Shalom Yehudiel’s The Humble Toast has come a long way since opening in Teaneck two years ago, carving out a niche in the city’s pantheon of kosher restaurants with creative sandwiches and deli. Now The Humble Toast is going farther—to Queens, Riverdale, Long Island and beyond, possibly to the Hamptons and the Catskills, with a kitchen on wheels.
Yehudiel noticed on social media that restaurants were taking their food on the road, expanding delivery outside their usual service areas. “I wanted to get my food out, to have people try The Humble Toast, but I didn’t feel comfortable cooking in Teaneck and shipping it 45 minutes or an hour away,” he said. “I didn’t want people to pay full price for a soggy, cold sandwich.”
The problem was solved when he found a food truck he could renovate for his purpose. Eight days after making the purchase, cleaning the truck, ordering and installing new equipment, painting and putting on decals, The Humble Truck made its first run, to the Five Towns.
A “Summer of Love Tour 2020” calendar on the website is in the works. Until then, the Great Kosher Restaurant Foodies site on Facebook is announcing upcoming locations. To order, go to https://www.thehumbletoast.com/the-humble-food-truck and type in the town or zip code to get the nearest location and date. After you choose from the menu and check out, you can pick a time slot between 3:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Everything is made to order—burgers are ground and cooked fresh, pastrami is sliced on the truck. Directions are given to the truck’s parking spot, where masked and gloved staff handle the curbside pick-up. Yehudiel said that with only three orders every 15 minutes, there is never a crowd and social distancing is maintained. “Every place we’ve been to asks about us coming back,” said Yehudiel. “They’re ecstatic about the food. It’s restaurant-quality, high-end comfort food.”
The Humble Truck is an expansion of Yehudiel’s goal to make food that people enjoy, and now, to make people’s lives a little easier through the pandemic. When the lockdown first began, amid the realization that Teaneck was one of the hardest hit areas in the country, The Humble Toast adjusted rapidly and began no-contact ordering and pick-up, including Shabbos meals. He has helped people hurting financially by sending food to families, hospitals, organizations and churches. His policy of helping people in need is continuing with The Humble Truck.
While the curve has been flattened in the Teaneck area, and life is slowly returning to normal, pick-up and delivery at The Humble Toast, including the “Shabboosh Shuk” continue. “I feel that Hashem has given us the opportunity to help the community and I’m very proud of that,” said Yehudiel. “The Humble Toast was born here and we hope to be here for many more years to come.”
By Bracha Schwartz
