Despite being eighty years old, Manuel Cruz is still an important part of the food truck he opened in 1987, Chimichury el Malecón. “He grinds the meat every day—it’s his thing!” says daughter Monica Cruz, who now runs the truck along with her brother David. Escaping the Trujillo dictatorship in the Dominican Republic, Manuel immigrated to New York City in 1957, originally settling in the Bronx before moving to Inwood in 1978. The neighborhood had yet to face the influx of Dominicans who would immigrate during the mid to late-1980s, a period that would ultimately overhaul the demographics of northern Manhattan. In 1987, as the numbers of Dominicans were picking up, Manuel—then a worker in a neighborhood factory—thought to start selling the national street food of chimichurris from a food kiosk on the corner of Sherman Avenue and 207th Street. He originally wanted something more along the lines of a food kiosk, but soon realized the kitchen space limitations of such a small enclosure. Regardless, at the time, “there really wasn’t anything like it in the neighborhood,” explains Monica.
Feeding the new population proved to be a success for Manuel, even though his first week out held a minor catastrophe when the ventilation caught fire. Open now for more than twenty years, Chimichury el Malecón has become a neighborhood institution and a required stop for anyone visiting, including former residents. “There’s a family from Boston. Every time they come here to visit, they have to get chimis.” About two years ago, Manuel had an idea to build a new cart replacing the truck he previously had. In his son’s New Jersey backyard, they made an entirely custom-made cart, designed to have enough kitchen space for at least two people, a sliding door, and a huge take-out window at just the right height for the street. The only time this cart has moved from its home on Sherman Avenue was on a trip downtown and across New York Harbor to Governors Island for the 2011 Vendy Awards. Being nominated and appearing at the Vendys was “really awesome” and “a surprise” for the entire family even though “everyone knew a month before [we] did” due to an e-mail snafu. While there, the truck received numerous compliments, and a few vendors checked it out for their own purposes. With the business slowly moving hands to the younger generation of Cruzes, they do hope to keep Manuel’s dream alive. They’ve been thinking of opening a brick-and-mortar location in the neighborhood, where Monica still lives a few blocks away from her parents. But for now, you can still sit outside the truck, eating the best chimis in Inwood every evening.
“We’ve been here the longest. People might try another food truck and come back to us.”
Adabted from Monica Cruz’s recipe
The main differences between the American hamburger and the Dominican chimichurri lie with the spices blended into the meat and the toppings added to the finished sandwich. Yet, similar to the American cousin, you can add in more toppings to your liking; the Cruzes recommend trying out hot sauce. If your local bakery doesn’t sell Portuguese rolls, you can substitute Kaiser rolls for the chimichurri.
½ large head of cabbage, thinly sliced
1 large carrot, finely chopped
¼ cup vinegar
1 clove garlic, peeled and chopped
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
¼ cup ketchup
¼ cup mayonnaise, plus more for the sandwiches
5 large Portugese Rolls
1 large tomato, thinly sliced Salt
2 pounds fresh ground beef
2 tablespoon oregano
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
Combine the cabbage and carrot in a medium bowl with the vinegar and salt. Set aside.
Prepare the chimi sauce by combining the Worcesterhsire sauce, ketchup, and mayonnaise in a small bowl. Set aside.
Hand mix the ground beef with the oregano and a pinch of salt. Separate the beef into five patties, thinning each into an oblong shape. Warm a flat pan on medium-high heat, placing the patties inside without overcrowding. Cook on each side for approximately four minutes or until your preferred doneness.
Toast a Portugese roll until lightly brown, brushing on mayonnaise onto both sides
Place a generous amount of the cabbage slaw, a slice of tomato, and a few slices of onion on the bottom bun. Over this, drizzle two tablespoons of the sauce.
Add one beef patty, and close with the top bun. Cut in half and serve.
Adabted from Monica Cruz’s recipe
Longaniza is one of the sausage styles brought to Latin America from Spain that now has many different varieties depending on which country you’re in. For this recipe, you’ll want to seek out Dominican longaniza, a pork sausage spiced with sofrito—a tomato-based spice paste filled with bell peppers, onion, garlic, annatto, oregano, and cilantro—before its curing.
2 pounds, about 6 to 8 links, longaniza pork sausage
1 cup lime juice, freshly squeezed
¼ cup sour orange juice
4 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon dried oregano
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 quarts oil for frying
lime slices, for serving
ketchup, for serving
Cut the sausage links into small bite-sized pieces, and set aside. Combine the rest of the ingredients in one large bowl to create a marinade. Marinate the sausage pieces for at least an hour, preferably overnight.
Heat the oil in a deep-fryer or large pot to 375°F. Once hot, carefully place your sausage pieces into the oil, and fry until extra crispy, about 5 minutes. When done, place them on a plate covered with paper towels for a few minutes to soak up the oil. Serve hot with slices of lime and ketchup.
