Meet the Perez family of Piaztlan Authentic Mexican, one of the original food vendors at The Red Hook Ball Fields in Red Hook, Brooklyn. A 2012 NYC Vendy Award Finalist. Piaztlan is all about family, and without the guidance of Eleazar Perez, the mom and head chef, their truck would not have the reputation, the commitment to flavor or the loyalty their truck has today. This food truck story is definitely all about setting an example for your kids and being an inspiration to your family. Enjoy!

Be sure to get your tickets to the big NYC Vendy Awards event on September 15th on Governor’s Island.

Thanks for watching food. curated.! Happy Eating!

Over the past two weeks, I’ve been in and out of all sorts of food trucks throughout New York City, filming profile videos for the 2012 NYC Vendy Awards. This week, I’ll be releasing them. It’s been a pleasure spending time with very passionate, very dedicated food makers who’ve chosen to make a living in a very difficult and demanding business. Like one vendor explained: “Having a truck is like every issue a restaurant has to deal with AND every issue a drug dealer has to deal with…” 

Though their food comes out quick and effortlessly, it’s not easy doing what they do. They’ll admit it too: the long hours, the prep work, the inevitable collection of parking tickets. However, each finalist also convinced me why it’s all been worth it to them, and that’s what I hope to show you in my video stories this week: the love and the passion put into each and every bite of food.

Today, Meet Adam Sobel of The Cinnamon Snail Vegan Organic food truck. A 2012 NYC Vendy Award Finalist. 

Congrats to all the finalists! Be sure to get your tickets to the big event on September 15th.

Thanks for watching food. curated.! Happy eating!

“I was very surprised when we first went into this that no one was making salt in New York, and very few on the East Coast; but, as we’ve become more involved in the business, I think there are very few people who are crazy enough to start a project like this.”

Meet Steven and Natalie Judelson, sea-salt fanatics and husband & wife team behind Amagansett Sea Salt Co. in Long Island, NY.  They are New York State’s only sea salt makers and one of only four artisan salt makers on the entire Eastern Seaboard.

The Judelsons’ love of salts came naturally: they’ve always preferred savory over sweet, a preference that got them addicted to tasting and collecting all-natural sea salts over 20 years ago. What they learned is that real salts, salts not heavily processed in factories, don’t all taste the same. They have their own unique “terroir” – nuanced flavors that give a product a special sense of place. So, given their fascination and proximity to the ocean, they started making their own sea salt, for fun, out of their beach home in Amagansett. Over the past ten years, Steven has slowly perfected his homemade sea salt harvesting and “farming operation”, to the point where in 2009, they took “a leap of faith” and decided to share their passion with others.

Right now, Amagansett Sea Salt Co. offers 10 different sea salt blends. You can find them in various farmers markets out in the Hamptons, or at specialty stores, like Shelsky’s Smoked Fish, here in New York City. I recommend trying the East Hampton Blend with Herbes de Provence. It goes great with eggs, grilled seafood and meats. I also really like their Montauk Blend with lemon zest, which is a nice compliment to vegetables and fruits, and also goes great as a salt rim for margaritas.

Enjoy Steven and Natalie’s story! I think you’ll be surprised how much work and beauty goes into salting up your food.

Thanks for watching food. curated.! Happy eating!

“I’m a dreamer. I’ve always been a dreamer, and I like to dream. And this company, which we’ve started on a dream, is going to continue on a dreamy kind of path. It’s heaven. This is heaven.”

Meet Mike & Mike. Mike Martinsen and Mike Doall, the founders of Montauk Shellfish Company, a commercial fisherman and marine biologist who’ve teamed up to give back to their community and pay respect to the Earth by launching Montauk’s very first oyster farm: Montauk Pearls.

Montauk Pearls are new to the oyster scene, and the success of their operation has given the East End a new found interest in aquaculture. The two Mikes started their surface grow out system in 2009, leasing out a very unique and hard-to-come-by plot of private land in Lake Montauk.  A plot of land that just-so-happened to be underwater.   As the story goes, Mike M happened to be living on the property and asked his landlord if he could use it for farming.  Luckily, his landlord said yes.

“It just seems like things all just lined up, almost like fate.” – Mike Martinsen

Feedback has been so positive that demand for the “pearls” has already exceeded supply. Five-star chefs in New York and Long Island are featuring their oysters on menus, as are select seafood joints, like Maison Premiere in Brooklyn and The Lobster Place in Chelsea Market.  According to Mike D, “once you open one up, they basically sell themselves.”

And it’s true. I was sold from the first super briny slurp: a snappy crispness to the meat (and there’s a lot of it), and a finish that tasted of slightly-sweet, fresh watermelon rind. Really, it’s Mike M’s surf-related description that makes me smile most:

“It reminds me of being out in the ocean at sunset…a double-overhead swell, perfect off-shore winds, a little rainbow blowing off the back of the wave. It’s like that salt taste of the mist when you’re coming down a wave in through a barrel. It’s that sea taste: misty, salty, ocean bliss”. You really can’t say it better than that!

Enjoy their beautiful story, shot just a few weeks ago. And thanks for watching and supporting food. curated.! It’s been a slow start for me in 2012, but good things are happening again and, thankfully, I’m back on track. Happy slurping!

“In my head, I just know that if our business failed, it’s not because of the product, it’s definitely because of our business acumen – that’s how much I believe in this product.”

Meet Danny Che, David Sat and Kenneth Sa, the founders and owners of Wooly’s Ice, a Taiwanese-style shaved ice food cart based in New York City’s South Street Seaport. This is a story that doesn’t need much of an introduction. I’ll let the video just speak for itself! Just go ahead, sit back and enjoy the silly seriousness of it all.

Wooly’s Ice won Best Dessert at the 2011 Vendy Awards in New York City. And if you’re heading to The Great GoogaMooga Food Festival in Prospect Park this weekend, be on the lookout for the gang of cousins. I hear they’ve got some nice new threads on showcase.  Plus, summer is right around the corner too! So, if you’re smart, and need something uniquely textured, cool, healthy AND refreshing, you’ll hunt these “ballers” down. I recommend trying an overflowing cup of their new mango-flavored ice with sea salt leche syrup and freshly sliced mangoes. It’s dope.

Thanks for watching food. curated.! Happy brain freeze!