By Abe Gutierrez on September 29th, 201
“New York City — If you can make it here, you can make it anywhere.” New York City is infamous for chewing up promising chefs and viciously spitting them right back out. The chefs who were at the top of the heap in their respective cities and have big city dreams are constantly being cut down to size and sent packing back to their original cities. Still, however, others persevere.
Many of us have tried his food before, especially when on a 15 minute break between three-hour evening classes, but few of us know the story of Jerry Lew and his humbly painted Cambodian food truck, Cambodian Cuisine Torsu.
A quick look at their website paints a picture of the tumultuous past of this truck, all while telling a story of perseverance and ultimately success against all odds. The tone of his website is very somber, and when you click on the history tab, you can read all about the rise and fall of one the only tributes to Cambodian cuisine in all of the city.
Jerry Lew started with a full-fledged restaurant in Brooklyn, but was denied the chance to renew his lease, so he started from scratch. After finding a dilapidated piece of property that was available, the Khmer-Rouge refugee gathered enough funds to remodel the space and make it a classy restaurant, paying homage to traditional Cambodian Cuisine. Unfortunately, this is New York City, and after numerous altercations with the Harvard Law-educated landlord, Lew was thrown out of that establishment. With no more money, in over his head in debt after borrowing money from friends and family, he at last was able to open up a food truck that, despite everything, has prospered in the economic climate.
The food itself is delicious, all the while being true to Cambodian cuisine and maintaining reasonable prices. We sampled their visceral-sounding Karry Tuek, which was spicy curry over vermicelli noodles, along with vegetables mixed in. Simple, delicious, spicy, and comforting. You can taste the sincerity in the preparation; the hard work, suffering, and overall success is embodied in the menu itself, with dishes ranging from $5-$15 and varying levels of “exoticness,” from things that definitely cater to western pallets, all the way to the spicy, more intense dishes for the adventurous eaters.
On this particular night, I was stressed (Calc III quiz and Managerial Accounting midterm both tomorrow, neither of which I have had an available minute to study for), and tend to have this weird idiosyncrasy where my culinary adventurousness is inversely correlated to my stress level — that is, on days like today where I wanted to pop Xanax like tic-tacs, I want the safest, most comforting food available. Cambodian Cuisine Torsu delivered, as the spicy broth of the Vermicelli dances in your tongue, stinging ever so slightly all while still providing an immensely rich flavor.
It is easy to forget the stories of the people that serve up food for us every day — why they are there, what they did before, what they hope to do after. It is truly amazing, and somewhat discouraging, reading the words of Lew himself on his website, ripe with typos, grammatical errors, and passion. The website, décor of the truck, and food is symbolic of Lew himself — simple, unpretentious, but masterfully pulled off.
“New York City — If you can make it here, you can make it anywhere.” New York City is infamous for chewing up promising chefs and viciously spitting them right back out. The chefs who were at the top of the heap in their respective cities and have big city dreams are constantly being cut down to size and sent packing back to their original cities. Still, however, others persevere.
Many of us have tried his food before, especially when on a 15 minute break between three-hour evening classes, but few of us know the story of Jerry Lew and his humbly painted Cambodian food truck, Cambodian Cuisine Torsu.
A quick look at their website paints a picture of the tumultuous past of this truck, all while telling a story of perseverance and ultimately success against all odds. The tone of his website is very somber, and when you click on the history tab, you can read all about the rise and fall of one the only tributes to Cambodian cuisine in all of the city.
Jerry Lew started with a full-fledged restaurant in Brooklyn, but was denied the chance to renew his lease, so he started from scratch. After finding a dilapidated piece of property that was available, the Khmer-Rouge refugee gathered enough funds to remodel the space and make it a classy restaurant, paying homage to traditional Cambodian Cuisine. Unfortunately, this is New York City, and after numerous altercations with the Harvard Law-educated landlord, Lew was thrown out of that establishment. With no more money, in over his head in debt after borrowing money from friends and family, he at last was able to open up a food truck that, despite everything, has prospered in the economic climate.
The food itself is delicious, all the while being true to Cambodian cuisine and maintaining reasonable prices. We sampled their visceral-sounding Karry Tuek, which was spicy curry over vermicelli noodles, along with vegetables mixed in. Simple, delicious, spicy, and comforting. You can taste the sincerity in the preparation; the hard work, suffering, and overall success is embodied in the menu itself, with dishes ranging from $5-$15 and varying levels of “exoticness,” from things that definitely cater to western pallets, all the way to the spicy, more intense dishes for the adventurous eaters.
On this particular night, I was stressed (Calc III quiz and Managerial Accounting midterm both tomorrow, neither of which I have had an available minute to study for), and tend to have this weird idiosyncrasy where my culinary adventurousness is inversely correlated to my stress level — that is, on days like today where I wanted to pop Xanax like tic-tacs, I want the safest, most comforting food available. Cambodian Cuisine Torsu delivered, as the spicy broth of the Vermicelli dances in your tongue, stinging ever so slightly all while still providing an immensely rich flavor.
It is easy to forget the stories of the people that serve up food for us every day — why they are there, what they did before, what they hope to do after. It is truly amazing, and somewhat discouraging, reading the words of Lew himself on his website, ripe with typos, grammatical errors, and passion. The website, décor of the truck, and food is symbolic of Lew himself — simple, unpretentious, but masterfully pulled off.
3 comments:
I LOVE AMOK,SAMLOR NAMYA,SAMLOR KERRY SACH KOR,CHHA KREOUNG SACH KOR AND SAMLOR KAKO..ETC....!...DAMN!...DOG!,I WANT TO FLY TO CAMBODIA RIGHT AWAY!.
Look like a hookers' corner
look like I see your mother standing at that hookers' corner.
Post a Comment