The ‘Peter Luger’s' of sausage wagons

New York is famous for its superior restaurants and Queens has its share of the great ones. However, for truckers, salespersons and other workers driving our borough’s highways and byways who cannot afford to take time out for lunch at great steak houses there is the &#8220Peter Luger’s” of Italian Sausage wagons, D’Angelos in Woodhaven.
You’ll find them doing business at the intersection of Woodhaven Boulevard and 66th Road, and like other purveyors of the fill-you-up road lunch, parked alongside St. John’s cemetery. The brightly painted, immaculate vehicle has been dispensing its fare for almost 40 years. It may seem a little out-of-the-way, but odds are you will have to wait-on-line.
D’Angelos has several distinctions among our borough’s rolling eateries. It has been reviewed in The New York Times, and by noted food savant Ed Levine, no less. They have a hand-cranked onion slicer on board, to guarantee maximum freshness. The savory garnishes of lightly sauted onions along with red and green peppers are emblematic of the tri-color of the Italian flag. Even the menu board – which includes the other road food staples – Knishes and hot dogs with peppers – is red, white and green.
Another distinction is that the sausage truck is part of a family conglomerate, along with the hot-dog wagon up the road, founded in 1959 by the late Dominic Civiero. His daughter (who asked not to be named, &#8220Forget me, write about the sausages,” she said) married the son of the sausage man – ah, sizzling romance, and keeps an eye on both operations when her husband is not around.
Her father-in-law retired some time ago, and when asked about her own father, she points wistfully to the cemetery’s tall iron fence, saying, &#8220He’s in there, watching over all of us.”
At $6, a sausage hero is pricy but they have their loaves baked especially for them, and their sausage is custom made too. You notice the difference immediately, especially the bread. Not to diminish the sausage, which is excellent and sizeable, but the bread is crustier, denser and more flavorful than others I have tried.
The truck is built for visibility, with a picture window in the back and a wide-open side-service area. You can see every nook and cranny inside, which is as neat as a pin. From this spacious interior, Angelo the &#8220chef” dispenses the filet mignon of sausage heroes from Mondays through Saturdays, from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., in the heart of Queens.