Big D's Grub Truck Take 2

M found Big D's Grub Truck, a new food truck in NYC, back in early March, and she posted this review. She talked so highly of it the first time that, when the opportunity came up for the both of us to enjoy it together we couldn't turn it down.

We were lucky that we were able to meet up as this allowed us to try all four of their different meats. I got the Bulgogi Grinder and a side of fries. The fries come with the option of being covered with Old Bay Seasoning or Sazon which was described as "the Spanish Old Bay Seasoning". Never having had Sazon before, it was the easy choice to take.

Fries with Sazon
The fries were okay. Their truck motto for sides is GBD: "Golden, Brown, and Delicious" and these fries were certainly golden and brown. M and I both found the fries on the greasy side, and the Sazon, while similar to Old Bay, didn't really add enough to take away from the greasiness.

Closed view of the Bulgogi grinder
Open view of the Bulgogi grinder
The grinder was excellent. I found the bulgogi a little under-flavored compared to bulgogi you can get in a Korean BBQ restaurant, but it was still good. The combination of the kimchi puree, crunchy vegetables, and creamy sauce paired very well with the beef to create a bold set of flavors and textures. The bread is also phenomenal. Too often baguettes for sandwiches are too crusty and hard. The bread at Big D's has a good crisp to it, but the insides are kept warm and chewy.

M was on the quest for tacos so she got the 3 taco special. She chose one ginger chicken, one spicy chicken, and one spicy pork taco and paired them with a side of the dumplings with soy-garlic sauce. Originally M only wanted 2 tacos, but the condition for her to get the third taco was if I helped her eat them. Was that really a necessary question? Seriously...

Side order of dumplings
Again, we agreed that the side order was the weaker part of the ordered meal. The dumpling itself was fine, but it was nothing special. The skin was a bit thicker than we like as well. The soy-garlic sauce also seemed to be missing garlic flavor as it really just tasted like soy sauce.

M's taco trio
l. to r.: Spicy Pork, Spicy Chicken, Ginger Chicken
The tacos were very tasty. M started with the ginger chicken, and it has a nice subtle ginger flavor that doesn't dominate and overpower the rest of the taco. The spicy chicken was next, and it was delicious. It's easy to see why this is their specialty. The chicken itself isn't overly spicy, but it has a good flavor and contains the right amount of kick. Last was the spicy pork. The diced pork was very tender and marinated beautifully. As with the chicken, the spice was evident but did not dominate the flavor of the taco.

My overall impression was that the sides are okay but not necessary. The real stars of the meal are the meats regardless of whether you put them in a taco or get them in a grinder. The flavors and spices are set and controlled masterfully, and the accompaniments balance the meats perfectly.