NYC Food Truck Lunch: Southeast Asian Tacos & Hot Dogs From Coney Shack

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

One of the more interesting new food trucks recently opened, and it's called called Coney Shack. The owners started with a small cart on West 8th St in Coney Island (1/2 block from the Aquarium), and now they have a food truck making the rounds of various neighborhoods.

The menu includes tacos, burritos, quesadillas and hot dogs, but they all include Southeast Asian toppings or fillings. We ordered one Caramelized Garlic Glazed Pork Taco ($4 each, or 3 for $11) and one Holy Phuc Hot Dog ($6).

Despite a number of people waiting for their lunch when we walked up, service was fast. It took less than 5 minutes to receive our order.

We started with the taco, which had pieces of pork that had been marinated in a Vietnamese marinade they called thit ko. In addition to the pork, there was shredded pickled daikon, carrots, cilantro, a mildly spicy chili mayo, and a couple of jalapeño rings.

The taco was on the small side, but it was loaded with flavor. The pork came across as smoky and tasted great, although a few pieces were fatty.

The toppings added a nice kick, especially the jalapeño, and everything came together nicely. The only issue was the juices coming off the pork and daikon that dripped out the back of the taco on every bite. With the taco being so juicy, they should have used two tortillas instead of one, as it started breaking towards the end of being devoured.

The Holy Phuc was a normal-sized hot dog topped with a piece of panko-battered fish, pickled red onions, shredded cheese, and a lemongrass aioli sauce.

The Holy Phuc would more accurately have been called the Holy Mess. It was a jumble of ingredients piled high, and was another tricky dish to eat.

The ingredients didn't come together in unison like the pork taco did. Fried fish doesn't really go with all-beef franks and melted cheese. The fish topping just made the hot dog taste fishy, it didn't play off the flavor of the hot dog. The fish by itself was good, so we would recommend the fish taco if you're in the mood for seafood.

Lunch from Coney Shack was interesting, but we need a few more trips back to check out some of the other dishes before passing a verdict. The Five Spice Calamari is definitely at the top of our list to try, as is the Vietnamese Short Rib.

While we could not find a website or Facebook page, you can find Coney Shack food truck on Twitter here, and their food cart is at 2909 West 8th St in Coney Island, right next to the DMV office.