Cevap Truck

Started working more around financial district but they raised all their prices — sad.

Eat street meat at least 3x a week and since this was right outside my office I decided to try. I got in line and the person in front me immediately jumped out which should have been my first clue. I waited… and waited… and waited. The line was only about five people deep but it took over fifteen minutes to get to the front. Once in front I understood why, the guy handling the window took forever. He put one napkin in a bag, stare off into space, then another napkin, long, pause, then a third. Seriously, it was that slow and mismanaged. Dude could not multitask. Once I was in front I waited while he cleared 5 ready orders I could have personally bagged up in two minutes but see above. It took eight. By then I was done and bounced to another cart down the street. When I walked back with my food I saw the same people still waiting at Cevap truck for their orders. In future I’ll stick with the halal guys who actually have a work ethic that allows people to enjoy their lunch. Respect those of us with a timed break Cevap truck!

I was in Cooper Sq for an event and I was looking for something to eat since I hadn’t had dinner yet. I spotted this food truck parked and decided to try the meat roll. It was pretty delicious. think flaky croissant with ground meat and spices in it. For $ 5, I thought it was good deal and I was satisifed.

Came here for lunch today trying to decide between Moshe’s falafel and the Cevap truck. Tough decisions, but ended up going to both. Not sure what the heck cevap is but $ 10 was too expensive for me to try coming out of a food truck. I ordered a meat burek and wanted to order a cheese burek but they didn’t have any. Anyways, in Astoria, there’s a decent amount of people from the Balkan states so this was second attempt at their cuisine (first time was horrible). The burek was pretty darn good, nicely baked flaky crust filled with well seasoned meat. A little oily, but hey, if that’s the downside for a crisp flaky crust I’ll take it. $ 5 bucks for a burek, + 2.75 for falafel = lunch. Couldn’t be happier. Maybe it’s time I warmed up a little more to balkan cuisine after having tried some better food.

I tried the cevapi — a pita with 4 breakfast sausage-​sized links. On the side is a salad (iceberg lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, onions in a tasty dressing — pretty basic), a red ajvar sauce, and a white cream cheese-​like sauce. The ajvar had an odd taste to it. I am always open to new things though, and realize that it was odd to me just because I have never had it before, and would need to acquire a taste for it. I loved the kaymak. It was a tasty addition to the sausage pita sandwich.
I piled all the ingredients in the pita. It was very interesting.
I am not a big sausage fan, so I am not sure I would order this again.
The cevapi is $ 10. For a pita sandwich from a truck, I think the price is too high. I was disappointed to spend $ 10 on lunch to only be hungry again in a few hours.
Now if the cevapi was $ 5, that would be a game changer.
I would like to try the Balkan burger. I’ve had those before in Queens and they are rocking.

So I decided to experience the Cevap truck today given the semi-​long line outside the truck and the smell of grilled meat spread throughout midtown.
I waited for about 5 – 6 minutes as the line wasn’t really moving figuring they must really take the time to prepare their meals. That should be a good thing right? Not in my case. I ordered the Meat roll to test out their food. Honestly, I could’ve done better. Simply put, take some dough, fill it with seasoned ground beef, and make it into a bun shaped. That’s what the meat roll was. I probably would’ve glazed the outside of the bun with butter and made the meat less salty. Would’ve made it more enjoyable.
Lastly I have a big sweet tooth. I wanted the Baklava but they ran out. So I decided to try Tolumba out. The Tolumba I had was a pickle shaped piece of dough that was drenched and I mean drenched with a light honey syrup. Being that I have a sweet tooth, even this was too much for me. Upon biting into the Tolumba, it was soggy and clearly had absorbed all the honey syrup. The vendor said this would be light. It certainly was light… on my wallet for $ 2 but was not enjoyable.
I rarely give out stars lower than 3 but this deserved a solid 2.

Cevap Truck was the first lunch spot-​on-​wheels that I ever tried. The reason behind it was my love for Balkan cuisine, which I developed after moving to NYC.
I ordered a $ 5 burek as a test. Surprisingly, a traditional pie looked like a rolled sausage of phyllo dough filled tightly with well-​seasoned ground beef. Also, it filled me up very good, considering that i bought it for lunch, the portion was bigger than expected.
Good looking guys peaking out the truck window were very friendly and customer oriented.
Five stars.

Ahh, the beautiful warm red glow of ajvar, a Balkan red pepper sauce used in so many ways. Whenever I see it I am ready to smother all my food with it and eat. I was not impressed with the ajvar however when I visited Ukus in Astoria, but I think I might need to return as all their ingredients have improved for their foray into the world of food trucks.
The bright green truck is very easy to spot on the street, and so far has been seen in two lunch locations, 21^st and Broadway, and more recently on 5^th Avenue near 22^nd Street.
Just like the restaurant, this truck focuses on evapi ($ 5), small meat links served with bread, ajvar, and creamy kaymak. The bread is once again outstanding, but as I stated before the meat is much better than my experience in Astoria. I think it all is prepared there though, as the meat is re-​grilled to order. Despite this, the spices are very intense and the sandwich makes a quick and filling lunch.
I tried to go on a rainy day at first but the truck was nowhere to be found unfortunately. Make sure to call ahead just to make sure if you are coming from afar. They also have a pljeskavica ($ 5, called «burger») and many types of burek, a delicious pastry that can be savory or sweet.

I had just bought dinner at the dumpling cart at 72^nd and Broadway (which, although a Vendy nominee, is overrated) when I ran into the Cevap Truck parked at 86^th and Broadway. So I bought my second dinner! The cevapi sandwich was really delicious — several tasty small pieces of sausage with two types of sauces and chopped onions. I’m not really familiar with this cuisine, although I have had burek before in Brighton Beach.
I’m looking forward to sampling more of their menu.

i recently discovered this balkan food truck near my office, which appears to be a new entrant into the midtown mobile food wars. the flagship item — the cevapi — is apparently (per wikipedia) the «national dish» of bosnia and herzegovina. cevapi basically consists of several small, spicy sausages wrapped in flatbread. it’s not bad.
my favorite tho is the busek (sp?) — can’t remember the name exactly, but it’s a tube of flaky, croissant-​like bread stuffed with meat, then wound into a spiral so it sort of looks like a cinnamon bun. it was just $ 3, tho i’m not sure if that’s an introductory price or permanent. they have other fillings, besides meat — i’ve tried the spinach, but it was meh — a little too salty. if you get one, make sure you get them to heat it up a little bit! (sometimes they don’t bother)
they also have other stuff (salads, kebabs) which i haven’t tried.
overall, i’d say the main drawback is that the food is a little heavy for lunchtime, but the prices are definitely right and it’s a welcome change from the usual fare in the flatiron district.