Potato House Truck Parks at Bryant Park, Serving Spuds to the Masses

Last week, I was making my way to Zeytinz for lunch when I spotted a new (at least to my knowledge) food truck parked along 40th, right across from Bryant Park. It was the Potato House truck, and this was the first time I had heard about Potato House at all, so I stopped and looked over the menu. They had the usual toppings, like chili, sour cream and broccoli, but they also had toppings like crab, seaweed and beets. Not sure what to think about this new cart, I continued on my way to Zeytinz and began searching the interwebs for any additional information I could find. There wasn’t much (aside from this early spotting back in Sept when they were just a cart), so with my Zeytinz sandwich in hand, I made my way to Potato House to see what it was all about.

Looking over the menu, I didn’t really know where to start. I certainly wasn’t about to eat my potato without butter (this is America, right?), so I ordered a potato with butter to start. The employee in the truck hastily informed me that that all potatoes came prepared with butter, although their menu doesn’t make that very clear (but it does specify that butter is included in the $8). Then, you get to pick two “salads”, which as we mentioned in a previous write-up, are just toppings.

I opted for broccoli and chicken, I’m not really sure what I was thinking. Before I realized what was happening, the employee was dumping liquid cheese all over my potato. Again, it doesn’t say on the menu, but I guess the broccoli automatically comes with melted cheese – this earned Potato House a few points in my book. She then scooped up a serving of chicken salad and placed it on the potato. The chicken didn’t look particularly appetizing, but I wasn’t about to judge a book by its cover.

Back at my desk, upon unwrapping my potato, I was impressed with the size, but still not thrilled with how it looked. Unfortunately, I didn’t have my trusty Grand Central Edition MetroCard for scale, but I assure you, this was a large potato. It looked a tad depressing, but that could be the lighting in my office. Nonetheless, I dug in and was pleasantly surprised. I still can’t tell if it was a really good potato, or if I had just set my standards extremely low. The potato was buttery and very hot, mixed up with the broccoli and melted cheese, I was definitely enjoying myself.

At this point, I moved onto the chicken. I was extremely hesitant, as it looked like something you’d be served in prison (not that I would know). The contrast between the hot potato, broccoli, and cheese against the cold chicken was a bit strange, but I was mixing everything together and chowing down. The chicken was far from perfect, and felt like it had only been thawed out a few minutes prior to serving, but this was just nitpicking. I certainly wouldn’t rush back to Potato House for their chicken salad, but I can safely say I didn’t regret my decision.

Overall, I could have easily done without the chicken, but this was a good baked potato. The only problem is, where does a baked potato fit in for lunch? I’m not really sure. It was easy to enjoy this baked potato knowing I had a hot Zeytinz oven-baked sandwich sitting right next to me, and it actually proved to be a nice side dish. However, at $8, this is a luxury I can’t afford. I haven’t yet found myself craving a baked potato for lunch, but if I ever did, Potato House would be the place to go. Until then, we can all rest assured knowing that when a lunch-time craving for a baked potato does come along, there’s one more truck in midtown happy to satisfy.

Follow them on Twitter @potatohousenyc to see where they’re parked next.

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