Midtown Lunch

The Snap Truck first hit the NYC lunch scene two weeks ago at the Lent Space lot selling hot dogs, burgers and fries with a couple of interesting items that we haven’t seen on any of the trucks that come downtown. I was most intrigued by what they were doing with their Chicago dog and whether it was close to what you’d actually get in the Windy City, and the avocado fries were also calling my name. They’ve been parking at the food truck lot on 6th Ave. between Grand & Canal every Wednesday so I took it upon myself to go there for a late lunch last week and although they were sold out of a lot of things, they were still flush with hot dogs and fried avocado.

In my mind, a good Chicago dog should have a quality hot dog topped with fresh tomato, sport peppers, a dill pickle spear, some pickle relish, onion and a generous sprinkle of celery salt and it should be encased in a larger than normal bun with poppy seeds on it. A little mustard can’t hurt, either.

When I got my hot dog ($5) I was both encouraged and disappointed. The dog itself was nicely griddled on the outside, was slightly longer than the bun and had a garden of ingredients on top, but the bun was just your average kind you can buy at a supermarket. The hot dog itself was great, but mostly all I could taste was the really sweet relish and the occasional shot of mustard. I wish there was more celery salt, but that’s my personal preference. Also, I was a little bothered by the $5 price tag, but hey, I paid for it and ate it so I can’t complain too much.

At first I ordered straight Belgian fries ($4), but a second later changed my mind and got the avocado fries ($5) instead. They were freshly-fried while I stood there and came with a chipotle mayo and sat on a bed of red cabbage which I did not eat. I really wanted to love these creamy fries encased in panko breading, but there was no seasoning whatsoever and I had no salt packets on me. Even a dip in the chipotle mayo did little except add some moisture. I loved the idea of these, but they needed salt or something to save them from blandness.

Snap Truck, Wednesdays at Lent Space lot, 6th Ave. & Canal St., on Twitter and the Web