At 2am in the morning, I turn down Bedford Avenue in search of Endless Summer. The yellow leaves crunching under my feet remind me that is Autumn, and I press on until a large four-wheeled venue bearing good cheap grub comes into view.
In a penny-pinching economy, many of us working-class food aficionados will need to look down more affordable avenues for a tasty fix. It’s a wonderful thing, then, that New York currently houses an astounding variety of scrumptious fare from the most humble of sources: street vendors. And while Manhattan is arguably still king of the street snack, there are a growing number of admirable entrepreneurs across the river in Brooklyn and Queens. Further evidence of this: the Vendy Awards, a yearly celebration of the panoply of NYC street food, was held this year in DUMBO.
One prime example is parked (hopefully permanently) at the corner of North 6th Street and Bedford Avenue in Williamsburg. The Endless Summer truck offers up a menu of authentic-tasting tacos and burritos ranging from $2 to $6. The taco selections include succulent salty pork, slightly spicy beef, solid (if uninteresting) chicken, seitan, or delicate whitefish as your meat du jour. Each is served in two corn tortillas topped with a creamy green sauce, which tastes delicious despite its ambiguous ingredients list. Accoutrements, including lime, queso fresco, and a complement of radishes, round out the order. Be sure to pick up the giant squeeze bottle of their house green hot sauce and apply it liberally to your taco. You won’t be sorry.
Their burrito offerings are also tasty—but not as good as the taco—with your choice of all the aforementioned meats wrapped up in a standard flour tortilla with rice, beans, and some of that creamy green goodness. Wash it down with a super sweet Jarritos soda for a satisfying (and did I mention cheap?) meal. They are open from lunch until late (3am on busy nights), offering a perfect late night snack as you stumble back to the L.
How to get there: Take the L train to Bedford Ave and walk one block south. (Endless Summer, North 3rd St. and Bedford Ave., 347.400.8128, endlesssummertacos.com)
Photos: Courtesy of Dan Crissman