DUMBO — At least three food trucks typically fill DUMBO's cobblestoned streets on any given weekday, drawing long lines outside their take-out windows.
But DUMBO's food trucks have been MIA for most of November, spending the month serving free meals to Sandy victims courtesy of the Mayor’s Fund relief effort, the NYC Food Truck Association and donations given by private companies such as JetBlue and Metro PCS.
According to Mayor Bloomberg's twitter feed, 21 local food trucks rolled through affected areas serving at minimum 500 free meals a day.
And while DUMBO's professionals are proud of the work food trucks are doing in affected communities, they miss their lunchtime options. They say food trucks are a lunchtime necessity in their neighborhood, which hosts thousands of working professionals by day yet has very few brick and mortar lunch spots to serve the hungry hordes.
"I know they are doing such important work and I support them 100 percent," said Alyssa Galella who works in DUMBO and tweets about food truck locations under the handle @DUMBOFoodTrucks. "But we definitely miss them here in DUMBO."
Still, the food trucks have slowly returned to DUMBO's lunchtime scene, thrilling those on the ground.
"Just this week they are starting to trickle back in," Galella said. "The excitement is contagious, people are so glad to see them."
According to Galella, five trucks are now back in town.
Mexico Blvd, a truck that makes tacos and Mexico City sandwiches, served free meals in Coney Island and the Rockaways, came back to DUMBO. Other returnees include The Cinnamon Snail, a vegan food truck that was in New Jersey and Rockaway Beach and Eddies Pizza that served Far Rockaway, Gerritsen Beach and Coney Island. Shorty's and Domo Taco were now parked in their regular spots in DUMBO for lunch.
But many favorites are still not back in their usual positions.
Korilla BBQ, a local favorite serving Korean barbecue has not yet returned after serving meals at the Coney Island Gospel Assembly, the Breezy Point Fire Department and St Edmunds Church on Rockaway Point Blvd.
Galella added that she has also yet to see Kimchi Taco, Morris Grilled Cheese, Rickshaw Dumplings, Mike 'n Willie's, Coolhaus, Fun Buns, Chinese Mirch, and Wafels & Dinges.
But she, along with DUMBO's thousands of professionals, wait with drooling mouths for all of their hometown heroes to return.
