Midtown Lunch

There was a lot of excitement and controversy over the Trusty Truck when we announced they were parking in the heart of Midtown a few weeks back. The excitement was evident when I showed up in the midst of the lunch rush and discovered that they had run out of food. The owner was very apologetic and even offered free samples to those customers that had been waiting in line. The controversy took place in the comments when an overwhelming number of new commenters praised the food while other commenters made accusations of shills.

Well, the truck itself has stuck to the edges of Midtown and has only re-entered the belly of the beast (47th and Vanderbilt) this week. I found them on 40th and Sixth Avenue a few weeks back with a manageable line and a pretty focused staff. I ordered one of their infamous durgers, which is described as a hamburger in the shape of a hot dog. Along with a side of sweet potato fries, I spent $10 and was out of there in about 10 minutes.

I previously tasted two other dishes when the owner was handing stuff out for free on that fateful day. The mac and cheese bites were really delicious with a crispy breaded exterior and a creamy hot center.

I wasn’t as crazy about the meatballs, which were small, dense, and had a very sweet sauce.

The durger I finally tasted was the S’hroom ‘n’ Onion with swiss cheese. I was expecting the ridiculously named durger (I feel silly just typing that word) to look more like a kofta or a Romanian sausage.

In actuality, this was pretty much a normal thin burger patty, folded over and served vertically instead of horizontally. So I didn’t really get the point. Why not just make a burger?

The flavor of the burger was good. It was charred well and smoky, which I like, but sadly the inside was also fully cooked and so there was not much juiciness to it. The frizzled onions and sauteed mushrooms were pretty tasty, especially with the swiss cheese. They also added what they call TT sauce, which was practically just a combination of ketchup and mayonnaise.

While I mostly enjoyed the durger (shudder!), the thick cut sweet potato fries were a huge disappointment. They were thick soggy and sad. Without much seasoning, I think a tasty sauce would have been in order (even that TT sauce), but all I got was ketchup.

Hopefully the Trusty Truck has gotten their act together today and can now handle the crowds of Midtown. I think it’s worth stopping by for a decent burger (a durger?) and some awesome mac and cheese bites, just don’t expect anything groundbreaking with the gimmicky presentation. And I challenge you to order a “durger” while keeping a straight face.

They’re parked on 47th and Vanderbilt today (assuming they don’t run out of food), but you can check their locations on their Twitter feed or the ML Twitter Tracker.