Still A Dreamer

Now here’s something that no longer means what it once did … street food. I recently came across an article on how the most amazing foods can now be found curbside in just about every city. This article focused on the Mid-Atlantic states.

How drastically have things changed? When I was a kid and we used to go in the city, there were food vendors here and there, and one of my favorites was those who sold roasted chestnuts. I remember there was always a “chestnut man” outside the Museum of Natural History, much like the one pictured here, (who is actually selling chestnuts in Spain.)

When I was older and worked in NYC, you didn’t have to go too far to find a street food vendor – they usually sold Sabrett hot dogs, hot pretzels and somewhere nearby there was always a souvlaki truck. selling souvlaki, (pictured), gyros and falafel. As I recall, everything was pretty tasty. And then more recently, working on a dead end street in an industrial area of a NJ city, (long story), we had a real food truck. It was standard silver and served a variety of pre-packaged lunch foods and sweets and on this truck, a few homemade Portuguese dishes cooked by Tony’s wife – they were always pretty good.

Now? There has been a meals on wheels revolution. Standard silver no more! Food trucks are rolling works of art and they are selling every type of food imaginable and are located all over every city – international cuisine, main dishes, desserts and beverages. What’s more, you’re going to find a line up to that truck, with fans waiting for their favorite food. Aside from cooking up fabby cuisine, the vendors are taking advantage of the digital world and tweeting the time and location when their truck will show up and/or posting it on their Facebook pages.

The food truck world has grown so that they even have their own accolade – the Vendy Award. These are awards given in a variety of cities where vendors sign up for a big food fest in a spacious location. Fruckies, as fans are called, buy tickets to the event and sample as many foods as inspire them. There are judges voting on the best food served and a People’s Choice award.

If you’re a foodie and want to check out this new expanded world of street food, check out this link for the Vendys – awards, events and how to find a great food truck near you.

p.s. There’s a Vendy event coming up in NYC on September 7th in Brooklyn!

p.p.s. Check out the NYC 2012 winner – a vegan, organic truck called Cinnamon Snail – operates in NYC and NJ – not what people – myself included – expect when they hear vegan!