#nuchas

Nuchas [year] Update - What Happened After Shark Tank

Nuchas Before Shark Tank Nuchas is a food company started by Ariel Barbouth to bring authentic Argentinian dishes to the people of New York City. Barbouth migrated to the United States 9 years before with his wife and children hoping to start a restaurant in the United States. That dream was realized when he opened […]

Over the weekend, a friend asked where I like to eat around Bryant Park in New York City. (She's gonna be working in the area for two or three days.)

Well...

For breakfast – one of those days – I would go to SnackBOX in Times Square. This kiosk – sitting in the middle of Broadway around 46th Street – sells Doughnut Plant doughnuts. I've said many times on this blog that DP's Wild Blueberry is my favorite doughnut, ever. The Coconut Cream is amazing, too. Screw it... everything from DP is.

When lunch rolls around, I would first scroll through this collection of food truck twitter feeds created by the NYC Food Truck Association. Using it, I can figure out which lunch trucks are parked within walking distance of Bryant Park. A few of my favorites are Morris Grilled Cheese, The Treats Truck, Phil's Steaks, Schnitzel & Things, Comme Ci Comme Ça, Mamu Thai Noodle, and Old Traditional Polish.

Of course, there's my long time favorite – Hale & Hearty soups – which is right across the street from Bryant Park on 42nd Street between the Avenue of the Americas and 5th Avenue. My Snack Fixations are the Sengalese Chicken, Tomato Cheddar and the Macaroni and Cheese with Beef soup.

Downstairs in the food court of Grand Central Terminal are two HUGE guilty pleasures of mine – Magnolia Bakery and Shake Shack. I think those names speak from themselves.

Want something healthier for lunch? I would walk a couple blocks south to Just Salad on 37th Street between 7th Avenue and Avenue of the Americas.

My last lunch recommendation is walking over to Time Square to the Nuchas kiosk outside Toys R Us for some awesome empanadas. I pretty much love every empanada there, but the Spicy Cheese and the Sweet are my favorites.

After work, I'm a sucker for two places in the Bryant Park area.

I love having Chicken Fried Steak and Hurricanes at Duke's Original Roadhouse in Murray Hill, or grabbing a drink at one of New York's most unique bars (that time forgot) – Jimmy's Corner. Everyone should visit this shrine to the golden days of boxing at least once. It's also has one of the best jukeboxes in the city.

Here's a map that will help you find all the places I mentioned above – minus the food trucks. For those, use this.

In celebration of National Empanada Day on Monday, April 8th, the Nuchas Empanadas truck delighted us with an array of sweet and savory pastries. A longtime NYC favorite of the famed Midtown Lunch blog, they feature an inventive take on the classic handheld treat, with a range of flavor profiles including shrimp-and-andouille jambalaya, shiitake curry or apple-cranberry-and-nutella. But the best part about their concept? They create special doughs to pair with their unique fillings—rosemary, turmeric, paprika, you name it!—that look as good as they taste. We always appreciate a good reminder to play with food.

A couple weeks ago I became completely jealous of the folks living, working and sightseeing around Times Square. 

Every day those lucky pieholes are within walking distance of a delicious alternative for lunch, dinner or a convenient snack. 

It’s called Nuchas.  

They serve up scrumptious meat, veggie and sweet empanadas smack dab in the middle of the theater district.  

Ariel Barbouth, developer of these artisan handheld foods, prepared his entire menu for me on a beautifully chilly December afternoon.  

Four of his freshly baked empanadas stood out as my favorites – the spinach filled Portobello, the gooey Spicy Cheese, the flavorful Jambalaya and maybe my next Snack Fixation... the Apple, Cranberry & Nutella. 

They also offer a special holiday empanada stuffed with turkey, butternut squash and cranberries.  

Each of these traditional Latin American empanadas comes out of the oven with their first initial stamped into the corner of the pastry – like the very popular Argentine. 

Ariel’s creative little touch helps reveal the difference between empanadas when taking a box home for dinner or picking up “any 3 empanadas and a drink for $10”. 

Also Nuchas caters any event whether it’s a corporate shindig or a more laid back affair.  

Back in November JetBlue sponsored over 20,000 meals to help those affected by Hurricane Sandy, and Nuchas was one of the food trucks selected by the charitable airline to help. 

                                                                                                  [Photograph via Nuchas]

Ariel and the rest of his crew at Nuchas helped serve 3,000 empanadas and drinks to those in need. 

If your interested in trying Nuchas yourself, you can find their kiosk outside Toys”R”Us in the middle of Times Square.

But if it’s catering you need, visit the Nuchas website or email them at [email protected].