Tortillaville
347 Warren Street
(next to Dogs of Hudson)
Hudson, NY 12534

Like most folks aware of current food trends, I am a bit obsessed by the food truck. I honestly believe they will be the dominant food trend for the next decade if not longer. Cheap to start – low over head – & laser focused in menu. If done right, it’s the perfect dining experience. Even though the Hut has a fixed physical “restaurant” location, I’ve spent a great deal of effort to design it as basically a food truck with a dining room.

On a recent trip to Hudson NY to visit American Glory BBQ, we stumbled upon the Tortillaville Truck while wandering down Warren Street. What was most interesting was their set up – like an outdoor cafe with a food truck kitchen. Even more interesting was the empty garage next to their location. Rather than attempt to open a traditional restaurant in the garage space, the Tortillaville folks choose to keep it simple.

Out of the tiny vending truck kitchen, the two owners crank out a variety of tacos, burritos & platas made fresh daily. All the standard meats – pork, beef, steak, chicken, fish & shrimp – plus tofu & beans for the veggie crowd.

As we were on our way to American Glory, I decided to go with a couple of tacos as a pre-Q appetizer.

I went with one pork & one beef. They are served trad style with two thin grilled corn tortillas as a base. The pork had a nice texture but could use a bit more punch. The addition of some hot sauce kicked it up a bit. (To be fair, I tend to like things a bit on the spicy side.) The beef was juicy & had a nice spicy bite. Both come topped with salsa fresca, guacamole, and queso fresco. At $2.50 a piece, they really are a perfect deal. Cherie & I shared them making it just enough for a quick snack. Definitely worth repeating again in the future.

Given the fact Tortillaville is run out of a truck & Hudson NY tends to get quite a bit of snow, it should come of no major surprise they are seasonal. The Hudson location operates from May to October then the operation moves south to the Florida Keys for December to March.

Asia Dog
Mobile vending at various locations.
Check their website for schedule.

With time still to kill before lunch & done with our HNH BBQ brisket sandwich, we decided one more Brooklyn Flea food vendor was in order.

Someone is selling “hot dogs with Asian-inspired toppings” & one of the toppings is Chinese Pork Belly, you just have to know I’m buying. The Wangding is an organic beef dog topped with chopped onions & fried pork belly. Somewhat an Asian cousin to Crif Dog’s Spicy Red Neck without the hillbilly edge. The pork belly added a richer flavor to the dog than any plain bacon wrapped dog I’ve ever had. My only criticism is I wanted more pork to dog ratio.

Looking forward to a return trip to the Flea to try more of these dogs & their limeade sodas.

HNH BBQ
Mobile vending at various Brooklyn locations.
Check their website for a schedule.

Our final day of Meat Coma NYC 2010 took us across the river to Brooklyn. Our plan was to hit Smoke Joint in our old Fort Greene neighborhood then swing by Fete Sau in WIlliamsburg for the meaty finale. Cherie had made plans to meet an old friend at Smoke Joint & as we arrived early we had some time to kill.

We decided to wander around the old hood for a bit checking out what had changed (quite a bit actually) & what had not (the dreadful Chinese take-out was still there. REALLY!?!?) Along the wander, we ran into the Brooklyn Flea – a weekly flea market & street food extravaganza organized by the folks at Brownstoner. If we had known this existed, I guarantee we would have skipped Smoke Joint & spent most of the day eating our way through the fabulous street food here.

Rounding the corner of one of the food aisles, I saw the big “BBQ” banner & knew I was going to be eating before lunch. HNH BBQ is run by crew of young Texas transplants cranking out amazing brisket on a Weber Smoker. As we were heading off to a full lunch, we decided to just split a sandwich & skip the sides. We’re hoping to make a return visit to shop the flea market for Hut decorations & sample more of HNH’s food.

I consider myself a brisket fanatic. Up until the 2010 NY Meat Tour, I was beginning to believe I knew nothing about brisket & it was supposed to taste like roast beef. Thankfully, visits to Capital Q Smokehouse, Hill Country, Fete Sau & the folks at HNH BBQ proved this wrong. Brisket tastes like brisket if done right.

And HNH BBQ is doing brisket right.

Moist tender & a beautiful smoke ring, it’s simply seasoned with salt, crushed peppercorns & (I’m guessing here) a bit of cayenne. Excellent bark & a lucious meaty flavor. Cherie thought it was a bit too salty (I dig salty) but we both agree the cracked pepper added a great punch.

I am certain no brisket will ever beat HIll Country brisket (until I make the trip to Texas), but HNH BBQ is certainly in my Top 5. If you’re a brisket fan anywhere near Brooklyn, do yourself a favor & seek out HNH BBQ when they are vending. You’ll be glad you did.