The Hunt for the Red Food Truck

My first Cinnamon Snail experience began like a treasure hunt.

The generous, whimsical Snail crew were going on a month-long hiatus, so my sister and I wanted to try some menu items before she returned home from visiting me in New Jersey.

Fortunately for us, the Cinnamon Snail was giving away one savory item and one sweet item per person on their last day -- Dec. 23. Anticipating the huge crowd, the Snail said they wouldn't post their location until they were parked on Monday morning. So, on the 23th, we took an early bus from Jersey to the Port Authority and waited around 42nd Street until they listed their location on Twitter. It was raining, so as soon as we found out where they were parked, we grabbed a cab and set out.

The red food truck was easy to spot, and with four of us in our party, we got to try eight heavenly food concoctions.

For those of you blessed with the opportunity to visit the Cinnamon Snail, here's a review of the free food we received:

1. Blue Corn Pancakes with pine nut butter and and Vermont maple syrup ($9): The three pancakes were a lovely light blue (as to be expected) and they were hearty and tasted like sweet corn tortillas. The pancakes soaked up the nut butter and syrup and were great for sharing.

2. Maple Mustard Tempeh Sandwich on grilled spelt bread with roasted garlic aioli, kale, tomato, and onion ($8): This was our favorite savory item out of the bunch. It was the easiest to eat, too, because it was the least messy and had a sheet of wax paper in which to wrap around it. Those who order this during their lunch hour won't get their clothes, face, and hands dirty with this sandwich. The sandwich had a mix of sweet and savory flavors, with the slice of raw onion providing a zing with each bite.

3. Lemongrass 5 Spice Seitan with curried cashews, arugula, Szechuan chili sauce and wasabi mayo on a grilled baguette ($9): This sandwich was a few inches larger than the MMT sandwich and was messy because the seitan was in chunks. The bursts of wasabi were wonderful mixed with the curry and chili spices.

4. Thanksgiving Sandoo with porcini mushroom simmered seitan, rosemary parsnip bread pudding, marinated kale, orange cranberry relish, roasted garlic aioli on grilled baguette ($10, seasonal item): This sandwich is a favorite among Snail-iens (the term used to describe Cinnamon Snail fans). It was the same size as the Lemongrass sandwich and was equally messy because of the seitan chunks and globs of tender stuffing.

5. Cranberry Glazed Doughnut and Pistachio Doughnut ($2): These cake doughnuts were bursting with flavor and were nice and oily. I like oil-soaked cake-like things, but those who don't like fry-bread-type items may not like the texture. The cranberry glaze was tart and a perfect accompaniment to the slightly sweet cake.

6. Cinnamon Snail Roll ($3) and Norberweiberberweiberhydrafab Doughnut ($2): The cinnamon roll was dry, but full of cinnamon flavor. The sweet glaze on top prevented the pastry from being overly dry. The Norber... doughnut was very sweet -- a little too sweet for my liking, but my sister loved it. This doughnut has a white-chocolate glaze and is stuffed with bourbon hazelnut ganache and dusted with dirty blonde streusel.

If you have a chance, look up the Cinnamon Snail on YouTube and see if you can find a video featuring Adam, the owner. He's a hoot! You can tell the Cinnamon Snail is a labor of love and is all about bringing the best food and best attitude to the masses.

Tip for the over-thinkers: Because I'm one of those people who overdoes the planning phase of any excursion, I knew we would need extra napkins and silverware. Looking back, I should have packed a few paper plates as well because the sidewalk got to taste a couple chunks of tender seitan. Don't worry; I cleaned up after everyone.