On Friday, I had to make a trip to North Jersey to pick something up at my friend's old apartment. About a 15 minute drive from there is Hoboken, NJ- home of not only the Cake Boss' Carlos' Bake Shop but more importantly, the best vegan organic lunch truck ever- The Cinnamon Snail. I conviced my sister to come along so she could experience the truck that I have told her about numerous times, and she was not dissapointed. I have to credit this amazing discovery to my friend Laura. I was going to visit her a few months ago and she is always up for trying out new vegan food with me even though she is not vegan. She googled vegan food in her area, and The Cinnamon Snail popped up. We decided to give it a try, not sure what to expect, and were blown away. We have been back many times since.
The Cinnamon Snail offers organic, vegan cuisine that is cooked to order right inside the truck. The owner, Adam, is super nice, down-to-earth, funny, and you can tell he truely enjoys what he does. I wanted to ask him about his culinary background, but he had other customers waiting and I didn't want to take up his time. (I also wanted to try to convice him to move his truck to Seattle). The Snail does not serve your typical "lunch truck" fare. The food is nothing less than what you would get in a gourmet restaurant. Actually, it's better. Adam also strives to use local ingredients and products with as little environmental impact as possible. The containers and plates are made out of recycled cardboard and the utensils are vegetable based. Really, it can't get much better. Definitely check out the website to read about the transformation of the truck, see the menu, and some pictures of the amazing food. There are often changes or a few additions to the menu each week depending on what's in season.
We decided to get two items for breakfast and share them. This is the breakfast burrito with scrambled tofu, refried beans, pico de gallo, and avocado ($7). It was very tasty and a bit spicy- the cool & creamy avocado definitely made the burrito. Our only minor issue with this was that the onion in the pico de gallo was a little overpowering. I wish I had gotten a photo of the inside, but I was too busy eating!
And here is the whole reason for the trip, the blue corn pancakes with pignoli butter and Vermont maple syrup. ($8) Seriously, these are the best pancakes I have ever eaten, period. We were dreaming about these the whole ride home.
The window of the truck displays a large selection of various vegan pastries. There is everything from donuts to "pop hearts" (a play on Pop-Tarts) to spinach pie. I have tried the spinach pie previously and it was delicious. My sister and I decided to each get a treat and save them for later. I sadly forgot to take photos, but we got a delicious mini peanut butter chocolate cheesecake and a mocha chocolate donut. Both were fantastic, and tasted better than the non-vegan versions that I remember.
The Snail is parked in Hoboken, NJ on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays and is at a farmer's market in Red Bank on Sundays. You can follow the snail on Twitter and Facebook to find out its exact location, because it sometimes changes depending on where he can find a parking spot. You can also call ahead so your food is ready to pick up when you get there.
If I haven't already made it clear, I HIGHLY recommend The Cinnamon Snail if you are ever in the Hoboken area. Even if you're not, a trip to Hoboken for the pancakes alone would be totally worth it!
