You might be interested to know that your morning coffee was marked up 1,000 percent by the street vendor who just sold it to you. It’s just one of many fascinating tidbits in “Cartography,” a complete road map to New York City street food. Though Grub Street has previously selected its top five favorite carts, this week’s issue goes all out, not only ranking the city’s best twenty carts but also offering a glimpse into the daily experiences of street vendors. If the feature doesn’t sell you on the guts and glory of sidewalk cuisine, well, fine then — Rob and Robin have singled out several more conventional restaurants to look forward to this summer.
First there was the Platt 101, then Underground Gourmet’s favorite 101 cheap eats, and now: the city’s top twenty street vendors.
What does a day in the life of a kebab man entail? Among other things, life-threatening traffic, ticket-writing cops, and just-plain-obnoxious teenagers.
Where does the largest faction of vendors come from, and how much do they make? We have the answers.
Sean Basinski tells us how he went from law school to hawking Mexican food to becoming a street-vendor defender.
Everything you ever wanted to know about the street-vendor business but were too busy stuffing yourself with a dirty-water dog to ask.
Rob and Robin tell us where and what to look forward to eating this summer: namely, “slutty cakes” and yogurt soup.
Brooklyn gets outposts of Manhattan and Virginia favorites, and a local bar opens a grocery-store offshoot.
Cartography
The Kebab Man of 42nd and Eighth
The 50-Vendor Poll
And Now a Word With the César Chávez of Hot-Dog Stands
How Clean Are Those Things? Where Does the Meat Come From?
Summer Preview, Part One
Summer Dining Preview, Brooklyn Edition [NYM]
