Friday, February 17, 2012

Bongo Brothers

While I’ve never really dabbled with Cuban cuisine and I don’t have much to compare Bongo Brothers to regarding authenticity, I can compare it to past food truck experiences, and Bongo Brothers delivered exactly the experience I seek when trying a new food truck. Bongo Brothers presented a break from the ordinary, and therefore boring options (really, who wants an overpriced prepackaged sandwich from Pret?). With pleasant Cuban musical jams emanating from the truck, this without a doubt beats patronizing Subway and hurriedly shouting out your sandwich toppings while stealthily following your sandwich down the line like you’re playing Shell Shuffle at Comcast during halftime. Due to the rapid service at Bongo Brothers, my moment with the Cuban tunes was truncated and I was back in my office within 20 minutes of leaving. While mildly disappointed in myself for not being more strategic and buying more time away from my desk, this naturally speaks well of Bongo Brothers service, as well as resulted in a more thorough sandwich appreciation experience.
My inspection of the Mojo Chicken A La Plancha yielded pleasing results. Consisting of fresh citrus and garlic marinated grilled chicken breast, lettuce, plum tomatoes, onions, and mojo aioli sauce, my first bite was all I needed to decisively realize what a keeper this sandwich was. The effect of the citrus and garlic marination combined with the zesty mojo aioli sauce transformed this from a potentially mediocre chicken sandwich to a flavorful mouth tango. The selling point of this sandwich was that Bongo Brothers took a generally familiar grilled chicken sandwich, but added its own unique twist so that it tasted completely memorable and adventurous. The traditional lunch options of BLT’s and chicken caesar wraps can get boring and stale, much like Adam Sandler’s career post-Happy Gilmore era. The Mojo Chicken A La Plancha has solved this conundrum. This is a lunch complete with Jennifer Aniston’s 15 pieces of flair, while an ordinary sub is a suspender sans flair pieces.

My experience at Bongo Brothers was just enough for me to self-righteously pat myself on the back for being a lunchtime pioneer and trying something new. I was more than happy to give myself credit for trying such exotic cuisine and pushing my comfort levels and boundaries to the next level. Thanks Bongo Brothers, for providing me with a piece of flair during a monotonous lunch routine.

http://www.bongobrosnyc.com/#!menus