The Soup Nazi at the Seinfeld Food Truck (Pix11)

In case you missed it, the Seinfeld Food Truck--part of the Jerry Seinfeld Nostalgic Brand Experience™--was in New York today as part of its regional tour across the country. Parked outside of the PIX11 Studio (and baring the local station's logo on the truck) in Midtown from 12-2 p.m.

The mobile food station served real Seinfeld-inspired food, like muffin tops (Episode: The Muffin Tops), junior mints (Episode: The Junior Mint), black and white cookies (Episode: The Dinner Party), Twix (Episode: The Dealership), Snapple (Episode: The Visa), and bottled water (not from any episode.) Of course, the pièce de résistance was mulligatawny soup Soup (Episode: The Soup Nazi), served by Larry Thomas, the actor who played the iconic chef on the show.

Here is one excited fan's video experience of the event:

http://youtu.be/W3Y2xd7h5w8

You'd think that people wouldn't stand in line to receive food that the show advertised as vomit-inducing (the cookie), accidentally dropped inside an exposed body cavity during surgery (Junior Mint), or served by a fascist, but you know how fans are.

They are insane.

A Walmart in P&G's clothing? (@PGmobile/Twitter)

'Tis the season for food trucks, with the warm weather meaning comfortable lines and more customers. For Walmart, this is more the season of discontent, with opposition to the store in New York growing on the heels of the big box retailer's Mexican corruption scandal. Even long-time allies like the Related Companies have apparently given up on the southern-fried discounters.

But Walmart has hit upon a novel way to work its way into the city, on board a modified food truck run by partner company Procter & Gamble.

For the next month, @PGmobile will, in the tradition of the great food trucks to come before it, set up shops on street corners across the five boroughs, tweeting out its location and asking for suggestions on where to go next. Eight different products will be on offer—at Walmart’s everyday low prices, of course—from Iams dog food to Gillette razers and Pampers diapers.

The Walmart name appears but once, tucked away on the bottom of the truck, and it is nowhere to be found on the associated Twitter feed. All the while visitors to @PGmobile are directed to shop for more great Proctor & Gamble products via those newfangled QR codes. They link to the products at Walmart.com.

Walmart claims that it has had limited involvement in the project, besides offering up its website as a portal to do more shopping.

"This is not at all related to any Walmart efforts in or about New York," spokesman Ravi Jariwala said. "In fact, it's not really related to Walmart at all, it's much more a Procter & Gamble thing. We’re very pleased to be working with them. Consumable are obviously a very important category for our customers online, and the intent or the thought was as P&G does this, as consumers learn about it on the truck, they’re always welcome to shop for these products on our website."

It is a rather brilliant strategy, playing on busy and desperate New Yorkers' demanding desire for convenience and immediacy, and then directing them to shop Walmart.com. As one tweet from Friday implores, "Less time shopping means more time to enjoy summer in the city. Come see us for free samples and an easier way to shop. While supplies last."

And yesterday, @PGmobile helpfully directs followers to a little online shopping: "Running low on Pantene? Pampers? Tide? No worries. You can get them all delivered for $0*. Come down to see how or shop http://ow.ly/bthEU." Not sure what that asterisk is for, but that link leads to Walmart.com, of course.

Watch out Amazon, Fresh Direct and Duane Reade.

P&G is even bringing out the big guns, like Olympic sprinter Tyson Gay, who is a spokesman for Gillette products: "Yup, that’s @TysonLGay on the side of our truck. He’s racing for gold, and @pgmobile is racing to bring you great deals. #pgmobile"

Great as all this publicity might be for Proctor & Gamble, as Ad Age points out, Walmart and Walmart.com seem to be benefiting far more from this little endeavor than does P&G. The Observer asked how the partnership came about but has yet to hear back on that part of the story from Walmart.

Ever wary of the big box retailers sorties into the city, Walmart's critics are prepared to hound these mobile marts, as well.

"Walmart pretends to save people money and time, but in reality it brings low-wage jobs and pollution to our communities," said Stephanie Yazgi, director of the WalmartFreeNYC coalition. "New Yorkers know when they are being fooled. No colorful truck or endless free samples can cover up Walmart’s highly publicized scandals and purported corruption."

And you thought the line for the Waffles and Dings truck was bad.

Just be forewarned: there will be obstacles separating you from achieving that happy Buddha belly. A barrage of yuppies and tourists (a rather dangerous combination) will attempt to frustrate and delay you, so remember to stay focused, and agile. The Observer was nearly taken out by a suited-up-stockbroker.“Is he serious? That's gonna be a ridiculously impossible trade!” he yelled into his cell phone while his flailing arm came inches away from close-lining me.

But after making your way through the crowded city streets, you will find an urban oasis. Fou trucks were parked outside of Four World Financial Center when The Observer arrived: Kimchi Taco, Taïm Mobile, Van Leeuwen Artisan Ice Cream, and Gorilla Cheese NYC. NYC Food Truck Association has 21 local food trucks participating in the new dining concourse and they alternate throughout the week (visit the World Financial Center site to view the day's vendors). While each of the trucks seemed to be offering up equally good eats, The Observer decided to check out why Kimchi Taco's line was the longest.

The East-meets-Southwest truck's menu features a $9 sampling combo of their four featured tacos: Grilled Korean BBQ Short Rib, Spicy Seared Pork, Pulled Chicken, and Tofu Edamame Falafel. The fare was light, fresh, and delicious—although the vegetarian option was sub-par, so you might want to opt for the $7 combo of three tacos instead.

After picking up your order you can sit along the waterfront and enjoy your meal (or feel guilty you're stuffing your face while joggers frequently pass by). But if it's too cold and windy for your liking, you can dine-in at Winter Garden, which has stadium style steps you can plop down on. Added bonus: the indoor public courtyard has palm trees, so you can even pretend you're in Korea or Cozumel.

The World Financial Center Food Truck Court will definitely be a popular attraction come springtime. The waterfront provides a nice setting to escape the hustle and bustle of the city. And because the line-up of food trucks changes daily, you can be sure to find something you like.

The mobile dining option has evolved from the dirty water hotdog stand to gourmet food trucks. The fact that new trucks and sites continue to pop up shows how they are becoming the preferred dining option for New Yorkers. So, mangia! Bon appétit! Eat up and enjoy!

Visit the World Financial Center Food Truck Court: Monday through Friday from 11AM to 3PM at Four World Financial Center on North End Avenue and Vesey Street

"It's so important, and also increasingly difficult, to expose people to roller skating these days," said Mr. Casalino, who has skated two or three times a week since 1988.  "There are so few good places to skate."

But, until September 26th, there is one new rink, designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro and James Corner Field Operations. Situated on "The Lot," the Highline's temporary 40,000-square-foot plaza on 30th street beneath the Highline, the roller rink joins food trucks Rickshaw Dumplings, Eddie's Pizza, Coolhaus, La Bella Torte, Korilla BBQ, and Red Hook Lobster.

The Highline split the cost of constructing the rink with UNIQLO, a Japanese clothing company with a SoHo flagship.  Two UNIQLO cubic booths stand in front of the rink, filled with t-shirts and cashmere sweaters.  But in yesterday’s heat, UNIQLO couldn't attract the long lines away from Coolhaus, which served gourmet ice cream sandwiches, or La Bella Torte, which was advertising its iced cappuccinos.  The store had only sold two sweaters, a saleswoman told The Observer-- both to Susan Sarandon, who dropped by for the ribbon cutting early in the morning. "I think it's too hot for anyone to buy cashmere," said UNIQLO's store manager.

Tripping over their rental skates, couples skated around the rink with ice cream sandwiches from the Coolhaus truck.

But they were amateurs, implied Kathy (who didn't want to reveal her last name because she had taken a personal day to go skating). The serious skaters were boogieing in the center of the rink.

A class of summer campers marveled at the Central Park Dance Skaters' Association, which had decided to assemble for an inaugural spin around the plaza.  "You have to practice for many years to get that edge, that flavor," said Steve Love, a member of the Association and founder of Love Productions, which has produced, among other things, a roller skating show that toured the world.

"Roller skating is my heart," he said. "I was rockin' it out there!"

"I used to play a lot of basketball, but there's just no competition within my age bracket," said Robert Clarke, 60, who wore a red shirt with "Swag" written on the front in giant letters. "This uses all the muscles in your body, so all the impurities leave, and you maintain a youthful appearance."

Although the Highline offers rental skates, the Association skaters brought their own. "I cheat," said James Singley. "I put roller blade wheels on my roller-skates, which makes for much sharper edges."  He hoisted his foot onto the railing to show off his skate/blades.

But most skaters were concerned with remaining upright, let alone creating sharp edges to their turns.  They stumbled into the railings, reveling in the nostalgic goofiness of the activity. “It’s been so many years since I’ve roller skated,” said Tami Laifer. “I’m so excited!”

And Jeremy Bent, a comedian who has worked as a roller derby referee, said that the rink fills a void. New York once had many rinks, but most closed due to lawsuits, gang violence, and a lack of demand. He’s thrilled with the new rink. “In the summer, there’s nothing better than skating,” he said.

ddaddario@observer.com :: @DPD_

Palates begone! (Midtown Lunch)

Have you ever tried to get a decent meal in the heart of midtown, that dead zone between Park and Seventh avenues? It's all warmed-over pizza, overpriced hot bars or the Four Seasons, which a guy can only eat so much of. This is why a flotilla of food trucks, offering such inventive fare as Korean tacos and gay ice cream, have been decending on the neighborhood for years now. But, no longer.

Dozens of top-flight food trucks have been driven out of midtown by the NYPD, according to The Times. It has to do with an obscure law from the 1950s that was upheld last month in court, which states no "vendor, hawker or huckster shall park a vehicle at a metered parking space" to sell "merchandise." The judge ruled food could be classified as merchandise, and ever since, the food truck crackdown has begun.

There have been complaints about the trucks for months from restaurant and cafe owners, who complain about having to pay rent and taxes while the food truck scofflaws get a free ride. Maybe some regulation is needed, some designated truck zones and tax payments are in order, but to drive out the trucks for good would be a mistake for the city to make, because then we will be stuck with shitty lunches again.

There is a better solution. Cosi, Famous Ray's and all those anonymous sushi joints need to step up or shut up.

Fans of the Ditch Witch--the beloved grub wagon perched at the sandy entrance to Ditch Plains Beach for 17 years--took to Facebook when word got out that the East Hampton Town Board planned to award an exclusive concession for the beach to a competing vendor shilling pricey lobster rolls. The lobster vendor had been forced to get aggressive about acquiring a permit after Montaco, a taco truck, applied for a Ditch Plains permit of its own.

Within hours, a "Save the Ditch Witch" page went up on Facebook, and more than a thousand supporters had pledged their undying support and their intent to "take Montauk back." Many predicted the demise of true Montauk culture should the Witch be ousted--the last coffin nail after a series of incursions from "the outside" over recent years.

Some Facebook posts predicted a dark future for those daring to unseat the Ditch Witch. Various tactics were considered, from the peaceful (forming a human chain) to the more threatening (truck-tipping).

Late into a town meeting on May 19, after waiting hours to speak her peace, Montaco proprietor Mars Ostarello claimed that one local truck chef had warned her of dire consequences if she trod on his turf.

"Bullying is alive and well in Montauk," she said.

By the time Memorial Day rolled around, the town had scrapped its plan to grant concessions to the new beach vendors. Montaco was present on Saturday morning, as was the Ditch Witch. The lobster roll truck has not been accounted for. There were no reports of truck-on-truck violence.

"Customers were really excited, because of their participation," Ditch Witch owner Lily Adams told the Transom. "I think for some people, it was just a limit to what they were gonna take."

The uproar was not just about drinks and sandwiches, she said. "This was a neighborhood."

Blocked by a couple of clunky vans, she pulled out her BlackBerry and fired off a quick blog post on her Treats Truck Twitter page: “Circling and circling, need help from the parking god!” Finally, after about 15 minutes, Ms. Ima nuzzled Sugar next to another mobile midtown food vendor, the Rickshaw Dumplings truck.

“Woo-hoo finally parked at 45th st. and 6th ave from 12-4pm, then moving to Flatiron,” she wrote in another Twitter post. “Check for rain updates!” She popped open an old-fashioned red-and-white-striped awning and, within minutes, about a half-dozen patrons, on lunch break from their office cubicles, formed a line in the light rain. 

While cutting up brownie cubes for free samples, the petite Ms. Ima, wearing a retro-style red, white and blue uniform and red scarf over her dark brown hair, told The Observer that she maintains a Web site, a mailing list and phone hot line for her business. Her Twitter feed, @TheTreatsTruck, is just “another way to connect with people.”

Not only can her 685 followers check the Treats Truck’s every move to get their sugar fix, but Ms. Ima can also field requests from Upper East Side moms looking to reserve cupcakes for their toddlers or answer questions from Brooklyn bakers about her recipes.

“It’s still a small business and I like to connect with a lot of different people,” Ms. Ima said. “People like to come up and tell me, ‘Oh, you know, I follow you on Twitter,’ or, ‘My office follows you on Twitter.’ It’s an insidery thing that’s fun.”

But for the popular mobile restaurants that will rumble around Manhattan and Brooklyn streets this spring—adding a little high-end competition to the smoky, street-meat-slinging food carts parked at nearly every midtown corner during lunch hour—Twitter is becoming their go-to tech tool. Whether they’re searching for parking, having a little truck trouble or delivering the secret “password” (“Say ‘propinquity’ and get a free topping!”), popular food trucks—from the Flatiron’s Belgian waffler Wafels & Dinges to the Dessert Truck to Soho’s mobile Mexican carts courtesy of Calexico Carne Asada—are using the of-the-moment microblogging platform to keep their fanatic customers in the know. Here come the Twittering food trucks! 

"IT'S AN EVENT, once they Twitter when they get to their spot,” said Angela Leporte, an administrative assistant, who bought a lemonade and pork dumplings from the Rickshaw Dumpling truck parked on St. Mark’s Place on a sunny evening last week.

Rickshaw Dumpling Bar has a static location on West 23rd Street. Co-founder Kenny Lao said that the company decided to go mobile in September, and within weeks, they signed up for a Twitter account, at @RickshawTruck.

“Dumplings, as our chef Anita [Lo] likes to say, actually started out as a street food,” said Mr. Lao. “So in this very obvious New Yorky way, we’re bringing it back to the street.”

The burgundy-colored truck has a regular schedule posted on Rickshaw’s Web site. On Mondays, it’s in downtown Brooklyn. On Tuesdays, 52nd and Lex. “People are like, ‘O.K., Tuesday is my dumpling day,’ and not being able to find the truck is super-scary for them,” Mr. Lao said. “Imagine if you wanted your edamame dumplings and you were so psyched and thinking about them all morning going through these shitty meetings, and then all of a sudden you get to the store and the store is not there? New York customers are very demanding and get very upset if you’re not there,” he said. “I think Twitter actually solves that problem in a lot of ways because it gives you an up-to-the-minute update. It allays the fear.”

Mr. Lao said Twitter is especially convenient when the truck’s workers are bullied off certain spots by other vendors in the fiercely competitive street-food scene. “A lot of Mr. Softies are really, really Mr. Meanies,” he explained. “And for no reason, because we’re not even selling sweet stuff; we’re selling dumplings! Like Halal guys, they’re selling chicken and rice, and they’re coming up and they’re not super-friendly. Legally, we have just as much of a right to park there as they do, and they don’t own the street. But they say, ‘Don’t park here, we’re going to slash your tires,’ and I say, ‘O.K., we’re not going to park here.’”Zach Brooks, the blogger behind MidtownLunch.com, often reviews food trucks’ burritos and gyros, and has been paying attention to territorial food carts’ battle with “hipster trucks,” as Mr. Brooks described them. They aren’t so welcomed by the local vendors who have been serving on the same streets for generations. Twitter is “just the perfect vehicle”—ha!—“for these trucks,” Mr. Brooks said, while they’re trying to find a spot that won’t offend their neighbors, “until they settle into a rhythm.”

Mr. Brooks said Twitter is also a quick way to build the foodie community. Not only can his readers comment on his blog, but they can follow him on Twitter and get updates as he walks midtown streets, taking pictures of the latest food carts, discovering hidden treasures or new restaurants opening with specials. A recent tweet from @MidtownLunch: “got a burrito from the cart on Park & 53rd (report coming soon) followed by 3” of pizza, and free gelato (!) from Golosi.”

“They feel like they’re at lunch with me,” Mr. Brooks told The Observer.

"IT'S A GOOD WAY to create a dialogue with your people,” concurred Thomas DeGeest, founder of Wafels & Dinges, who was standing beside his Tweety Bird–yellow truck. He likes to point out that, for the record, Wafels & Dinges had the first Twittering food truck in New York. (First tweet from @waffletruck on May 26, 2008: “Memorial Day weekend - we’re taking off Saturday through Monday!!”) It also has a blog.

“I worked as a management consultant at IBM before becoming the waffle guy,” explained Mr. DeGeest, who often recommended social networking tools to his clients.

Twitter is his tool of convenience, he explained. During the first months of his business, he’d call his wife from the truck. “‘O.K., now we’re here, at Broadway and Prince Street,’ and she’d have to update the Web site. I drove her crazy,” Mr. DeGeest said. Now he just updates the truck’s location from his BlackBerry.

The Wafels & Dinges truck wafts a smell of toasted sugar and fresh coffee at its usual spot on 22nd Street and Sixth Avenue, but Mr. DeGeest and his employee (and a part-time actor), Joe Kurtz, broadcast waffle specials and free toppings on Twitter. Mr. Kurtz will sometimes ask people to do an activity, like impersonating a Muppet character or bringing him Easter candy, to get some extra strawberries on their soft and chewy Belgian waffle. Last week was Mr. DeGeest’s birthday, so everyone got a free topping—no password or silliness required. He told The Observer he plans on hooking up his next truck with another high-tech service, GPS tracking, so customers can follow it in real time. Hopefully, the truck will show up fast, since according to a recent @WaffleTruck Twitter update: “Wafels & Dinges is now being towed to the transmission shop … it’s getting a new engine/transmission this week. Stay put!”

See: Is Kogi BBQ, the Most Famous LA Taco Truck, Coming to NYC?

greagan@observer.com