.  The Krave is known for its creative take on Korean BBQ (like LA's Kogi Truck, the one that tons of New Yorkers waited in line to try last year).  Because it's normally located outside the city (in Jersey City), we knew this was the one truck we had to try.

After a 40 minute wait, we ordered the Taco Combo ($7.50) which included the Sesame Chicken taco, Galbi Short Rib taco, the Pork taco, and a drink.  The tacos were all tasty as we loved the spiciness of the shredded kimchi on them.  Our favorite was the well-marinated Galbi Short Rib, which narrowly edged out the sweet and moist Pork.

We also ordered the Kravers (2 for $6) or sliders with Pork meat and Galbi short rib meat.  We loved the abundance of meat along with the Monterey Jack cheese and kimchi on the toasted brioche buns.

While I was waiting in line, my hubby went to get some "waiting food" from Go Burger by BLT Restaurants. 
After watching a recent No Reservations with Anthony Bourdain episode in which BLT Burger's Chef Laurent Tourondel demonstrates how to make the perfect cheeseburger, we knew we had to try it.

The Classic Cheeseburger ($6) is made with 100% Certified Black Angus beef burgers (a mix of sirloin, short rib, chuck and brisket cut).  The burger was juicy, with the right amount of pink.  My hubby also bought the Kobe Dog ($6) mainly because the meat is from Snake River Farms (which is where places like Per Se and The French Laundry have sourced their meat).  The hot dog, with apple cole slaw, spicy German mustard, and pickled jalapenos, was pretty good.

We've had the dumplings from the Rickshaw Dumpling Truck before, so we didn't venture out to get them again.  What looked really interesting were the freeze pops in Thai Ice Coffee and Mango Lassi flavors.  We'll try them when the truck comes back to our neighborhood (without the huge crowds!). 

What better way to beat the 87F/31C heat than with some cones from the Big Gay Ice Cream Truck?  Loved the bright colors of the various ice cream toppings:  sunny yellow (coconut flakes and curry), poppy red (perhaps the spicy Sriracha hot sauce), and green (wasabi peas).

We opted for the sweet Bea Arthur (vanilla ice cream with dulce de leche and nilla wafer cone) while our friend got a vanilla cone with cardamon spice on top (surprisingly the fragrant spice went well with the thick, creamy vanilla ice cream).

With all of the meat-loving trucks, our vegetarian friend wondered what was available for her.  Luckily the Cinnamon Snail truck decided to take up shop in NYC.  This organic and vegan truck is found in Hoboken, NJ and soon in Brooklyn, NY and features sandwiches, desserts, salads, etc.  

By now, my hubby and I were so full, so we only bought a maple glazed toasted coconut vegan doughnut ($2).  Though it seemed a little dry while we were roasting in the sun, it tasted better when we brought it home.  Sweet and nutty - it was a nice way to end our day in the sun.

P.S.  Other trucks on hand were the Treats Truck and (the very popular) Calexico truck.