Go to Big D’s Grub Truck for the Bulgogi, but Stay for the Dumplings
From the Vault:
I went to Big D’s Grub Truck so long ago that it’s not really fair for me to rate it, but I also don’t want my meal to go unnoticed and forgotten. Here’s why Big D’s is great:
1) They actually come to the lower bowels of Manhattan, the Financial District, unlike so many of the trucks that hang out in Midtown or only come as far as Fulton Street.
2) Their truck is bright yellow, so I can spot it in the morning even while half-passed-out on the bus so I don’t go out in the cold later for no reason.
3) They serve tacos and dumplings and are always parked right across from the Cupcake Crew truck, so I can have a carbfest and then go back to my desk to half-pass-out again in bliss.
bulgogi taco ($2.50)
This was my first time trying bulgogi, or marinated beef cooked over open flames; Big D marinates his in soy sauce, garlic, and sesame seed oil and then tops it with kimchi puree, scallions, and crema to give this taco sweet, spicy, cool, zinging flavors. I loved the tenderness of the beef with the crunch of the cucumber, and found the kimchi to be exactly the right amount as to not overpower the rest of the dish (unlike, say, a bowl from the Korilla truck, which I also love but have to be in the mood to get kimchi-punched-in-the-face for).
spicy pork taco ($2.50)
Of course I thought the bulgogi spicy enough, so I was a little afraid of being knocked out by this, but I was pleasantly surprised by its balance. The lime wedge that comes with every taco helps quite a bit, as you can imagine. I don’t remember this being terribly different than the beef, but I appreciated the texture differences.
spicy chicken ($2.50)
I loooooove cilantro and loooooove spicy mayo, so this was the taco for me. If the menu offered this in pork and beef, I’d get all three every time.
pork & chive dumplings ($3)
My co-workers and I have been longtime fans of the Bian Dang (formerly Cravings) truck’s steamed dumplings, but the glutton in me likes these better because they’re both fried and have a much thicker skin (more carbs!). Eating these gives me the same sort of feeling as eating gnocchi, except with the added benefit of filling.
Check @bigdsgrub
on Twitter for locations
8 Comments
Serial/eleanorpie
I WANT THIS ALL NOW.
Bulgogi is one of my favorite things. I don’t think you can get it in South Carolina. Certainly not in Aynor or Florence, anyway …
donuts4dinner
Oh, awesome, love that you know what it is.
But I should mention that I saw something today about how you shouldn’t try to get a job in Portland right now, so don’t go romanticizing it and moving there just for the bulgogi.
Serial/eleanorpie
Portland has long been a terrible place to find a job (unless you want to do something really boring – and even then, it ain’t easy). I think that’s why they call it “where young people go to retire.”
donuts4dinner
Oh, so that’s why everyone there has an Etsy shop. I’ve been considering an early retirement from my extremely taxing job, so maybe that’s the place for me and my needlepoint.
Jessica R.
All of this looks amazing, and I could actually afford to eat it all. Yes!
donuts4dinner
That’s what I said to Kamran. “Even I could afford this one!”
Mrs. Bachelor Girl
I’m having to fight the urge to try to gnaw on those dumplings through my computer screen.
Ash
Not a good idea for me to read this after deciding that I’m going back on a low-carb diet… but that all looks sooo good. I appreciate food that has kimchi in subtle amounts. I used to hate it, but only coz my dad and brother used to make it in huge tubs that stunk up the whole house.