Street Eats

You're Invited

2008-03-07T20:01:00.000-08:00

It's that time already! Midterm is upon us, and us along with our fellow classmates will be presenting our hard work thus far. Anyone is welcome to attend, and all feedback is welcomed and encouraged! See you next week!

Where the magic happens

2008-03-07T19:53:00.000-08:00

Today was an exciting day! We went to Queens to meet the mastermind at Cyber Metal Tech, Andy Hor. This shop custom makes carts to order. "What do you want to cook?" he asks first, then the cart is made to fit. "It's the American Dream," he says, "to bring your food here, and buy a cart. So I make them carts to sell their food."
They were all so shiny and full of possiblities! I wanted to stand inside of them, fire up the grill, and bring in the customers! Some day maybe, some day...

Award Winning

2008-03-05T10:01:00.000-08:00

So we finally met the famous Muhammed. His cart is the 2007 Vendy Award Winning Kwik Meal cart located on the SW corner of 45th and 6th Ave. Though he was incredibly busy, (always a steady line of regulars) he took time out to talk with us. Unfortunately we did not have the chance to sample any of his food,...yet. We will be back, and we are looking forward to it. In the meantime, there is an excellent blog about a day in the life of Muhammed, Kwik Meal style. Check it out on the Midtown Lunch website.

Falafel for everyone!

2008-03-01T12:54:00.000-08:00

Luckily today we went on a class field trip to MOMA, which just so happens to be in the same neighborhood as the majority of our research. So since we were walking by,...we introduced the rest of our colleagues to the world of street food, falafel style. It was especially enjoyed by our two professors, Matthew Burger, Chair of Industrial Design at Pratt, and Jeff Kapec, Principal at Tanaka Kapec Design Group, Inc., this was their first Falafel experience!
Mustafa speedily served up all of us, and even gave us a deal. Now at least everyone understands just how difficult street research can be. Having to eat great meals all the time, it's so very rough!
This upcoming week, me must try Kwik Meal, and meet the famous Muhammed!

Beware of Tourist Pricing

2008-02-29T14:51:00.001-08:00

As we noticed today while interviewing two very unhappy customers, watch out for the vendor with no pricing on their signage. Make sure to ask the price up front, or you may get profiled and recieve what is know as "the tourist deal." This means the vendor charges you a couple of bucks more than they should. The two visitors to the city we talked to today, were not so happy to have paid $7 dollars for their gyros, I wouldn't have been either!

Falafel Heaven

2008-02-27T11:13:00.000-08:00

A morning with royalty. We went back up to Queens, and spent the morning watching Freddy set up. Truly a model of efficiency. Young, old, and everyone in between seem to love him. The secret to success seems to be (beyond great food) ; a smile and great customer service. Apparently it's not a dying art!

Street Food- Portraits

2008-02-25T18:57:00.000-08:00

A fellow foodie we recently discovered is Jocelyn Baun, who we discovered off of a link from the Street Vendor Project. She is currently doing a project on Street Vendor portraits. Her work can currently be found in two places; her website jocelynbaun.com (click on portfolios-street food), and Cafe Sutra in Brooklyn, but only until the 29th of Feb.

She sent this photo of her work so I could put it on our site, just love it! Her photos are amazing!

Those Yellow Bags!

2008-02-23T16:18:00.000-08:00

We visited with Mustafa today, and he graciously answered our questions during his lunchbreak. You know the food is good when everyone who works at the cart is eating the food!
He runs the day shift of the cart, and after 7, doubles up the cart, and is known across town as the guy with the long lines across from the Hilton. So famous, his fans have started a website for him.
53rd and 6th
Those yellow bags are famous, and the food is well..., as one customer we met today put, "it's orgasmic!"

Vendor Power!

2008-02-17T13:23:00.000-08:00

Joe and I had the fortunate opportunity to recently attend a meeting at the Street Vendor Project office. It was a fantastic experience that opened our eyes to the world of street food through the vendors eyes. In light of this awakening, we think everyone should go out and buy a hot dog, a bag of nuts, or just give your neighborhood vendor a hug tomorrow!
Support this great organization in any way you can, or just be informed. Check out:
street vendor project

Sweet Treats

2008-02-17T13:15:00.000-08:00

Survey says: "Mini cakes good, candy apples bad." We tried these sweet little guys in Chinatown yesterday, mostly because they're so darn pretty. But pretty isn't everything. For a buck, it's a safer bet to get a bag of mini cakes or two for a dollar churro. Avoid these things like the plague, they're mushy inside the hard outer shell, and sickly sweet.

The King? Absolutely!

2008-02-10T17:02:00.000-08:00

Well ladies and gentlemen, today we traveled all the way to Queens, in search of the fabled "King of Falafel" and let me tell you, he did not dissapoint. Upon exiting the subway (Broadway on the N train, Broadway and 30th) we very quickly found the vendor we sought. Once we navigated the line we were greeted by Freddy, the king himself. He immediately pressed a piping hot falafel sample into our hands and then I understood what a falafel was supposed to taste like. I would have returned for the food alone, but the experience of talking with Freddy sealed the deal for us. It's amazing to talk with someone who takes so much pride in their work, and does it so very well.
I challenge anyone to find a better combination of delicious food and customer service in the entire city. We will be going back to Queens very soon. Those Falafel are addictive.

Thrill Seeker?

2008-02-08T17:53:00.001-08:00

The idea of street food poses the question, what makes you feel safe? The smells, the cart, a line, location, a happy vendor? This cart is run by Moustafa and Soliman, two very happy vendors! 7 days a week they run the cart on 45th and 6th, NW corner (across from Kwik Meal)

Around the World

2008-02-08T17:20:00.000-08:00

Beer in a bag in Vietnam! Share your street food experiences from across the country and around the world. What's the best, strangest, or most exotic food you've seen on the street?

Rockin' Halal

2008-02-07T07:25:00.001-08:00

Wow, this was some fine Falafel Combo plate.

53rd and 6th, right by MOMA.

Mini Cakes

2008-02-07T07:09:00.000-08:00

I found these little balls of awesome on Canal Street and it got me thinking, what else could serve as street food besides the typical: Hot Dog, Kebab, Pretzel?

But in all honesty these are great! I think that they were $1 for 15 of the suckers.

Share your Favorite

2008-02-06T10:02:00.000-08:00

All right everybody, I just wanted to kick things of with the most basic of questions:
Where is you favorite New York food cart located and what kind of food does it serve?