Holy Rollers Kosher Sausage Truck Opens; Trouble Immediately Ensues
Finding a spot is always a difficult task for any new food truck or cart. But one of the first rules of the street is you shouldn’t set up near another cart, truck, or restaurant selling the same kind of food.
I witnessed a bit of a turf dipsute yesterday when I discovered a brand new hot dog cart that was amassing some serious attention. When I walked by 48th Street and 6th Avenue, I saw a huge line for a generic looking halal cart that had scratched out the halal menu and only displayed a kosher certificate reading: Holy Rollers.
After asking people in line what was going on, they explained to me this was a kosher sausage cart that had been featured on the blog yeahthatskosher.com with their menu. Clearly the kosher community had received the memo because the wait for a sausage was close to 30 minutes.
By the time I got to the front, they had run out of their hoagie bread (which looked good) and brisket. Since there was no menu on the cart, I told the guy to give me whatever he thought. So I ended up with a grilled, split sausage topped with pastrami, brisket chili, and spicy mustard on a hot dog bun.
It was just alright. The toppings were all a bit cold, but the homemade sausage (made by the owner in New Jersey) had a nice amount of flavor and smokiness. The hot dog bun couldn’t have compared to the crusty bread I saw them serving everybody else. Since the offerings at this point we a bit sparse, we were offered free drinks and a discount – he charged me $5 for one sausage – surprised that was a discount!
This was only their second day, but I imagine as they brand the cart, refine the menu and get their system down, there will be a lot of potential here.
But I can’t guarantee they will be on 48th and 6th any longer. As I was waiting in line, I witnessed three guys from the nearby hot dog cart waiting to have a talk with the kid running the cart. They were not happy about another hot dog cart setting up just a few feet away. It looked like all would be worked out peacefully, but I don’t blame them. Even though the kosher cart has a different clientele than the generic Sabrett one, it could still hurt their business if people craving a hot dog see the crowds and decide that this is the one they should wait in line for. Kosher or not.
So I hope Holy Rollers sticks around Midtown, but in all fairness, they should find another spot. Check out their Facebook page to see updates and anybody else who tries the food, let us know what you think in the comments.
Posted by brianhoffman at 10:43 am, February 11th, 2015 under Holy Rollers Sausage Cart, Street Vendor Issues.
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