Snowballs in the Heat
Posted by Christiane Lauterbach | July 7th, 2010 | Filed under Carts
Kenneth Woodfin’s bright green trailer does brisk business in the warmer months at the corner of Ponce de Leon and Moreland Avenues.
A large percentage of his clientele comes from New Orleans and flocks faithfully in the afternoon and early evening in the parking lot of the Exxon gas station to enjoy a true taste of Crescent City. Yesterday, we enjoyed talking to a young father, his cute daughter, and his parents, who were visiting from Louisiana; we decided to try the kid’s favorite flavor (yummy strawberry) rather than the more exotic ones.
Unlike a snow cone, which consists of hard pellets sloshed with fruit syrup, a snowball is deliciously light and powdery and permeated with flavor. A recent article in the New York Times compared the two, declaring that “a snoball (the preferred spelling) is to a snow cone as Warren Beatty is to Shirley MacLaine: closely related, but prettier, smoother and infinitely cooler,” warning that in New Orleans, “you can get killed if you call it a snow cone.”
The Orleagian Snowballs trailer (orleagiansnowballs.com) has been a precursor in the street food movement. It was recently featured in an article about street food written by Anna Swindle in the Atlanta Journal and Constitution.
We plan on trying a flavor a day! Banana, Blackberry, Bubble Gum, Cherry, Chocolate, Coconut, Coffee, Cotton Candy, Creamsicle, Grape, Hawaiian, Hurricane Katrina, Ice Cream, Lemon Lime, Mango, Nectar, Orange, Peach, Pina Colada, Pineapple, Pink Lemonade, Raspberry, Rootbeer, Sour Apple, Spearmint, Strawberry, Srtawberry Daiquiri, Tiger’s Blood, Watermelon, Wedding Cake, and combinations thereof!
Finally!
Posted by Christiane Lauterbach | June 23rd, 2010 | Filed under Carts
More of a trailer than a truck, but street food all the way, the new Tropical Deli on Ponce de Leon just north of Myrtle displays a 100 on its health rating and posts a menu where the maximum number of wings you can order (200!) should come in handy during World Cup season!
Historic Roswell Believes in Food Carts
Posted by Christiane Lauterbach | June 21st, 2010 | Filed under Carts
Check out Mom’s Table’s adorable rolling cart from the 1950s and its collection of tableware and kitchen accessories.
Alas, the cart is only used as part of the decor, but just outside the door, peanuts are being boiled in front of a jolly little produce market.
The verdict on the peanuts: most excellent…not too salty or slimy!
Yeah, Roswell!
Gwinnett Is Cool!
Posted by Christiane Lauterbach | June 10th, 2010 | Filed under Carts
Marsha Bomar, the Chief Happiness Officer for Chocolate Perks (www.chocolateperks.com) in downtown Duluth, is a born New Yorker and local politician with a knack for street food. We caught up with her ice cream cart in an indoor setting (an art exhibit and talk by our friend David Gelin, the author of BBQ Joints: Stories and Secret Recipes from the Barbeque Belt), where it was put to good use.
Normally, the Chocolate Perks cart is in service outside the restaurant by the same name on the Duluth Town Green and delights the locals with rich, thick, homemade ice cream.
Vendor Gallery: Myke Rockenstyre
Posted by Christiane Lauterbach | June 4th, 2010 | Filed under Carts
Myke Rockenstyre, who is currently a “sous-chef on call” for the Omni in CNN Center and an experienced caterer, started cooking when he was a seven-year-old growing up in New York around Latino food prepared by his mother who is from Guayaquil, Ecuador.
Well over twenty years working his way up from pizzeria shop to Korean buffets, TGIFs, the Glatt Kosher Yacht, and finally his own catering firm called International Cuisine by Chef Myke Rock, which “did some gigs for Pataki’s reelection,” haven’t blunted Rockenstyre’s passion for the food of his childhood.
He now lives in Atlanta with his wife, who is from Bogota, Colombia, and their sixteen-year-old son, who has been helping him in his endeavors “since he was in diapers” and is All American in his football team, the Collins Hill Eagles. Rockenstyre describes himself as “half Spanish and half jaja (American),” and he would love to own “a good Latin bistro where the best of all Latin favorites are served–one from each country.”
Check out the thick, fabulous arepas de choclo (sweet corn cakes with cheese) and plump empanadas he recently prepared on a griddle at the Urban Picnic in front of the Sweet Auburn Curb Market and catch him at upcoming Atlanta Soccer Fest (atlantasoccerfest.org) on June 12 in Cabbagetown Park.
“I will be serving empanadas y arepas de chocol; also Tacos al Carbon de Pollo y Carne Asada, Tacos de Tofu for my vegetarian friends and nachos de queso blanco.”
The day’s festivities will include broadcasting the Argentina vs Nigeria and USA vs Britain games on 9×12-foot LED Screens.
