cherrypatter nyc
and great ideas for what to do too!
the red hook ball field vendors: an endless latin feast
the red hook ball field vendors are no secret, but the street food options here are so good and so nearby that i am very sad that i don’t feast there more often. one reason for that is my very fussy older k. has no interest in any of the amazing food there, and hubby j. is also not so keen (how did i get such unadventuresome eaters — oh right, i married an englishman so i should be happy he eats sushi on occasion). fortunately, the little one s likes to eat most anything so i anticipate many future happy summers where we go for a swim, and then chowdown next door all without needing to bring along a pb&j sandwich.
after our first visit to the red hook pool of the summer on june 27th (a week earlier than usual — yay), i couldn’t wait anymore and so made my way over to the trucks to try out two delicious, extremely hot, coming straight from the griddle, pupusas — one filled queso and jalapenos and the other had pork. the pupusas came with purple tangy cabbage slaw, pickled onions, sour cream and some very spicy jalapenos.
with salvadorean, ecaudorian, colombian, honduras, mexican as well as peruvian specialities, among others, there is a lot of choice. on the savory front, vendors offer the more ubiquitous tacos (asada, barbacoa, al pastor), tamales and quesadillas, as well as many more interesting, unusual items like huaraches, chicharons, taquitos and sopas as well as ceviches (not sure i would ever be brave enough to try that here as though seem to get mixed reviews on freshness). a few trucks also offer grilled corn including my favorite elotes served with mayo, chili powder and anejo, and some trucks had plantaines served with sour cream. the red hook vendors also offer lots of fresh fruits (cut up mango and coconut) and drinks including tamarind jarritos, limeonade, watermelon agua fresco, horchatas and a milky mango juice.
on our recent visit, there were definitely trucks that were very popular and given my grumpy companion k, i opted for a shorter line and was still happy. however, the next time i’m back i do want to try to start to understand which truck is best for what (based on some reviews, it looks like the might be the best for pupusas and maybe the martinez truck for huaraches and the perez truck for tacos , and have the time to wait in those longer queues. and while i miss the days when the vendors could just serve from behind tables rather than having the more sterile, noisy trucks, i am super motivated to come back for my summer huarache to try to satisfy my never really fulfilled latin food cravings. red hook ball field vendors, at the intersection of clinton street and bay street, brooklyn, new york, open from may to october, saturdays and sundays from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. though they can close with rain or lack of demand.