Liu’s Lunch is an open book, with colorful lists of Chinese dishes wrapping three sides of the food truck’s quilted metal frame.
Liu’s Lunch is also an enigma. A few years ago, I tasked a writer with getting the inside story of the lunch truck, parked until 3 p.m. or so on weekdays along Cedar Street near York, but the man inside declined to tell it. I wasn’t really surprised. As a customer, I’d gathered that Liu—if that’s even his name; the truck’s title might just be a play on Louis’ Lunch—isn’t much of a talker.
Still, there’s no doubting his talent as a listener. He hasn’t once gotten my order wrong in the several years I’ve been ordering, including at peak times when active customers might stack five or more deep.
It’s especially in those moments when you wouldn’t dare try to get to know the chef. Instead, you both stick to the usual efficiencies. He smiles, asks what you’d like. You answer, he confirms. You step back or to the side, making way for other diners to place their orders. And then, after a few minutes of quiet choreography set to the rhythms of bubbling water and sizzling oil, he calls out your order, at which point you trade the $7 or so for your bounty. He thanks you as you pay, then puts his nose back to the grindstone.
The dishes he serves are as economical as the man. Portions are considerable; if I had more self-control, I could get a meal and a snack out of each takeout container, usually filled for me with the Tofu with Mixed Vegetables ($6.50, pictured above). Liu’s has never skimped, either in quantity or quality, on the tofu—lightly fried (though you can ask for it steamed), with creases and crevices that catch the savory brown sauce—or the mixed veggies—green beans withered but still crisp; broccoli florets tender, not mushy; leaves of cabbage bringing crunch and light bitterness; chunks of celery adding freshness and brightness; touches of carrot and onion rounding things out. The relative healthfulness of the dish can be balanced with unctuous oil-fried rice, though lately I prefer the simple white option, with its fluffiness and optimal ability to soak up the sauce.
Either way, spending seven bucks and a few minutes for a tasty, satisfying result always feels like a win at Liu’s.
Written and photographed by Dan Mims. This updated story was originally published on August 6, 2021.
