Freshly made noodles from X'ian Famous Foods

For today’s quick bites I decided to to take a quick train ride to Chinatown to visit Queens staple Xi’an Famous Foods newest location for some delicious hand pulled noodles. Having previous eaten the western Chinese cuisine of Xi’an I was looking forward to trying something a bit lighter without sacrificing the freshly made hand pulled noodles. I went for the Mount Qi vegetables and Hand pulled noodles. This dish is billed as a vegetarian dish  containing a variety of vegetables including scallions, onions, mushrooms and bean sprouts. I also found pieces of tofu. The veggies include  tofu, cauliflower, wood-ear mushrooms, and carrots.

The dish itself must be ordered spicy otherwise you will lose that distinct flavor kick in the tongue that you look for when eating  at Xi’an. The combination of vegetables with the oil broth and noodles made this dish near perfect. The vegetables added a variety of textures that complemented the noodles. The  noodles and vegetables  marinate very well with the broth making every bite of this dish a wonderful experience. At 5 dollars this is very inexpensive way to enjoy western Chinese culture.

Rating System: The Quick Bites segment rates a dish based on taste, texture, and overall experience. They are given a rating between 1 and 5 stars.  Texture is a individual evaluation (as with taste) however  I evaluate the experience in sampling any dish I have. If I enjoy eating a dish because of its wonderful textures then I will rate it highly. Finally, the overall rating is where I decide whether a dish must be tried or avoided altogether.

Taste:

**** This dish must be ordered spicy for a true experience in flavor.

Texture

**** The variety of vegetables with the hand pulled noodles make this dish very good. However, some vegetables were a bit mushy despite the late addition of the broth which took away from the textural experience. Nevertheless, the crunch of the scallions and onions with the tender thick noodles was very enjoyable.

Overall

****1/2 This is a near perfect dish.

Cost: 5 dollars (inexpensive).

Xi’an Famous Foods

88 East Broadway

New York, NY 10002

Following the truck for awhile I was eagerly seeking out the special choinkwich, an ice cream sandwich consisting of chocolate ice cream and carmelized bacon(!). Unfortunately the item was not available. I ended up settling on the interestingly named Salty Pimp. This is not traditional ice cream found off a Mr. Softee truck. The vendor pimps the plain vanilla soft serve ice cream with a dulce de leche topping, throws a little sea salt on it and then dips the thing into a chocolate mess that dries into a hard shell.

After recently sampling Miss Softee’s ice cream which includes toppings like bacos I am completely sold on the use of salty items to add new flavors to a traditionally sweet soft serve. The Salty pimp was delicious. However, I can see the “pimp’ being just as good without the overwhelming chocolate dip which overpowered the sea salt to some degree.

If you would like to try this fascinating dessert or any of the other interesting toppings the truck offers you will have till friday because the vendor will be relocating to Boston. Catch his twitter at Biggayicecreamtruck.

Bulgogi Burger from NY Hot Dog and Coffee, 245 Bleeker Street, New York, NY 10014

NY Hot Dog and Coffee is a fast food restaurant that serves made to order burgers, hot dogs and ssams (think tacos).  However, this place does not simply serve your run of the mill fast food. The restaurant itself was developed by a Korean hot dog fanatic who came up with idea of melding popular Korean flavors with American fast food staples. As a huge fan of Korean Barbecue and as one who will often crave a good hot dog or burger from time to time I was eager to give this place a shot. Note that I will stop into this restaurant randomly to provide reviews of its various fast food wares. On this day the restaurant was giving away a bulgogi burger (usually sold at 6.49) to the first 100 people at its door.

The NY Hot Dog and Coffee Bulgogi burger tasted like it has the potential to be something special but falls short in execution. The burger tasted slightly overcooked and the bulgogi flavoring that usually comes with marinating the meat tasted like it was slightly burned into the meat. My companion received a better cooked burger that tasted like like it absorbed the bulgogi sauce better than mine. That burger still fell short in overall taste. The flavor was too timid to be bulgogi. Biting into the burger you can barely taste the bulgogi which in my belief was because the burger meat was likely not marinated as long as it traditionally at a Korean BBQ spot . The burger itself is topped with cabbage, a pickle and surrounded by a plain sesame bun. The burger’s size was sufficient to consume for a quick meal and be satiated.  Nevertheless, the burger falls short in flavor and borders on bland.

I do plan on visiting this location again to sample its other selections including its signature hot dogs and kimchi topped offerings. Perhaps they will fare better in taste.

Veal Schnitzel with austrian potato salad and lentil salad.

On this rainy afternoon in NY, I decided to journey out to DUMBO to visit the Schnitzel and Things Truck. Having sampled the trucks’ delightful cod and pork schnitzels with satisfying results I was eager to devour its latest and much anticipated special Veal Schnitzel or  known under it’s traditional moniker as Wiener Schnitzel.

The special’s price was $10 for the platter placing a $1.00 premium above the price of the other available schnitzel platters. It is pricey for food off of a truck but the platter itself did not disappoint. I requested that the veal be paired with two of the truck’s tastier sides the lentil salad and the potato salad. I also opted for the special condiment they had on hand that went well with the lightly breaded veal.

In preparing the veal, the cooks pound the meat till its flat, then lightly bread the meat and fry it.  You can tell from the overall texture of the meat that much prep work goes into getting the meat just right before frying.The veal schnitzel itself was easy to devour. The veal was quite tender and easy to eat. It did not have the tough chewy texture that you often find with prepared veal. There was no oily texture considering the fried nature of the food. The meat itself was flavorful and combined well the Kalamata olive condiment which tasted like a tapenade. The kalamata olive sauce added a subtle tang to the meat that was not overpowering or underwhelming but a perfect addition to the natural flavors of the veal.

The two condiments I chose are two of my favorites. The potato salad has a light vinegar flavor that combines well with the potato. It is not too vinegary but just right. The lentil salad also has some acidity in it but again not too overpowering.

All in all after waiting for the veal special since the opening of the truck several months ago I have to say it was worth the wait. Yes you will have to spend $10 for the platter but the meal is quite filling and you will not be disappointed with this well executed food.