The Treats Truck: A Mid-Afternoon Adventure

The Backstory

A little while back, maybe a few months, I caught wind of something called 93 Plates. Without previously knowing of The Wandering Foodie, I found the idea intriguing on all parts. Doing what I often do when finding a new blog - added it to my Google Reader and also followed him on Twitter.

At some point, while still unemployed, I tweeted out that if he was ever looking for a fill-in, I might be up for it. Mainly because my schedule was flexible at that time and, still, curiosity about the project was there. Then, on the 29th of January, Hagan tweeted out an emergency cancellation at Treats Truck for lunch. That day, the truck was parked at 38th and 5th, and I happened to have time for a real lunch break so I offered to share in some small sampling.

And there I was, on a chilly January afternoon, getting fresh air and a full tummy and being a part of something I honestly think could only happen in NYC.

The Treats Truck
all photographs provided by Hagan Blount

I've been to the truck a few times when I was working at 34th st and 5th ave. I've met Kim Ima, the owner, then and also while volunteering at The Vendys back in August (fun times). She's a sweet lady, an easy business to support. She has a truly cute, vintage looking silver truck that is easy to spot amidst the crazy streets of Manhattan.

From the first bite, I truly believe her slogan is an extremely fair representation of her product. Simple, classic, American desserts. Often a bit rich and sweet, but there are some true stars in the bunch.

Sugar Dots

 

Incredibly classic, straightforward sugar cookies topped with a simple icing and sprinkles, these cookies acted practically as a palate cleanser between richer samples. I am a fan of the two sizes - the smaller "Dot" is a great little $0.50 snack. I can't complain nor rave about these - what you see is what you get.

Cran Almond Crispy

  

This was one of two items who I personally think don't fare well in the winter. The cold air doesn't do the best for Rice Krispy treats. And this was a marshmallow square amped up - with dried cranberries and almonds. More marshmallow would have been nice, and maybe in the summertime? But mainly it's a pass for me.

Chocolate Chip Cookie

 

Yet another classic American cookie, this is a solid but not spectacular cookie. It is also offered with pecans, which I might be willing to try. The cookie was dense, but without the nice combination of chewy toffee edges and moist center.

Raspberry Brownie

The brownies from the Treats Truck are rich, sweet, chocolatey bombs. Kim offers many different varieties, with caramel, raspberry, pecan, plain, spicy Mexican cocoa, and others (espresso, etc) available. With all her bars, she will ask if you prefer a corner, edge or center, which is a great little detail. The raspberry brownie was the second dessert damaged by the cold - the fruit swirl on the top had solidified  in the cold. Not very easy to bite into or chew up, the winter is not the best time for the raspberry brownie. [As a side note, I've tried a bit of one of these brownies in the summer and the texture and consistency of the fruit is far better and makes for a more complete flavor.]

 Peanut Butter Sandwich

Boy, if you like peanut butter, these are SO the cookies for you! It's the classic peanut butter cookie with a rich peanut butter filling. The small cookie is a bit decieving - there is a ton of peanutty flavor in a small package. She also offers the sandwich cookie with a jelly filling for some true nostalgia. And one other side note - as with most classic peanut butter cookie recipes, these are GLUTEN FREE.

The Truckers - Caramel Creme and Chocolate

Truckers, oh truckers, you both swooned me and turned me off in the same category. Yet another very rich option from The Treats Truck is the Caramel Creme Trucker. The cookie is buttery, a bit like a shortbread cookie, delicious with caramel flavor. The cream in the center is what I would classify as a standard cookie filling. The Caramel Creme Trucker falls into my top favorites from the Truck.

Unfortunately, the Chocolate Creme Trucker did not match up. Somehow, the chocolate cookie tasted chalkier, less chocolate-intense and just not quite on the money. If you're craving chocolate, go for a brownie.

Pumpkin Cake

Kim offers pumpkin and carrot cake, and Hagan told me that both received a strong endorsement from the ladies at Blondie & Brownie. After trying the pumpkin cake, I must agree. The cake had a nice balance of sweet, pumpkin and spice. Topped with a cream cheese frosting, I consider this one of the tastiest and best monetary values from The Treats Truck. Straightforward is the name of the game, and if you like pumpkin cake, I recommend this one.

 Pecan Butterscotch Bar

Winner, winner, chicken dinner! The pecan butterscotch bar is truly my favorite from the Treats Truck. Yes, it's sweet and rich, dense indeed, but the butterscotch flavor and spread of pecans? Truly delicious. I must must encourage you to get an edge or corner bar - the delicious toffee flavor gets more intense at the edges, as the texture gets firmer. For less than $3, I definitely say this bar is worth swinging by The Treats Truck when in the neighborhood.

The Verdict

So the verdict on my experiences? Well, when it comes to The Treats Truck, "Not too fancy, always delicious!" still sums up the baked goods pretty darn well. My experience eating at the truck with 93 Plates did not change my opinion on the truck - it's worth checking out for certain items, certain cravings, and most definitely worth visiting to meet and chat up the very sweet owner, Kim. I want to thank her (and obviously give full disclosure) for the food, and thank Hagan for the experience.


There has been various musings around the web about the purpose and drive behind 93 Plates. I just want to say I understand all opinions on the matter, and I'm not going to say anything more brash about it. I haven't had the time nor desire to "seriously analyze" it all. But I did comment on friend Amy's blog before finally getting to this write-up.)

Woah... It's 2010!

To my readers, I wish you a Happy New Year!

Nick McGlynn's kickass New Years party right over Times Square.

While I look like a hot mess in this picture, I'm happy as a clam. This was my evening last night, with so, so, SO many of my new friends. 2009 rightly sucked for many reasons, but when it comes to the connections I've made in my life, well damn, this is one lucky lady right here. So thank you, to all of you. You know who you are, you know you're greatly loved and you know that you've made my year about as great as it could be.

Oh New York...

You tempestuous little bitch. Some days, I'm not quite sure why I'm here; those lovely, dirty, crowded days where it all seems to go wrong. And then... Then you have days like Sunday where the torrid love/hate affair is reignited with full out passion. Sunday was just one of those days, full of new discoveries, old loves, new acquaintances, and a goodbye notwithstanding, a swoonfully fantastic day.


Sunday came to be from the goodbye to a new friend and family member that I semi-sort-of knew I had. Nadine grew up in Florida, but is more direct family with Basil and Mano. The Agapions are my Greek family-that's-not-family (who I adore and are talented fuckers). In the winter, Basil came to visit and we all went out - which was when I met Nadine. We went out a second time when Basil and the crew came up this summer. She's leaving New York, hopefully on to bigger and better things, so she had a last fling Sunday brunch (I know, how cliche NYC, haha).

Brunch in the West Village with a bunch of her girl friends - always fun to meet new people - at Garage Restaurant. Overpriced, slightly generic brunch, but most places are as such... From there, some of the big group walked up to Chelsea Market - Nadine had never been before. While it's not like "OMG the greatest thing in the world", it's one of those places you should go to at least once while living in New York. The walk there was nice - lazily walking through the West Village, gorgeous weather, and we met up with two of her guy friends. We walked through the Market, some of us got some Ronnybrook Dairy ice cream, and then decided to make our way to the Highline. One of those new places that I've been wanting to visit since it opened, it's a pretty kickass, above ground (old railroad line) park that's super green.

Side note: the water fountain(s) are one of the best designs I've seen. The runoff goes down into a drain and waters all the plants they have up there.

I'm sorry, but how cool is that?

So, after walking the full distance of the Highline, Alex, our tour guide for the day (the guy knew everything and everyone in NYC!), took us to a place called the Frying Pan. It's basically a kickass restaurant and bar on a barge (and the boat named Frying Pan, as well). Not only did we enjoy amazing views of the water (after struggling to find a table - the place was packed), but at the end of it, Alex basically took us on a probably-not-allowed tour of the boat. It was so crazy to be in this specimen of an old boat, with living spaces, nooks and crannies, just completely fascinating. Not something I would do on my own, but having Alex to basically show us took out some of the old, creepy fears I have.

Before I knew it, it was 8:30 - brunch started at 1pm! It was quite a great day, a really nice goodbye for Nadine and it was so much fun to just explore and interact with new places and people. Oh, and the day ended with Mad Men. Quite a memorable day, indeed.

It's sort of cute...

or sad?

I'm talking about how excited I am for New York. A paid internship! Hopefully some success in finding a permanent job! A cuuute apartment in Astoria with some sweet (Southern) girls (at least they seem to be)!

Tonight, it seems real.
My dad "gave his blessing" finally.
I'm buying stuff for the apartment.
I got approved for the apartment!!!!
We're discussing renting a cargo van or small truck and driving up so that we can take stuff instead of shipping it.
Talking with the roommates as a DEFINITE third roommate and not a "maybe" roommate.

I'm so excited, my nerves seem raw to the touch. It's a great thing, but I'm exhausted and yet can't relax. Last night, I barely slept (can anyone say stressed about the apartment approval/signing my and my parents' life away?). Today, we went to the bank, had papers notarized, faxed. I spoke with the broker to confirm she got the fax. We went by Budget Rental to check out prices and options. (Budget = HELLA cheaper than U-Haul.) We spent time at my aunt's - vamping up my mother's resume, writing a small cover letter/note, looking up plane tickets and other costs. Then we stopped at USPS in the mall and mailed out the official guarantor affidavit and my mom's resume stuff. And then we ended up in JC Penney - I found some kitchen cooking utensils, some cheapo cute plates and bowls, towels, curtains, a rug, blah blah blah. Oh and we fixed dinner once we got home. And then had to give my father the rundown on the plans and updates, and showed him pictures of the apartment.

Although he seemed pretty underwhelmed by the apartment, that's my father.

I'm just soooooo excited! My only wish was that I had time to spend a solid few days in Raleigh. I love and miss my friends, but I just don't have much time to spare before Wednesday. Biggest bummer ever.

WOW!

I don't think I can put into words how excited I am.

I got a paid winter internship in New York City!!!!! Like, meaning I'm starting February 9th. :eek:

I've also got an apartment already arranged! My aunt Susie's neighbor's daughter works for Ralph Lauren in NYC. She has friends from college that were looking for a third roommate for an apartment in Astoria. They found what sounds to be a nice house - big den, good kitchen, three bedrooms of three different sizes (perfect for our three different budgets), porch and backyard of our own! For what sounds like a small bedroom with a wall of closet space, (storage FTW) it's $725/month including utilities.

One girl said she has most of the shared furniture taken care of, which is awesome for me. All I'll need is a bed and mattress, along with a few things like a nightstand, maybe a bookshelf?

I'm so incredibly excited, but I still have to talk to my dad about it, which sort of freaks me out. He pretty much nixed the idea a few weeks ago, when it was still just a baby idea. But considering that my pay can cover rent and food and that, right now, I have a good 2/3 of the money I'd need for the first month (725*3), I'm not as worried. Really, just the cost of moving/driving up there and a bit more is what I have to worry about.

Seriously, two weeks. To finish and print out my portfolio, to figure out how we're getting up there and back, etc etc etc. Exciting, stressful, crazy. And I'm still a bit worried about not having seen at least a picture of my bedroom, ya know? I can deal with small spaces, but it would just be nice to have an idea of what I'm getting.

So, YAY! And worries about the logistics. But mostly YAAAAAAAAY!

So...the subways...

Those suckers are a bit confusing. To get to work, I have to take the N train to 34th st/Herald Square and transfer to the F train southbound to Brooklyn. But when I got to Herald Square and went to find the F train, I must have gone the wrong direction. Every F train that came was going northbound, but I didn't figure this out till I rode one a few stops down. Hah...

So hopefully, today I can figure out how much time it actually takes to get from home to work without screwing up! I did find Indigo Handloom, but that was fun too. I somehow missed my original stop and got out at Jay St and Borough Hall (or something). I was in the 400s block of Jay St and had to go to 68 Jay St. Ehehe, that included walking under the Manhattan Bridge and figuring out that Jay St. ended at one spot and picked back up around the corner.

BUT if I had gotten off on the right stop, it's only a block from Indigo Handloom. So, I took the F train back to 34th st/Herald Square. Either that or the 42nd St/Bryant Park are the closest to the Garment District. I wandered around the world's largest Macy's (because, oh yeah, the strap to my bag broke in Brooklyn). Everything was too pricy there, so I wandered through H&M and Forever 21. I finally settled on a bag, but it's pretty meh. I'd like to have one a bit smaller than this one, bigger than the purse I have. Whatever.

I hung out in one of the little squares between the roads at Herald Square where there were bistro tables and lots of people. I had my greek yogurt and blueberries. :) Then I walked down um maybe Sixth Avenue? No, that probably wasn't it, but whatever. I ended up on 33rd st, at Madison Square Garden. Wandered through the Borders there and found some NYC guide books and a book of panoramic postcards. Settled on a small pocket guide with maps and my postcard book, and chilled out.

I learned that the Sketchers I wore the day before for the trip to Astoria Park Shira and I made blistered my heel, and thusly my Nikes got SUPER uncomfortable. I really wanted to walk up to Times Square, but I decided to come back to Astoria and attempt to switch shoes. I had to meet Shira at Whole Foods at Union Square at 7pm, so I left and got over there around 6:15ish. Looked through a small shoe store, then just chilled outside of Whole Foods and people-watched. That was FUN.

Trip to Whole Foods for YUMMY, expensive icelandic yogurt, Siggis. Then walked down to Trader Joe's. It was my first trip to TJ's and I loved it. Crazy busy but awesome. We hung out in Union Square for a bit after that and got home after dark last night.

Right now, I've made lunch and I'm trying to motivate myself to get in the shower so I can get moving again for the day. :)

I'm in NEW YORK!

Yesterday afternoon, I arrived in New York City! I am sooo excited!

I am staying with my loverly buddy and soon-to-be partner in crime Shira. I have to say, OH is a wonderful thing. I've met a lot of friends on there, and without it, I honestly don't know if I would have come this far post-op.

I had a feeling things would be good between me and Shira, but they've really clicked even better than expected. Yeah, it's only 24 hours into it (literally... I got to her apartment at like 12:15pm Sunday), but I'm feeling good about things.

The city is amazing (and I haven't barely seen ANY of it). It's definitely big and daunting, but I LOVE the convenience factor and just allllllllllll the options of stores and things to do. Weeeee! I'm very excited. Hopefully, today will be a bit more of learning about the subway and the buses, so I can figure stuff out on my own.

Yesterday, I bought my Metrocard and we rode the subway. (My first time...cherry is popped!) We went to Bed, Bath & Beyond and spent way too much money on me (well, Shira spent way too much money on me. Because she's sweet like that). We got a rolling storage/closet thing for all my clothes and shoes and stuff, and kitcheny stuff (yay popsicle molds!) and just a lot of general stuff. And then we went to Food Emporium, a very nice grocery store where we picked up some foods.

We cabbed it back home since our BB&B stuff was big and heavy. We started putting the closet thing together...that was a trip. Why do we need instructions when we can figure it out ourselves? Oh, that's right, because we'll take it apart and have to put it back together a number of different times. Hahaha.

After setting that up and the Aerobed and stuff, we headed back out and just explored a bit of Astoria. Checked out the $0.99 store, walked around. We came back, and had originally planned on cooking. But after a while, carbing out was decided instead. Oh, and fatting out. We ordered some greasy diner delivery and watched History of the World Part I. I knew I loved Mel Brooks, but this was friggin hilarious. :)

Today, I think we're going to do some more exploring, past the east side. But it's been a lazy day so far. Wish me luck, there's a LOT to learn, but I'm excited!

So.........Guess what?!

I had my interview with Indigo Handloom on Friday instead of Wednesday (a mix-up on their part). And yesterday, I got an email from my contact saying they want me as an intern!!! Woo hoo!!!

It's only two days a week, on Thursdays and Fridays, but I am super excited. Tentatively, they want me to start next week, so, yeah, craziness! I'm looking at plane (and Amtrak) tickets right now, I don't know which is best. Especially since all these airlines are charging $25-$50 per extra bag, and it's sort of difficult to pack for three months in NYC with ONE bag.

I only wish my dad had been a bit more excited/happy about the prospects. Last night, he was just sort of like "Well, if that's what you want to do...". No big "Congrats" (or more likely "Mabrook" (arabic)). So I'm definitely feeling guilty, because I know this is a big financial strain... But I don't think it would make a difference to him if I attempted to explain how much the experience will make a difference on my resume in the long run.

So, I'm happy, excited, anxious, and a bit guiltful for all of this. I have no idea how to pack for these three months - Indigo Handloom has no real 'dress code', my contact just said to dress comfortably. But still... three months in NYC? How does one prepare for that?!

Summer Internship WOW!

So yesterday I was offered an unpaid summer internship with Vera Wang. It's in their Production category, which is like product development. I am so excited and really blown away, but at the moment, the biggest issue is monetary. I still have not talked to my father about it, but the first thing my mom mentioned is the money. She's like "That sounds great, but I just don't know if we can afford it."

As of right now, the early financial numbers are:
$1000+ for rent (sharing a studio apt with my friend Shira - she's AWESOME!)
$225 for plane ticket
$90 for taxi to and from JFK
$240 for 3 months of bus passes
$55 for laundry
$100/week for food - $1200 total
$50/week for entertainment - $600 total

That's $3,360 for 2.5 months in NYC... Expensive! But not as bad as I expected. Are my numbers appropriate, for food and entertaining? I realize I probably won't be doing a *LOT* of stuff out and about, but I'd like to have the option.

PLUS food, living, just *life* in general. I want to get a part-time job once I'm in NYC, depending on the hours Vera Wang wants me. It's a freakin dream come true, and the fact that I even had an internship offered to me is amazing. The past three years, I've applied to SO MANY internships and nothing has come through for me. I've been talking to my mom more today, and she's much more positive about it. She's still worried about the finances, and mainly about her little ole EmBee being in such a big city.

I can't say I'm not scared either, but it's a freakin chance of a lifetime! So, yeah, I called the HR woman at Vera Wang today and left a message, trying to let her know that I'm very serious about wanting the position. Her last email yesterday wasn't definitive in the "Yes, you HAVE the job." So, I'm a bit nervous.

So...la la la...I am excited! But nervous...Don't really even know how to approach my father about this.

But, I will do something that I feel is very tacky but I need the help. Someone told me about this website, and considering that my parents don't have $3500 just sitting around for someone to use, I'm looking for any and all donations possible. :-* I love you all!

Grant me my wish!