There is a feeling in the
air – a certain crispness, or vitality.
A sense of new life.
It is like witnessing the
first signs of Spring. You’re walking
along 50th Street, and a bright robin redbreast flies across your
path. You turn, and you can’t help but
notice a bright magenta vehicle at the curb, a whimsical illustration depicting the Eiffel Tower, and the savory scent of crepes
wafting from the window.
Yes, it is Spring, and the
food trucks have returned to Manhattan!
The annual ritual of street dining has begun anew.
My jaw drops.
I had thought the food trucks were banished from Midtown forever, due to
an arcane law enforced by a peevish and dyspeptic judge, but here I am staring
at a line of colorful vehicles, and my nose is immediately drawn to The Crepes Truck.
I quickly whip out my
iPhone and put out an APB for my pal Marie Antoinette. Alas, she is MIA. A French epitaph escapes my lips. Most of the time, Marie Antoinette is
MIA. I mean, what’s the point of having
a cool French nickname, if you can’t even be available when the Crepes Truck is
in town?
I step up to the window
and order “A Frenchman” -- two savory crepes filled with Swiss cheese, goat
cheese, tomatoes and shallots. I can
see the man in the window cooking two lacy-thin crepes on two giant flat
steaming skillets.
As the crepes cook, I
consider the menu. There’s also a
selection of sweet crepes, and the Butter, Lemon and Sugar sweet crepe sounds
mighty tasty. I do what Zany would have
done. I order that too, because skipping
dessert is just foolhardy.
Just for fun, I ping Zany,
who is probably having lunch at her desk in her drab office in Chicago. I send her a photo of The Frenchman.
“You’re killing me today …
you know that?” she writes. “I’m wasting
away on a Spring salad over here. It’s
just not fair.”
I, however, am in my own
little Parisian paradise. The Frenchman
is indeed superior to a humdrum salad.
The hot, gooey cheese is wrapped in fragrant, nutty buckwheat
crepes.
And, I can’t resist the
lemony citrus taste of the dessert crepes with just a slight, sugary
crunch. Magnifique!
Welcome to The Crepes Truck. The sweet smell of Spring and
crepes is in the air!
©2012 T.W. Barritt All Rights
Reserved
When you said the food trucks had returned to Manhattan, my first thought was like the swallows return to Capistrano.
ReplyDeleteI would have been first in line for the crepe truck. The gooey cheese one followed by a citrus lemon crunch would certainly make my day. Wishing you au revoir. I think that the French crepe truck might be your best yet T.W.
Sam
What a lovely food truck & so colourful too! Those filled crêpes, sweet & savoury sure looks so appetizing to me!
ReplyDeleteYum Yum Yum!
Lucky you & lucky New Yorkers! ;)
Oh,I am so jealous of your food trucks! That cheese crepe looks divine!
ReplyDeletelove these trucks!! and love crepes!!
ReplyDeleteIt's clear you are in need of help, though who could ever really replace Zany and Mad? Next time I come to NYC, I will food truck lunch with you.
ReplyDeleteI'm still a little miffed...
ReplyDeleteI can never pass a food truck without thinking of you. I was around Union Square last week and saw a whole line of them... burgers, peruvian, Mexican... you name it they were there... a United Nations of trucks. The food looked terribly good but sadly I was on my way to a lunch meeting and couldn't give them a try. Will do, but now I'm craving that crepe truck... what a great idea.
ReplyDeleteAre you going to have to find some new food truck addict-buddies? Zany and Mad will be missed, although it's nice to get their input, even if by phone.
ReplyDeleteLove buckwheat flour, so I'd be up for The Frenchman!
Dear T.W., I have not been to NYC for a very long time. It certainly has become "chic".
ReplyDeleteI always enjoyed the hot dog trucks, but now there are crepe trucks!
That really is something. Glad that you enjoyed them. I never would have thought crepe trucks. I really am amazed! I guess you can tell, since I am going on and on....Blessings dear T.W.. Your Local Long Island friend, Catherine
Crepes from a truck? I am in awe. They sound delicious and I'm sure they were devoured. Have a wonderful day. Blessings...Mary
ReplyDeleteJust when I leave an influx of incredible food truck offerings and restaurants pop up. The lemon crepe sounds so wonderful. Now I have a great excuse to visit midtown.
ReplyDeleteI'd better not show Jeff this post. It'll give him one reason reason to try to convince me to move to NYC.
ReplyDeleteThere is a crêpe joint in front of the American college here, they make very thin crêpes but these look way superior in taste! Sounds like a truck to go back to.
ReplyDelete