NYC Food Truck Lunch: The "Freakin Deal" From Hallo Berlin
Perry, the founder of New York Street Food, brings you his latest review on New York City street food.
With the 10th Annual Vendy Awards being held tomorrow on Governor's Island, we decided to stop for lunch at the winner of the very first Vendy Award back in 2005, Hallo Berlin. While the cart on 54th St just west of 5th Ave is still going strong, the original proprietor, Rolf Babiel, passed away a few years ago. The cart is now being run by Rolf's brother, Wolfgang, who brings a little bit of Germany to the NYC streets.
The menu still has 9(!) authentic varieties of wurst, plus Bavarian meatballs and a few sides. We decided to go for the Freakin Deal to get some variety. It includes any wurst, sauteed onions, German potato salad and a Bavarian meatball for $10.
Being huge fans of wurst, we opted for bauernwurst, which is one of our favorites. Wolfgang has a wurst slicer on the cart, and it's cut up into about 10 bite-sized pieces with one pull of the handle.
Atop the wurst go sauteed onions, which are cooked fresh right at the cart. On the side is a generous portion of potato salad, then the meatball.
We started with the potato salad, which was cold, and did not have much mayo. It was a little sweet, a little vinegary, and somewhat peppery too. The taste was good, but it would have been better warmed up a little.
The Bavarian meatball was large. We originally thought there were two, but it was just one meatball cut in half. The meatball was served with spicy German brown mustard, and of course some of the potato salad got onto the meatball, too, adding even more flavor.
Bauernwurst is made with beef and pork. It was also served with the spicy mustard, and had the consistency of a good hot dog, but larger, and much tastier. There were more spices and garlic in this wurst than in a regular hot dog, and it's not as coarse and grainy as bratwurst.
The final part of the meal was a "crusty roll", and he's wasn't kidding about the crusty part, although the inside was somehow still soft.
Hallo Berlin is one of our favorite street vendors in NYC. Service can be slow, especially from 12:30-2pm, but it's the care that Wolfgang gives to each order that helps make it such a great lunch.
Hallo Berlin is old school, meaning the Twitter account has not been used in over a year, but there is a Facebook page.
If you want a sit-down meal (and a beer!), Hallo Berlin has two restaurants, one on 10th Ave between 45th & 46th St and one upstate in Conklin, NY. Details are on the Hallo Berlin website.
