Mi2Sweets – Taking it the streets

01/02: Taking it the streets

There is a small but passionate revolution taking place in the streets of San Francisco of late. An enterprising scrappy band of renegade food cart vendors, fed up with the city’s archaic, and many would say (including myself) blatantly anti-small business policies, have taken it upon themselves to leap frog over the red tape and set up “shop” wherever they can–“tweeting” to an evergrowing crowd of followers like a bunch of culinary pied pipers. It reminds me of a scene from the movie “Nick and Nora” where the characters spend the whole night traipsing through NYC following cryptic text messages that eventually lead them to the impromptu concert by their favorite band held at a mystery rooftop. My friend Dawn has been hot on the trail of the “basket pie” guy for weeks now, obsessively browsing Twitter in hopes of finally nabbing one of the prized pies he apparently sells off the back of his bike.

This says alot about not only the foodie culture in SF, but the sorry state of our local bureaucracy that has precipitated such subtrefruge. The natives know good a thing when they see (and taste) it. We will go out of our way to get it–especially when there’s a great buzz. However, if you are on the producing/selling end of the equation, good luck trying to set up a “legitimate” business–one that actually makes enough money to pay the bills. Take one look at the laundry list of required fees and city permits and you’ll understand why there is no real “street food” culture in SF, not like there is in other major cities like NYC, and why street food entrepreneurs, like the “Creme Brulee Cart” guy, have to scurry about town under a cloak of anonymity.

Okay, I do understand the concept of health codes, especially as they relate to food preparation. I did get my certification in Food Safety. However, I think there should be a way for city the support street food vendors without making them pay through the nose for the privilege of doing it legally. And really, most people are well aware of the difference between buying food from a “brick and mortar” establishment and a food cart. Yeah, you are, to some extent, eating at your own risk, but then that’s also the fun part about it.

I’ve been thinking about my favorite foodie experiences and inevitably they have been in places where there is a vibrant, thriving street food culture, whether it be a food cart/stand or an outdoor market. My top five:

1) Hong Kong – The variety is astounding–everything from squid or chicken gizzards on skewers to egg custard tarts. On one trip I went on the hunt for the perfect egg custard tart and found it at the tiny stand off some side street for 25 cents.

2) London – Burrough Market is still one of my all-time favorite outdoor markets. Hate to say it, but our Ferry Plaza Market isn’t even in the same league. Again the variety of products both raw and prepared is stellar. I still dream about the freshly griddled pork tenderloin and apple sandwich.

3) Paris – It really doesn’t matter where in Paris–though St. Germaine is my favorite part of town–but there’s nothing like a hot, tender, crispy-edged, freshly made crepe slathered in Nutella from a street vendor.

4) Madrid – My Spanish sucks, but that didn’t matter. I just pointed and ate, especially the churros, fried in a gigantic vat of oil at a stand in the middle of the park, served with the thickest hot chocolate I’ve ever had.

5) Seattle – Pike’s Place Market was only the beginning. The crappy weather didn’t dampen my enthusiasm for street food.

There are alot of passionate cooks out there just waiting to be discovered (and I don’t mean arrested or fined). The city government needs to wake up and smell the potential–and embrace what they have to offer. Then, maybe SF can truly be called a foodie town.

Posted January 2nd, 2009

Comments
One Response to “Taking it the streets”

Carissa says:

July 9, 2009 at 10:18 pm

mmmm, street food. Best to date, with the Hepatitus A caveat, sugar cane juice on the streets of Viet Nam. Amazing!

I haven’t been to Paris yet, but Seattle! Pikes Place was a bit underwhelming, but did you notice the number of bakeries?!!! Not the two day old fruit tart kind, I mean honest to goodness still warm lemon brioche beauties!