After reading sobore's thread "Top 10 cities for street food" I was thinking of all the fantastic carts I've been to and wanted to share and know everyone else's thoughts! Street carts of Austin, TX - http://austinfoodcarts.com/ I was only there once but it was a great treat. A treat for the eyes as well as for the pallet. I didnt end up sticking around for a full meal, but I got an order of fried pickles (my first time trying them) and I was pleasantly surprised. There were all kinds of carts from cupcake, to ice cream, to sandwiches and full on lunch platters; carnivore and vegetarian friendly. Halal Cart on 28th St & 5th Ave. New York City This guy shows up weeknights only as far as I know as I've never seen him there on Saturday or Sunday. I believe it to be superior to the carts on 53rd & 6th because there are three types of rice to choose from, veggie, white, or biryani; he throws in a falafel ball some fries and a fresh spear of jalapeno if you ask. Top it off with white sauce and hot sauce and you have yourself a supper fit for a king for the low price of $5. Grilled cheese on a stick and Shrimp on a stick vendors in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Dont let the idea of beach food scare you. Sure the cheese have been in a questionable cooler all day and the Shrimp has been under a film of saran wrap being beaten down on by the hot sun, but no no! Dont be deterred! The cheese is a common white cheese found all over south america and latin cuisine. Speared on a stick and upon your request dusted with oregano the cheese stick is grilled in a small hand held grill. After a few minutes and a few reais (R$3 a few years back) you're in business. The shrimp are fresh shrimp skewered given a healthy squirt of lime. Fresh and tasty for R$5. Anyone else?
Calexico in NYC- They are in SoHo during lunch time on weekdays but also have brick & mortar locations now. They serve awesome Californa-Mexican food.
In Jakarta, the fellers that vend A) ketoprak- (lontong, rice cakes), tofu, noodles, mung bean sprouts, shrimp crisps, and bumbu kacang (peanut sauce), and optional fried onions and chilies; B)sate (satay), mostly for the peanut sauce and fried onions; C)bubur (porridge, with many o' the peanut/welsh onion/fried bread fixins); D)avocado shakes; and E)nasgor (nasi goreng) fried rice, without the sausage. Actually, there are more that should be on this list, but it should be apparent by now that Jakarta is on the list of street food cities I most enjoy. China, for its sweet potatoes, things placed on/in bread (but not necessarily steamed bread), eggplant, leeks, ...basically, places that are still out at 2am, I'm there. They've got a nice variety, and the spices added do it well too, although can't compete with those used by Uighur chuar (skewer) and nangbing (Xinjiang/Central Asian) bread vendors. Specifically, Guangzhou, by the Xiaobei Little Africa neighborhood, I tried a delicious sunflower seed-coated nangbing...of course, YTMV (your tastes may vary). Bangkok, only for the mango sticky rice, although since I've only recently discovered pumpkin used in dishes... This is too difficult. But I'll throw Beirut kebabs and khubz (bread) with za'tar, fish sandwiches in Kadikoy, Istanbul and olives in Marrakech on there too. Oh right, and the licuados of Mexico City, particularly the ones that are placebos for every medical condition out there. This thread'll be returned to at another time...
Creme brulée cart in San Francisco: https://twitter.com/cremebruleecart Oaxacan Kitchen in various parts of the south bay.https://twitter.com/OaxacanKitchen
Don't forget the Kanom Krok is Bangkok. Whenever I eat those freshly made and still hot, I am in heaven.
Which part of Bangkok did you eat those in? From recent trips, I can't recall seeing that at all, but they'd definitely be on the list of things to eat (again-because I know I've tried 'em a while ago). Do you have a particular part of the city to recommend for streeating?
There were several street vendors in Chinatown selling them, although I also found a woman selling them near the McDonalds around the corner from the ShangriLa hotel.
Houston is a terrible city for street food (mostly due to arcane food regulations) but there are some trucks and street vendors doing a good job. Good dog hot dogs - http://gooddogfoodtruck.com/ Bernie's burger bus - http://www.berniesburgerbus.com/ Melange Creperie - http://melangecreperie.wordpress.com/ And a HOST of Mexican, Central and South American food trucks without websites that serve some of the best street tacos in Houston. Houston's not much of a tourist town but it's a place where a lot of ppl do business. If you're ever in town and it's not the middle of Summer (too hot to eat outside in business clothes) look them up and check them out. On another note: In the winter, in Paris, I'm a big fan of the roasted chestnut vendors that you find on the streets. Nice warm pick me up in a city that's beautiful even when it's cold.
I can't attest to Parisian chestnuts (marron, right?), but they are quite refreshing to eat in Yokohama's Chuukagai (Chinatown) and/or anywhere in China. Tianjin or its environs seem to supply many of the country's chestnuts...or chestnut pouches.
Oh, I can't forget about matang. Or, at least that's what I think the Chinese name for the Uighur food is. A hepped-up trail mix that'll do a number on your teeth, and then your digestive tract. Equally fun? Bargaining with the Uighur vendors. I wrote about its impact on my jaw and the ingredients a while ago: http://buildingmybento.wordpress.com/2012/03/08/uighur-matang/; please let me know what you think, and if you would/have already eaten it.
