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So I been around different neighborhoods and except for Capitol Hill and Smithsonian there are no street food vendors or carts. Even in those areas, the variety is pretty basic.
I was in the Navy Yard and they have a giant empty field of grass, and it would be awesome place for food carts, especially Middle Eastern, South Asian, Chinese, Korean, Mexican, West Indies, you name it. NYC has this all in Zuccotti Park, Bryant Park, and Union Square, and also in Downtown Brooklyn. Even in winter they are there, but at at reduced volume.
Even Los Angeles, the most unwalkable hellscape of humanity you can get, has more variety of food vendors/carts especially in Santa Monica.
It's more authentic than having another useless bland ass trash American good you get in any suburb like Five Guys, Chipotle, or Panera Bread. Those are good once in a while, but they literally are in every neighborhood in DC and that it's embarrassing. NYC has this problem to a degree, but there are way more local options along with food carts to counter act national franchises/chains.
Prepandemic DC used to have way more food carts. Plus DC doesn’t have the same diversity as a NYC.
To be fair, I did see more of the ethnic foods and diversity in NOVA but it wasn't food cart style, but it definitely is a let down since those are elements that make a city cosmopolitan.
Food carts kinda depend on the lunch crowd, don't they? What with remote working being so common today I suspect it's a lot harder to make money with them.
Food trucks are so exotic sounding and romantic. Makes you feel so worldly.
1. Take a look at the sinks in the trucks. Notice that they are used for storage.......not washing.
2. Those trucks get impounded from time to time. They're not cleaned when they get put into the impound lot.
3. Nor are they cleaned AFTER everything is rotten and melted when they get retrieved from the impound lot.
4. Next time you eat from one, ask to see their Health Department certificate.
5. The gourmet chef cooking your exotic food in the truck....think a bit about where he goes to the bathroom.
6. And then read #1 again.
Location: That star on your map in the middle of the East Coast, DMV
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The city council is already steps ahead of ya. This was voted on last month to loosen restrictions on street vendors. It was literally outlawed prior...
"The D.C. Council voted unanimously on Tuesday to pass a bill that will loosen restrictions around street vending.
The Street Vendor Advancement Amendment Act of 2023 will decriminalize vending without a license, create vending zones, and waive unpaid civil citations related to licensing. Its passage comes after years of campaigning from street vendors and their advocates, who filled the council chambers during the legislation’s second reading.
If enacted into law, the legislation would also make D.C. the third major U.S. city, after New York and Los Angeles, to reform its street vendor licensing regulations."
Food carts kinda depend on the lunch crowd, don't they? What with remote working being so common today I suspect it's a lot harder to make money with them.
Yes and No. I know NYC even on weekends you may see the food carts around but a lesser volume or they move to towards areas where there are move tourists. Or if it's the same area, they are in the area for a shorter duration.
But since DC has enough density and is very mixed use zoning, even if you had people working remote, the people would come out for the food.
The city council is already steps ahead of ya. This was voted on last month to loosen restrictions on street vendors. It was literally outlawed prior...
"The D.C. Council voted unanimously on Tuesday to pass a bill that will loosen restrictions around street vending.
The Street Vendor Advancement Amendment Act of 2023 will decriminalize vending without a license, create vending zones, and waive unpaid civil citations related to licensing. Its passage comes after years of campaigning from street vendors and their advocates, who filled the council chambers during the legislation’s second reading.
If enacted into law, the legislation would also make D.C. the third major U.S. city, after New York and Los Angeles, to reform its street vendor licensing regulations."
Thank god. This is a movement towards civilization. I hope to see in Navy Yard a row of food carts all around.
Yes and No. I know NYC even on weekends you may see the food carts around but a lesser volume or they move to towards areas where there are move tourists. Or if it's the same area, they are in the area for a shorter duration.
But since DC has enough density and is very mixed use zoning, even if you had people working remote, the people would come out for the food.
DC is dense compared to your average American city, but it's orders of magnitude less dense/active than NYC. We don't really have areas like Union Sq or Times SW that are constantly buzzing with people.
You have a few stalls around Columbia Heights where you have a slight NYC feel, high foot traffic and immigrants selling willing to sell inexpensive food products for little money. But by and large places like DT DC or rowhouse areas aren't active enough to make it work.
Food trucks are so exotic sounding and romantic. Makes you feel so worldly.
1. Take a look at the sinks in the trucks. Notice that they are used for storage.......not washing.
2. Those trucks get impounded from time to time. They're not cleaned when they get put into the impound lot.
3. Nor are they cleaned AFTER everything is rotten and melted when they get retrieved from the impound lot.
4. Next time you eat from one, ask to see their Health Department certificate.
5. The gourmet chef cooking your exotic food in the truck....think a bit about where he goes to the bathroom.
6. And then read #1 again.
They sure do sound hip/cultural though.
I've been eating from a variety of them for quite a few years, as have many of my friends/acquaintances. And yet here we all stand, miraculously still alive and healthy.
It must be hell to go through life as such a scared and miserable snowflake.
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still alive and healthy.
