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NYC Food Truck Lunch: Fish & Chips From Bompa

Perry, the founder of New York Street Food, brings you his latest review on New York City street food.

You know spring has truly arrived when new food trucks start sprouting up on the NYC streets. The first one we've spotted this season is called Bompa, and they specialize in Belgian-style fries. We looked it up, and the word Bompa means "grandfather."

There have been other fries trucks in NYC in the past, notably Chipsy King and The Frying Dutchman, but neither is still in business. That doesn't bode well for Bompa, but who knows, maybe the time is right for a Belgian fries truck.

Our biggest problem with a fries truck is we're not going to have just fries for lunch. Fries are great for a late night snack after drinking, but for lunch, there needs to be some protein. The Frying Dutchman offered chicken tenders on their menu, but Chipsy King only sold fries and sauces.

The main focus of the menu at Bompa is Belgian-style fries, which come in two sizes, sold for $6 and $8. There's also a list of a dozen different sauces sold for $1 each. Ketchup and mayo are provided for free.

In addition to the fries, Bompa sells a fish & chips platter for $10, and a fish sandwich with fries and a salad for $9. We chose the platter.

Let's start with the fries, which were thick and semi-crispy. Right in front of us was a gentleman from Holland who was visiting NYC on business. While we were waiting for our order, he got a regular order of fries for $6 (pictured below). Fries are a very popular street food-style snack in Belgium and Holland, and he said they were good. That's a promising start.

Bompa Belgian Fries
(credit: Perry R.)

As for the platter, there were two large, thick pieces of fried fish, along with fries and a salad. The batter on the fish was crispy and had a nice crunch to it. We could tell the fish was frozen, not fresh, but you can't expect two large pieces of fresh fish, chips and a salad for $10. That's unrealistic. The fish was fried to order, and it came out hot and fresh.

The fries were good, although we personally like them a little crispier. The ones on top were a little crispy, but the fries underneath were softer by the time we got back to our office, just around the corner.

Salad
(credit: Perry R.)

The side salad was made up of mixed greens, tomatoes and red and green bell peppers. Everything was fresh, and it came with a choice of Italian, balsamic vinaigrette or Caesar dressing. We chose Caesar, which turned out to be a good dipping sauce for the fries, too.

Lunch from Bompa was good. There was a lot of food for $10, and while it doesn't compare to a true British fish & chips meal, we'll take it for a quick lunch.

Unfortunately, we could not find any social media presence for Bompa. You'll just have to keep an eye out for them at the usual food truck locations in midtown, downtown and Brooklyn.

Bompa Truck
(credit: Perry R.)
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