Trindadian native Veronica Julien had an entire previous career in municipal government before opening Veronica’s Kitchen in 2004, a career that came to an end when she was laid off during the slight recession that occurred in New York City after the 9/11 attacks. She thought, Oh God, I’m finished. How am I going to pay my mortgage? the typical questions every laid-off worker faces. Instead of sitting around waiting for a position to open up in her field, she followed her sister’s advice and began exploring the option of running a food cart. “I walked all around Manhattan looking for a spot, and God led me here,” to downtown’s Front Street. At first, it appeared her instincts to look elsewhere were correct. “The first day, I sold $20, and it stayed like that for three months,” at which point she finally gave herself an ultimatum. One more month with the cart, and if business didn’t take off, she was going to give up. Plenty of downtown office workers who line up regularly for her juicy, spicy jerk chicken should be thankful that during that month, “business started building.”
One of twelve children who are all amazingly still close, Veronica immigrated to New York City in 1983, leaving the small village outside of Port of Spain, Trinidad, where she grew up. “We had a lot of land there; we could run and play.” After a few years in the fast-food industry, Veronica decided to pursue a different path, ultimately ending up as a microfilm consultant to the New York City Department of Buildings. These days she can be found serving up her signature West Indian food to near-constant lunch lines. A typical days in her life begin in the middle of the night, around 3:00 a.m., when she awakens to finish prepping the day’s food, which consistently sells out sometime between 2:00 and 2:30 every afternoon. One of her nephews helps out throughout the day, though she’s tried to teach all of her family’s younger generation how to cook. “They don’t realize it takes time to cook.”
“I’m walking the streets, praying, and then the Lord tell me to come here, and I said, ‘What? Why would I go there?’ It turned out to be good, right?”
Adapted from Veronica Julian’s recipe
Trinidadian street food includes the popular “Shark & Bake” dish, a shark sandwich made with fried bread. Here in the States, shark isn’t as easy to find or affordable, so Veronica substitutes salt codfish. You can usually find the well-preserved fish at your local fishmonger, sometimes referred to as clipfish. Be sure to boil the fish twice to get all the salt out, possibly adding a couple of cut limes to the second boil if you feel inclined.
1 cup bread flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon sugar
2 cups oil
½ cup of water
Combine the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar, in a large mixing bowl. Slowly add the water to the dry ingredients while continuously kneading the entire mixture until a smooth dough is formed, about 2 to 3 minutes. Cover dough with plastic wrap, and let rest for 30 minutes. Make dough into small palm size balls then flatten. In a medium skillet, heat 2 cups of oil on high heat for around five minutes. Add one disc of dough once the oil is hot, and fry on both sides until brown. The dough will expand while frying into a golden round bake loaf. Place on a paper-toweled plate once done.
½ pound salted cod fish fillet
1 medium tomato, diced
½ medium onion, diced
½ of a medium head of cabbage, finely chopped
3 tablespoons oil
Place the codfish fillet in a large pot of boiling water, and boil for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, boil more water in a kettle. Drain the water from the pot, and refill the pot with the kettle water, with the codfish in the pot. Bring to a boil again, leaving it to boil for 30 more minutes. When done, the fish should be flaky and not too salty. Strain.
In a large heated skillet, add the oil. When it is heated, add the onion and tomato and saute until the onions are translucent and tender.
Flake the codfish into smaller pieces and add to the onion and tomatoes. Then slowly add the cabbage to the sauté. Cover to simmer until tender, about 10 minutes
Serve hot in between pieces of fry bake.
The winding streets and blind alleys of Manhattan’s Chinatown hold much promise for adventurous and bargain-conscious eaters. But for a neighborhood widely considered as an epicenter for cheap eats, the street food options in Chinatown aren’t as bountiful as one might expect. Narrow side streets with tiny sidewalks are off-limits to vendors, leaving carts to congregate on stretches of the larger thoroughfares like Canal, Grand, or Centre Street. In addition to the limited space for vending, carts have to compete with bargain-priced meals—think under $5—at local brick-and-mortar joints. Carts in Chinatown distinguish themselves from their tonier uptown counterparts by offering super cheap snacks like fried fish balls, plates of noodles, and egg rolls priced from $1 and up. Here’s a guide to some of our favorite street foods in Chinatown and where to find them.
Chinese-Style Kebabs: At the intersection of Forsyth and Division Street, directly under the Manhattan Bridge ramp, you’ll find the 2012 Vendy Finalist, Xin Jiang Prosperity Kebabs, serving up tender $1 kebabs grilled over hot coals. Choose from tender chicken and beef, fish balls, fish tofu, or deliciously fatty lamb, and say yes to a brushing of their spicy chili paste concoction. But buyer beware: the “pork sausage” is of the Oscar Mayer variety, so unless you’re craving a grilled hot dog on a stick, you’ll want to go for the other kebab options.
Tripe and Zongzi: A short walk up Forsyth past the handball games and tai chi sessions in Sara D. Roosevelt Park will take you to Grand Street, where two blocks to the west you’ll find the “Chicken & Rice Cart.” There is no chicken or rice, and “Tripe & Noodles” would be a more apt title. The owners of this cart speak very little English, and the menu is only written in Chinese, but the vendors will gladly show you their offerings, which include fish balls, rice noodles, lo mein, har cheung/cheong fan (rice noodle rolls), tripe, and sticky rice. At $1.50, the zongzi (sticky rice) is quite the bargain. The glutinous rice is mixed with roasted peanuts and wrapped around a center filling of pork, then encased in bamboo leaves, tied, and steamed. You could make a meal out of a single zongzi.
Hong Kong Mini Cakes: There are several Hong Kong Mini Cake carts around Chinatown, including one on the south side of Canal at Mott Street. Since it takes all of five minutes to make a batch, it’s entirely possible to get a bag of 15 for $1 still warm. Hong Kong cakes are so delicious plain that there’s really no need for any toppings, and they are ideal for the more timid eaters.
Fried Foods on a Stick: Across the street between Mulberry and Baxter is the Xing Wang cart, a must-hit destination for fried food lovers. Unlike other carts in Chinatown, the breading on the fried chicken here is thick and stays put during the frying. You can’t beat the $1-adrumstick price at any food chain. But it’s in the “food on a stick” category that the cart really stands out. For the less adventurous, there’s banana, tofu, even a hot dog that can be thrown in the hot oil for your afternoon snack. Courageous eaters can try the seafood and meats like octopus on a stick. Crispy and nottoo-fishy, anyone who’s a big fan of calamari would definitely be pleased with this.
Rice Noodles and Fish Balls: If it’s rice noodles and fish balls you’re after, look no farther than the “Mai Cart” directly outside the JMZ subway exit on Centre Street at Canal. There are two carts on this block, both of which serve fish balls, but the slightly more northernly located “Mai cart” also specializes in congee, tea eggs, tripe, and fresh steamed rice noodles topped with a mixture of peanut sauce, hoisin, and soy sauce, and sprinkled with sesame seeds. The cart’s owner is friendly and engaging, and has operated her cart in that spot for more than fifteen years. The curried fish balls, in a slightly thick and spicy sauce are a standout. For $2.75 you can get a pint of rice noodles topped with eight fish balls, a satisfying meal that demands a return visit.
