Beware The Meat Truck On 132nd & Lenox
A very sophisticated new Harlem couple clued Cheryl and I in to a local meat truck when we were talking about neighborhood finds. It sounded pretty cool.
Not only does the truck, which drives up from down South, offer Virginia ham, sausages, and vegetables straight from a farm, but the two guys running the truck at 132nd and Lenox have the kind of neighborhood gossip that makes this corner of Manhattan feel like a small town.
Being a huge fan of eating food, I sought it out.
Cheryl's enthusiasm for the truck died when seeing it. It is just a regular pickup truck; no refrigeration or similarly functioning unit on it at all. Getting her to cross the street and 'at least take a look' was a laborious affair.
Anyway, despite Cheryl's advice, I bought some ham and sausage, and despite her protests, I tried to bake the ham this evening. It didn't take long until I understood what she was concerned about.
I threw in the ham, ran across the street for BBQ sauce, came back to the apartment, and for a fraction of a second wondered when we started raising swine in our home. I was hit by a stench so undeniable and strong that it unearthed Midwestern childhood memories of animal barns I thought long gone and buried. The place literally smelled like shit.
Cheryl wept for our furniture and anything else with a porous surface that may absorb odor.
Comments
Oh man, you so need to call the health dept. That is nasty, nasty. Nothing but ecoli waiting to happen. Can you say mad cow disease. Yikes
Posted by: Melita | January 5, 2007 01:28 AM
Wow!!! That's crazy. No pork on your fork!
Posted by: Berry | January 5, 2007 01:46 PM
Hmm... smoked and cured meats should do ok w/o refrigeration, especially this time of year when it's really cold out (well... cold enough). A ham is a riskier proposition, depending on how it'd treated. But in no case should it smell like feces. Ew.
Posted by: Scott T. | January 5, 2007 02:20 PM
You should have used the special seasoning.
Posted by: 132St_Resident | January 5, 2007 03:30 PM
this is a hilarious post. for good meat, why not go to Dinosaur BBQ instead? i love food and i'm pretty intrepid, but that meat truck is a no-no.
Posted by: Corris and Roxie pup | January 7, 2007 08:31 AM
I read your site all the time, love the neighborhood tips and kitty tales. I've never had cause to complain until recently, when every time I check the site for updates I'm met with the same picture of foul sausage. Now, it's your site, you can update as frequently as you see fit. But if you're not going to update for a while, can you at least remove the sausage? I'm on the verge of removing it from my morning blog rotation for the sake of proper digestion. Thanks.
Posted by: robin b | January 18, 2007 10:02 AM
Speaking of meat, any suggestions for a SpaHa locale from which one could order wings on Superbowl Sunday?
Posted by: robin b | January 31, 2007 01:42 PM
Meat from a truck is great!!
I buy from them all the time and never had a problem. Just check to make sure it is all USDA stamped, and the guy has some kind of dry ice or freezer. I always get really great deals.
Posted by: Steve | October 25, 2007 04:22 PM