Street Sweets – Tailgating the Treats Truck

Sometimes, catching up with truck food is pure serendipity, like suddenly discovering an open parking space in Manhattan. Sometimes you are alerted to a truck’s “dining hours” on Twitter. And, sometimes you’re lucky to stumble upon a fleet of food trucks, parked in formation.

So it happens as Mad Me-Shell and I conclude our fine dining experience at Rickshaw Dumpling Truck. There, just “two doors” down, is the caloric-fueled Treats Truck. It’s slogan – “Not too fancy, always delicious.”

Now, if ever there were a food truck built to my personal specifications, the Treats Truck is it. Gleaming silver, with red and blue lettering - and resembling an old-fashioned bakery delivery truck - The Treats Truck is a euphoric sugar rush on wheels. In fact, the truck is named “Sugar.”

You’re probably wondering how two people can even contemplate treats when they have collectively consumed 18 dumplings and a side of noodles. It’s simple. Humans cannot live by dumplings alone. The American writer, Ernestine Ulmer perhaps put it most poetically – “Life is uncertain. Eat dessert first.”

Ulmer is right. Life can be tough on the street, so thank God for the Treats Truck. A spoonful of sugar, and all that. We cue up, eyeing the treats in the bakery case window. Mad Me-Shell says she’s not hungry, but she’ll buy a treat for our colleague Zany who is slaving away at the office. Yeah, sure.

We take a moment to drool over the selection of retro and comforting treats, a sugared landscape of cookies, sprinkles and vanilla cream filling. We ask the attendant what her favorite treat is. She says she tends to go through phases, but recommends the Caramel Crème Sandwich, which is somewhat of a classic that helped establish the Treats Truck’s delectable reputation. We make our selections, which are carefully packed into clean white paper bags – just like a bakery, but you don’t have to take a number.

Throughout the afternoon we nosh on The Classic Crispy (which does actually go to Zany) and a Chocolate Chipper …

And, a Caramel Crème Sandwich, Chocolate Sandwich Cookie and Peanut Butter Sandwich with Raspberry Jam Filling …

I split up the cookies so we can do a sampling. My assistant refuses - she’s got dinner plans. But, within seconds she is in my office and we are sharing the silky and luscious Chocolate Sandwich Cookie. As, for Mad Me-Shell and her efforts to abstain – all I can say is, no willpower. How could one resist the brown sugar goodness of the caramel crème, or the delicate crumb of the plump peanut butter sandwich?

Talk about a sweet drive by!

©2009 T.W. Barritt All Rights Reserved