Business & Tech

Get Your Vegan Fix... On The Street

Vegan truck Cinnamon Snail is coming to Hoboken on Sunday

Who said street food can't be healthy?

Starting Sunday, Feb. 14, Hoboken will gain a new food truck, which will offer solely vegan items anywhere between $1 and $15.  

"This is going to be a big deal," said Adam Sobel, owner of the Cinnamon Snail. "It has been my life's dream."

Interested in local real estate?Subscribe to Patch's new newsletter to be the first to know about open houses, new listings and more.

Sobel said he had been a vegetarian for a long time, but turned vegan around nine years ago when his daughter was born. "I knew we wanted to raise her vegan," Sobel said. Sobel lives with his wife and two children in Red Bank. Sobel said it takes about two hours to get from his house to Hoboken in the truck.

Sobel said he picked Hoboken as the first place to park the vegan truck, because of its proximity to New York City and the relatively easy process of obtaining a permit. He said an annual permit to vend from the truck costs $500 in Hoboken, while it's several thousands of dollars in New York. Eventually though, Sobel said, he'd like to take the truck to Brooklyn.

Interested in local real estate?Subscribe to Patch's new newsletter to be the first to know about open houses, new listings and more.

Hoboken has been welcoming, he said, adding that he expects many people of the vegan and vegetarian community to come out. 

"Being the only vegan truck around," Sobel said, "I know a whole bunch of people who will come out here when we open." 

The truck will likely be open from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., five days a week, Sobel said. Sobel has been running an organic catering company, called Certified Orgasmic.

Sobel said the truck is about the size of a regular UPS truck. He bought it second hand for $11,000, he said. In total the endeavor has cost between $24,000 and $25,000 so far, he said. 

Besides offering a more healthy food option, Sobel said he wants to make people aware of a "non-violent lifestyle." 

"I used to be very into eating cheese," Sobel said. "It's all real tasty, but it's not worth the kind of suffering it creates in this world."

In case you are craving something that is slightly bad for you, there are a few fried items on the menu. The donuts—although completely vegan, of course—are fried. The truck will offer apple cider donuts (the cider is cooked down, making the donuts nice and moist, Sobel said) as well as glazed donuts, which Sobel described as the "Dunkin Donutsy type."

On Facebook the Cinnamon Snail announced that the first 100 customers on Sunday will receive a free donut. Sobel also said he will be using Twitter to announce where he will be located on a specific day.

The truck will also offer some raw food as well as gourmet sandwiches. Sobel recommended a portobello mushroom sandwich on semolina bread, with olive tapenade and capers. 

Sounds delicious, and it's healthy too. And that's exactly Sobel's intent.

"We tried to design the menu to be as much as possible stuff that is not going to leave you feeling crappy in any way," Sobel said.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here