NY Burger Shack truck hits the road, sets up shop in Medford

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As recently as last summer, Kaly Alzate was a vegetarian.

Now Alzate is the chef and part-owner of NY Burger Shack, a new Medford food truck where the namesake hamburgers are, she proudly says, “An 11 out of 10.”

“I was a vegetarian for six years,” she said. “That was up until August, when I took a trip to Thailand and wanted to try more things.

“So I guess it was just perfect timing.”

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A product of the Institute of Culinary Education in Manhattan, Alzate, 26, had been working at a salad place on Long Island before the truck’s owners, Jay Donovan and Mike Torres, floated the idea of opening a mobile kitchen built around burgers.

It didn’t take Alzate long to shift gears from greens to ground beef.

“They said they wanted to do a burger concept, and I love burgers — who doesn’t love a good, juicy burger?” she said. “So I left my other job and I don’t regret that choice one bit.”

NY Burger Shack sets up shop daily along Route 112 in Medford (behind NY Styles barbershop), with everything also available via the DoorDash and Uber Eats food delivery platforms.

The menu includes at least six different burgers, allowing Alzate to indulge her creative side.

“The freedom I get to have with this is absolutely amazing,” she said. “Every day we’re trying to come up with something new to put on the menu.”

Among the beef-on-a-bun options are:

“The Backyard Barbecue Burger,” which features a beef patty with cheddar cheese and topped with caramelized onions, lettuce, tomatoes, onions and pickles.
“The Sloppy Toppy” burger, which is dressed with onion rings, thick-cut bacon, nacho cheese and lettuce, tomatoes, onions and pickles.
“The Mac’in Cheese Burger” is built around creamy mac and cheese, along with lettuce, tomatoes, onions and pickles.

Other options include an assortment of hot dogs (from a classic beef hot dog to a bacon cheese dog), several types of fries (Cajun fries, Parmesan truffle, salt and vinegar) and wings, chicken fingers and mozzarella sticks.

NY Burger Shack also offers salads and sandwiches, including a chopped cheese on a Portuguese roll, five types of fried chicken breast sandwiches and a concoction known as a “Chicken Fantasy.”

“Our Chicken Fantasy Sandwich Will Have You Hallucinating,” NY Burger Shack’s Instagram feed boasts of the creation that’s served on a Portuguese roll with chicken fingers, cheddar cheese, fries, jalapeño peppers, lettuce, blue cheese and barbecue sauce.

“I just like mixing things, making them different,” Alzate said. “I know people are going to like the mixture.”

Alzate, who grew up in Bay Shore, said the owners of the food truck see NY Burger Shack as “the start of something big,” with plans to add a second rolling grill to the Long Island foodscape.

“That’s the goal we’re on right now,” she said. “It’s been a great experience so far and I love coming to work every day with a smile on my face.”