No Dairy Plus No Meat Equals Delicious

Hoboken's first vegan lunch truck, The Cinnamon Snail, parked itself on Sinatra Drive yesterday and gave the city a taste of vegan chef and owner Adam Sobel's meat-and-dairy-free fare.

"It's been smooth, actually it's been going smoother than I imagined," said Sobel as he served up sandwiches and entrees from Cinnamon Snail's handcrafted menu.

The truck opened promptly at 9 a.m. and Sobel doled out free vegan apple cider donuts to the first 100 people who stopped by.

"It's drawn a lot of vegan people to Hoboken," Sobel said.

When I approached the Cinnamon Snail with my friend Kiri, there was a small line of people in front, and business seemed to be steady. Although we were initially worried about finding the location, we soon realized we wouldn't have been able to miss a truck with a giant red snail painted on the side.

After perusing the menu—which included a Maple Mushroom Tempeh Sandwich and Apple Cider Glazed Tempeh over mixed greens—we both ordered the Creole Grilled Tofu Sub, which according to Sobel had been the big seller of the day.

While our food sizzled away on the grill, Sobel talked about the rehabilitation of the truck and its journey from a run-down clunker to the shiny restaurant on wheels it is today.

"The whole truck was a community project, it looked totally different when we got it," he said, explaining how friends came together to paint and renovate the vehicle.

With our lunch wrapped up, and some donuts on the side, of course, Kiri and I made our way to Pier A Park to chow down.

Upon first bite, I tasted the tangy Creole sauce and got a crunch from the arugula and carmelized onions. The bread is crisp and toasty and the tofu is grilled just so that it's firm on the outside, but chewy inside. Kiri and I made the thumbs-up sign at each other, simultaneously signifying that the food was delicious and that we were too busy eating to talk.

Later, we practically inhaled our donuts, which tasted like they came straight from grandma's kitchen. While the prospect of dairy-free pastries might put off some people who equate vegan food to the taste of cardboard, I assure you, these will change your mind.

We even stopped back to grab a "Pop Heart," which Sobel described as an adult version of a Pop-Tart. Mysteriously, Sobel had managed to capture the exact texture of those childhood breakfast treats in his vegan version.

"The whole meal was awesome," said Matt Hand, 26, one of the customers I met at the truck.

"I had the Red Wine Tempeh, and it was delicious," gushed his wife Jessica, 26.

The vegan pair made "a special trip," said Matt, from their home in New Providence to Hoboken in order to try out the menu and support Sobel, whom they know from the NJ Vegan Families group.

If you come early, you can grab breakfast at the truck, too. Sobel's menu features vegan pancakes and waffles, all served before 11 a.m.

"After that it's crazy entrees the rest of the day!" he said.

The Cinnamon Snail is open Monday-Friday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Follow the truck on Twitter or Facebook to see where it will be parking daily.