Life In The Feast Lane: New Haven's Food Trucks
It’s a quiet, lazy summer afternoon in New Haven on the stretch of harbor along I-95 on Long Wharf Drive. The temperature is in the mid-80s but the gentle breeze off the still water makes it a perfect day for lounging along the banks; biking, jogging or Fitbitting on the winding lane; or even indulging in a bit of paradise.
Food Truck Paradise, that is – the name city officials designated for the area, they say, based on a phrase that popped up during a Google Maps search and has since become branded for this homegrown collection of two dozen-plus kitchenettes-on-wheels that offer alternative food, flavors, and dining.
From the highway above, it might look like a string of Matchbox vehicles but it’s a parallel world unto itself. Look at the cars and trucks lined up in the parking spaces with the different colored license plates, their drivers succumbing to the lure of the lingering lunch with a view. Others come from the city center or just beyond, in search of take-out that would make them office heroes. For some, it’s an affordable, al fresco date. For others, it’s a family outing and a picnic near the peaceful shallow waters with the occasional seagull squawking, punctuating the low drone from the highway traffic in the distance.
Tom Curley has driven along this same stretch of highway countless times and wondered about the increasing number of food trucks lined up over the last few years (they currently number around 30, depending on the day, weather and season).
On this day, when he and his 18-year-old daughter Samantha went shopping at IKEA, he decided to finally check out this unusual collection of movable feasts and see what the fuss is all about.
They drove out of the store’s parking lot, went under the highway and took a right onto the frontage road, where they gazed upon truck after truck offering primarily Latin street food, but also ice cream, hot dogs, and Asian food, too.
“I’ve seen food trucks in Manhattan and even a few gathered together under The High Line in Chelsea but nothing quite like this,” he says, as they finished their taco plates, seated on the thick wooded fence that borders a grassy knoll overlooking the shore.
And how does he choose among the venders?
“I look for one where the locals are lining up,” says the special education teacher from Brewster, N.Y. “It was between this one and another truck further down the line. I’d definitely come back.”
For Samantha and others in her generation, it’s less a food novelty and more a natural go-to.
“I just finished my first year of college and whenever there’s food trucks around, that’s just where me and my friends go. It’s easy to grab and go or just to hang out.” She says they prefer the trucks to the fast-food chains like McDonald’s. They’re run by people who own their own businesses and who make good, authentic, affordable food without attitude.
“It’s fresh food. It’s fast. It’s good,” says Felix Sanchez who runs the Sabor Mexico truck, which like many of the venders offers condiments galore (you’re welcome) to his menu of tacos, tostadas, enchiladas, burritos, quesadillas, nachos, tamales (usually on weekends) – and much more.