Curbside Connoisseurs

Over the last year I have been trying to find ways to make some extra cash. A few cooking lessons here, maybe a catering gig there. Nothing has been steady, nothing to really rely on for a stream of cash. It was just about this time last year that I fell victim, like many of you, to this current recession. Shifts at work began to dwindle and so did the funds in my savings account. Worried that debt would eat me alive and not seeing any promise of full time employment on the horizon, I sold off many of my things, packed up what remained of my little apartment near Alamo Square and sadly left San Francisco on April 2, 2009. Exactly four years and one day to the date of my arrival to California with ideals of grandeur and endless possibility. I still have hopes to return to the Bay area someday. However, I have not heard from friends that things are any better as far as work goes.

What are you left to do when you have rent to pay, bills to deal with and well you just need to survive? You set up shop on the corners of Resilient Ave and Resourcefulness Street and you start selling food to hungry passersby. Well at least in some cities you do. One of my close friends in San Francisco, Roger Feely, has been one of the main groovers and shakers of the street food movement that has swept the country. Soul Cocina is a mix of global cooking and music. Roger has traveled the World and has learned so much about various cuisines. Along with vending his delicious eats, he DJ's at local hot spots and art exhibits, he teaches cooking classes and he volunteers with local youth groups. Soul Cocina is one of a many food vendors that has formed a sort of culinary posse. Followers hungry to try Roger's pozole garnished with local radishes, bhel puri with house made cilantro chutney, (often made by a bicycle powered blender) or risotto with foraged mushrooms and herbs can just find out his whereabouts through following him on Twitter. There are even websites exclusively for street food aficionados listing vendors by city and speciality. Roaming Hungry and Mobile Cravings make it accessible for locals and out of town visitors to be in the know of what's good, fast and cheap in various cities like New York, Austin and Los Angeles. There is even a festival for all this food madness!
I was recently at a cocktail party, hosted by CRAVE Chicago, for female bloggers. I met Melissa Yen, author of "That's Not Lettuce". Like me Melissa is a professional foodie. She has dabbled in everything from baking, cooking, running a panini stand at The Green City Market and owning a cafe in Chicago. Also feeling the pinch of this lulling job market she has been trying to get by doing whatever she can. Melissa told me she helps friends with catering and doing other side jobs. Somehow our conversation turned from talk about our blogs to the lack of street car vendors in the city of Chicago. We both got fired up about this. I later found out on her facebook page that we share the same birth date August 16Th. So, I say watch out!! You have two fiery Leo women talking food and local politics...take cover! I asked Melissa what she thought about the lack of food carts in Chicago and she had this to say, "it makes a city so exciting & vibrant & is supportive of small businesses. I think Chicago needs that update to it's image. I think a food cart is a great way to start a small business. It's an incubator. I think a food cart would open up the door to so many fun food alternatives that couldn't necessarily survive as a single concept restaurant, so these foods are not offered in Chicago right now. The city needs to lighten up & move forward or we will never be taken seriously as a great, exciting, progressive food city. " Amen sister, Amen.

After that night I felt jipped that Chicago was not even inclusive of this culinary movement. I have always been proud to call Chicago my hometown. However, after living in other parts of the country and seeing things in a different perspective, I am a little embarrassed about the Windy City falling behind on some things. As far as progressiveness on the culinary end goes, I feel that Chicago is lacking. Besides the absence of street cars and food trucks, which I think would bring a sense of adventure and community to the city, Chicago is set in it's ways on other issues. The last thing that really put Chicago on the culinary map was the boom of local chefs playing with molecular gastronomy. That time and trend has come and gone. For me and many others, it's more about humble, real, approachable food. History has shown that when our Nation has faced economical hardships consumers tend to gain weight due in part to poor eating habits. Feeling anxious people turn to snack foods to take the edge off. Items such as fresh produce, meats and cheese are replaced with less expensive frozen pizza, soup, and other items in box or can form. But, that doesn't have to be the case. I say if people want change, people should ask for it!

Case in point, knowing where your food comes from, who makes it, and what's in it. I have been one of those individuals that like many, had to give up the nicer cuts of meat, or that special imported cheese or pricey olive oil. But, I have not sacrificed it all. I have replaced my diet with more whole grains, seasonal produce and legumes. I have had more dinner parties with friends where we cook together and split the cost. So overall, this necessary change has expanded my use of new ingredients, given me a greater appreciation of my food sources, built a stronger sense of community and overall has made me a better cook in the end. Just because we have to pinch of a few pennies doesn't mean we have to trade off good food and health for saving a few bucks. Seek out other inexpensive edible items. And heck, if you don't know how to cook or need help with recipes send me an e-mail at ChefAlex@TheFoodDiva.net or check out some of my healthy seasonal recipes on Earth Eats. I'll help you with your cooking conundrums.

So, what does this have to do with street carts? It has alot to do with it. I will quote the great philosopher Plato in saying that" necessity is the mother of invention". In this case the necessity is two fold. One, we need to eat, always. Hopefully something good and not junky. Two, we need a little extra cash. So, let's make something delicious that utilizes local, inexpensive ingredients, is nutritionally dense and tells a story in it's creation. Oh, it's not that easy huh? Well, not here in Chicago anyway. And apparently that may be the case elsewhere.

I read an article today posted on NBC-Bay area. The article was about the food cart craze in San Francisco and the awareness now of local city officials. So what does that mean? It means the politicos want to break up the party and dig into the piggy banks of these vendors. Now don't get me wrong some regulations are fine, but when people are expected to fork over thousands of dollars to cover the costs of taxes on a small cart that is just ridiculous. Some chefs don't have the financial resources to open an establishment, and frankly most don't want to. With a street cart or food truck chefs have more leeway to plan menus, to change their location and keep costs down. Most of these carts are one person operations. So, that means no training costs, no equipment and no payroll. At least in San Francisco there has been some movement on this front and some light has been shed in this dark economy and weak job market. In Chicago you can't even heat a can of beans on a sterno on an unsolicited corner without being shut down by the po-po and being fined for double parking. If food carts can be used as a form of creative outlet and as a source of income in one city, why can't it be on all cities?? My last name is not Rockefeller or Trump and I don't have a money tree in my yard. What I do have is passion, drive and persistence. Some might even go as far as saying I'm a pain in the ass. But, that's OK with me. I know I am heard and I get people thinking. And in my book that's a good thing. I have a vision of a fuchsia and tangerine colored pushcart that has one cold compartment for palettas and gelato in flavors ranging from strawberry-ginger, peach-buttermilk and coffee and star anise. On the other side a hot box with stuffed items garnished with funky condiments and pickley goods. Gorditas, pupusas, bao, piergoes, gyoza. I need to buy a Winnebago, have it souped-up and just hit the road once again cross country selling my tamales and horchata! Check out these stylish trucks in NYC. They are bad ass!

Photo Courtesy of NewYork.Junebug.com

I have traveled throughout the Caribbean, Mexico, and Thailand. On each vacation, the memories that stay with me are not those of the five star restaurants or the glitzy gourmet outlet that by chance I may have visited (if someone else paid). But rather my memories recall the local conch served to me in the Bahamas that was made with freshly squeezed key lime juice, chile and coconut. Or the warm and slightly charred handmade tortillas hot off the comal served with frijoles negros that simmered away in vibrantly colored earthenware that was eaten in a small hut in a tiny Yucatecan village. Or the most amazing pad Thai stir fried to order in a market stall in Bangkok made with tangy tamarind, tiny shrimp and the hottest chiles I have ever eaten. The food of my fondest memories was personally made by real people with the freshest locally soured ingredients, prepared with minimal equipment and served with a humble heart. It brought me pleasure, nourishment and a sense of connection to time and place. You don't get that feeling from a fast food joint.

What is our generation to do when living "The American Dream" seems so out of reach and financial recovery even further? When our proverbial cookie crumbles do we just give up? I say hell no! We regroup, rethink and get the cart, wagon or Winnebago out of the garage and onto the street and we sell what we want to make and purchase what we want to eat! Petition, rally and be heard and be fed!