Watch CBS News

NYC Food Truck Lunch: Chicken Shish Tawouk From Bread & Olives

Perry, the voice behind New York Street Food, brings you his latest review on New York City food trucks.

We went over to Midtown's Food Truck Central for lunch, just north of Grand Central Station.

Food Truck Central is not an official designation, but on 47th St between Madison & Park, on Park Ave between 47th & 48th St, and across Park Ave towards Lexington, there are about 10 food trucks. That doesn't even count the Mister Softee and Frozen Yogurt trucks.

On Park Ave by 47th St was a new food truck we had not seen before called Bread & Olives. They describe their food as Authentic Lebanese Cuisine, with falafel, shawarma, hummus and the like as their mainstays.

We ordered chicken shish tawouk in a deluxe platter, which comes with fries and hummus for $7. You can also get it over rice for the same price, or in a sandwich for a buck less.

Bread & Olives Food Truck
(credit: New York Street Food)

Upon ordering our lunch (at 1:10), we were told they had no more fries, and the chicken would be over rice. Sure, no problem.

We were luckier than the guy behind us, who was told they were out of rice. Guess we got the last order of rice.

Chicken shish tawouk is described on the menu as grilled cubes of marinated chicken brests (sic). The "shish" was misleading, because it wasn't grilled chicken shish kebab as we expected.

Instead is was cubes of chicken kept in what can best be described as a steam tray, with a saucy broth keeping the chicken moist.

The chicken was moist, but a little overcooked in the tray. Hey, if we wanted steam tray chicken, we would have gone to a deli salad bar.

They also do the "white sauce/hot sauce" thing that all the halal carts do. The chicken and rice were a step up from the standard halal cart chicken over rice, which is a good thing, because it was $2 more than the standard halal cart.

The hummus on the other hand was not so great. It was not smooth and creamy, as the best hummus is. The hummus at Bread & Olive was nice and lemony, but it was grainy and coarse.

Hummus From Bread & Olives
(credit: New York Street Food)

The hummus would have benefitted from some pita bread to dip into it. Surprised we didn't get any, considering the name of the truck is Bread & Olives.

This food truck has only been around for a few weeks, so we'll give them another try soon, but cooked falafel was also sitting around waiting to be served. They don't seem to do the "cook to order" thing that makes the best food trucks stand out from the pack.

Chicken Shawarma From Bread & Olives
(credit: New York Street Food)

Doing a little research, we see there was small restaurant called Bread & Olive in midtown that recently closed. Wonder if these are the same folks. Next time, we'll ask.

We do want to try Bread & Olive again because the chicken shawarma looked pretty good. You could see it roasting on a spit, and if they carve it off as ordered, it has a shot at becoming a recommended dish.

They don't seem to have a website or twitter accuont, but the guy told us they are on Park Ave at 47th St every day for breakfast and lunch. There was a breakfast menu that looked worth exploring too.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.