Midtown Lunch

The morning show Live with Kelly and Michael have been searching for the “best food truck in America,” and they’ve narrowed the competition down to a Top Ten. Our very own Kim Ima of The Treats Trucks is the only New York truck in the running.

Kim will appear today at 9am on the show to prepare her signature dish. Viewers (and ML’ers) have until Sunday morning to rate the truck’s performance. The top two move on to the final cook-off round and the winner gets $20,000. Considering The Treats Truck turns 6 years old on Sunday, wouldn’t this be the best birthday present a sweet little truck could wish for? Let’s support Kim and vote at LIVEKellyandMichael.com. And when you see her, make sure to wish her a very Happy Birthday!

The NW corner of 45th street and 6th avenue used to be a food truck favorite spot, bringing a regular swath of trucks almost every day of the workweek. Then, the NYPD crackdown in Midtown ruined the fun, forcing trucks to find other often less lucrative locations to park during the lunch rush. But, it seems that slowly things have been reverting back to the good ol’ days. This week, on Tuesday, Schnitzel & Things couldn’t park at their planned spot on 40th & 6th due to construction, so they moved uptown to 45th & 6th.
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A photo from our first trip to the Treats Truck, 5 years ago this week.

• The Treats Truck turns five years old this weekend [Blondie & Brownie]
• Sarge’s cures their own pastrami [Lunch Studio]
• Pie Face is opening two new shops in Midtown [DNAinfo]
• Hing Won’s duck banh mi is decent [SENY]
• Take a look at Pop’s $1 hot dog [SENY]
• A history of the building that houses Prime Burger [Lost City]
• Potbelly launches a vegetarian sandwich [Fork in the Road]
• Lucky Cheng’s has moved to Midtown? [Grub Street]
• Foodparc is now the Brighton Food Court [Gothamist]

While rushing back to the office from lunch, I stopped dead in my tracks (to take a photo, naturally) when I spotted the Treats Truck in their old Midtown spot on 45th & 6th. You’ll have to hurry, though — according to their twitter, the truck will be there only until 3 p.m.

It’s hard to believe it but in June of this year the Treats Truck will turn 5 years old. I still remember the first time I ate my first mexican brownie from Kim’s adorable truck, and that day seems like yesterday as much as it seems like 20 years ago. It has always been tough for street food vendors on the street of Midtown, but if you’ve been following the scene over the past 18 months, you know it’s gotten that much tougher. So tough that Kim, the good samaritan that she is, rarely parks in Midtown anymore. But she hasn’t given up, and today she asked us to post this update to all her fans who are eager for her to return to Midtown on a more permanent basis.

I started The Treats Truck in June 2007. I loved the idea of having customers all over the city, and couldn’t wait to get started. I studied the city’s rules and guidelines and set out looking for places to park my truck.

When you own a food truck in New York City, you’re given lists of restrictions and rules, and you do your best to find a suitable spot. In addition, you soon find out there is also the reality of the streets, and each block is different. You have to put in the time to figure out where you fit in. Even after you establish your spots, you must remain sensitive to changes in the way a particular block works.

It was not easy that first summer, but it was also magical.

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Yesterday we got to see Kim from the Treats Truck in a great video courtesy of Save The NYC Food Trucks… but today it looks like we’re going to be able to see her in person!  AOL’s Advertising Week launches today, and as part of the festivities the Treats Truck will be open for business on 41st btw. 7+8th. It’s been over 4 months since the cops chased the Treats Truck out of Midtown, so to say this is exciting news would be huge understatement!