had a shrimp basket last nite and it was yummy!  looking fwd to trying other menu choices.  besides that, my partner & i frequent the taco truck on cortelyou & 17th… hmn, hmn good!

And as for the growing number of carts and trucks, I say bring ‘em. More choices are always welcome.

I’m sure the food is very good, but how do we square patronizing a food truck that pays no rent, with supporting local businesses that do?  If more trucks come around, what will that do to the local restaurants, especially in the current economy?  There are still vacant storefronts on Cortelyou – how attractive will the area be to future entrepreneurs if they are competing with food trucks right outside their door?

Here’s how it works. A nice entrepreneur walks by and sees the line. She figures out that we all adore delicious fried fish, so she hires the food truck guys to work in her new Cortelyou fishstaurant. Everyone wins. Simple.

to flatbush fred: good point about competition btw food trucks & restaurants, but i think on balance we can handle both.  i dine regularly at most of the latter in the nabe, but sometimes i don’t want fancy and some days i just have a hankering for shrimp or something really fast… choice variety is a great neighborhood virtue.  as a growing food destination, cortelyou will attract more businesses and customers who want to be where the action & unexpected choices are.  food trucks pay vendor fees and taxes as well as bear costs to do their business so they give as well as take.  and finally, they are a relatively inexpensive way to start a small business which can then serve as a stepping stone to something bigger.  i say, bring ‘em on!

The “vendor fees and taxes,” if in fact they do pay them must be a tiny fraction of what a restaurateur pays every year for the capital and operating costs of his/her business.  I like much of the food from food trucks (ever go to the ball fields in Red Hook?). And I agree that more choices is a great thing.  But if there is such a demand for this type of food, why not lease a vacant storefront and start a business?  Because it requires more capital and operating funds, hence the unfair competition. 

And this truck is taking 2 parking spaces, another negative effect  to local business.  What will happen when there are 5 of them???

If we don’t support our local business, we won’t have them.  And since the trucks have no roots in our neighborhood, if things get slow, they’re gone.  

I didn’t know the truck was West Indian – I just thought it was fried food. The WI cuisine I know has masala curry chicken, salt cod, white rice with kidney beans and infused with coconut milk,  candied yams and Trinidadian-style calaloo, peas and rice – it’s spicy. In other words, spicy side dishes. For me, plain fried fish isn’t going to be interesting to me. I wish you the best of luck and hope your menu grows.

Are they alowed to park and idle the entire day on a residential street? They have been parked in front of 364 Argyle all day today. I thought food trucks were not allowed to do business and definitely not idle on purely residential blocks?

but there is no bus

Hi. I just want to introduce us. 

VoxPop landlord is slowly descending into slumlord territory. I hope he returns your phone call. That space desperately needs to be revived.

Welcome and more power to you!

The truck menu ranges from 6-15 dollars, which is a similar price point to Bo Bo, Cafe Tibet, Dunkin Donuts, Catskill Bagel, San Remo, Cinco de Mayo Mariachis, and others.  I’m glad he is trying to open a “brick and mortar” restaurant in the neighborhood, and I wish him good luck (and I’ll patronize his place!).  But until then, the truck and others like it will unfairly weaken the customer base for the local restaurants who have made significant investments in our neighborhood, and again, if we don’t support our local businesses, there will be no local businesses.

tried the fish and chips today! it was delicious! Hope to see you guys again around the neighborhood Good luck!

I work in the area on the weekends and had lunch from the fishingshrimp truck both saturday and sunday and i thought it was delicious. i know some people think it might be a little to simple but sometimes simple is what some people need.  i like the fact that these food trucks are popping up around the neighborhood its a fast and delicous meal for people that either don’t  have that much time to actually sit in a restaurant or just want something quick and delicious. i don’t believe that they will be taking customers from any restaurant they all have something different.

I was looking all over for the truck today for some quick fish fix and finally found it when i checked twitter! I heard some businesses arent too happy with these trucks around and  called 311 on them and forced them to move. I mean, I dont think these food trucks are stealing any business at all. It’s something new and it gives more variety to people. I’m getting sick of the same old pizza crap and we need more trucks like these around! BRING ON THE TRUCKS PAL! @Fishingshrimp  – great food guys! looking foward to see you guys around more.

Ummm… traffic, congestion, lack of parking?  Are you pointing out that there would be almost NO IMPACT?  If so, then I agree.

Garbage?  Food trucks usually have garbage cans for folks that hang around the truck to eat.  Have you thought about the garbage “caused” by San Remo, Salahi, Catskill Bagel, etc. etc. etc.  Folks in our neighborhood being disgusting slobs has nothing to do with the source of their trash. 

You should focus on *actual* effects rather than invented, hypothetical, “it could happen” effects.

I agree with the posters above- the night or meal that I head to a truck is a night i’d make something fast and easy at home, NOT a night I’d go sit at a local restaurant. 

James, I do not think this is sound reasoning. Obviously there would be an impact. We are talking about if let’s say 2 trucks park on cortelyou. Let’s say that’s 30 feet of street parking, and the trucks are larger in width than regular vehicles, so cutting into the street a bit. It’s a small point, but there will be more vehicle congestion on the strip where there is already.

As to the garbage it could create, do you think these trucks carry a garbage can with them and put them outside the trucks? I’ve seen the litter at the red hook ballfields, and that’s with trashcans in site.

I’m not saying I’m against it, just saying people ought not just think with their bellies but consider the whole picture. 

It probably makes more sense to have these a few blocks from the heart of the strip.