I love foodcarts! There is something about these one-stop, four-wheel shops with their signature dishes from literally anywhere in the world catering to my culinary need that just seem so satisfying to the tastebuds. They represent a gastronomic paradise that I can indulge myself every weekday around noon.
There are many reasons that I like to eat at foodcarts.
They're cheap. Most dishes are less than $10.00 and usually include a soda or drink.
They're fast. You come up to the owner, make your selection, and within minutes, your order is ready.
They're convenient. Most of the foodcarts near my work place are situated literally right in front of my building. I don't need to go far for them.
The selection is excellent. Besides from the standard burgers, sandwiches, hot dogs, and cheese steak fares, I am able to find fresh fruits, Hajah, Indian, Vietnamese, Chinese, Caribbean and other international dishes. I don't tend to eat breakfast, but there are foodcarts that serve breakfast and then convert to lunch. Some of them serve breakfast all day long.
The owners/servers/cashiers are friendly. Most foodcarts are staffed by one to two people - usually a husband and wife, family members or business partners. They are 100% vested in the business so they want to make sure that the best customer service is being provided. They're great to talk to, and they love to talk about themselves and where they came from. I find the foreign-born owners are the most interesting.
According to this infographic, LA is considered the city where the food truck trend started. Philadelphia is not far behind with 81 food trucks. I wonder if anyone else looks at foodcarts. I walked around and took pictures of all of the foodcarts that lined the street in front of my workplace. And it wasn't a long walk. So I am sure there are probably 10 times the number of food carts in the City of Philadelphia relative to the number of food trucks.
As expected, most food carts serve hot sandwiches (71%), Mexican food (61%), cold sandwiches (44%), soup (24%), salad (22%) and Italian (19%). What I find surprising that wasn't included on the infographics are middle-eastern, Chinese and Southeast Asian food. Over here in the East Coast, they seem to be much more popular. When I was living in New York City, I remember seeing halah food carts in every street corners. There are a few down here in Philadelphia as well. So the food selection and type of carts seem to be localized by city.
There are a few foodcart owners who I have become friends with. I chat with them every time I stop by. The other interesting fact about the food carts in my work area, and more specifically abou the Penn/Drexel university area, is that there a significantly higher proportion of Vietnamese owners. They tend to serve the traditional lunch food. Some tried to serve Vietnamese food, but it's not as profitable so that they stopped doing so. One lady told me that it takes a bit more work to make Vietnamese banh mi than the regular chicken sandwich, for example. Another reason is practicality. It's pretty difficult to serve pho or any food with a broth from such a small footprint. And the weather makes a big difference. It can get be to over 100 degrees in the summer and subzero freezing cold in the winter. You don't want to be in the booth with a boiling pot of broth when it's a 100 degrees outside.
Steve Jobs said it best about entrepreneurs, and these food cart owners, definitely represent the spirit of entrepreurship:
I’m convinced that about half of what separates the successful entrepreneurs from the non-successful ones is pure perseverance. — Steve Jobs
I spoke to a soft,spoken Vietnamese woman, whose skin and physical appearance have been damaged by her exposure to the harsh elements for the past 25 years. She came up with a great alternative after she had a stroke. Between the months of September and March when the weather is cooler, she serves Vietnamese food such as banh mi, com tam, and other stir-fry dishes. Between March and August, she serves fresh fruits in her air-conditioned cart. It works out well for her. She told me that she had to continue working even after her medical condition because she needs the money to survive. She is in fact self-employed and if she stops working, no one will be paying her living expenses or her medical bills. She doesn't want to become dependent on the State.
Below are some pictures of footcarts near my workplace:
There are several carts that are clustered into one area and designated by the City I presume.
This food cart is very popular. It serves organic vegan food. The line gets pretty long and the food often run out. So if I want something from here, I usually try to go early.
The owner of this foodcart is Vietnamese. She and her husband have been doing this for many years. He does the cooking. She takes the order. In the afternoon when it's not busy, she does both and he goes home. I think he has to prep the food for the next day. In the winter, they usually take a 1-month vacation to Vietnam every year. It works out well because the customer base decrease during winter break and less students are around. (Notice the iconic red and green bottle of sriracha sauce displayed prominently.)
I got really confused the first time I saw this food cart. What do you mean this is the "Real Le Anh" food cart? I inquired the lady about it. Apparently she was the original owner of the foodcart. Then she trained another friend of hers as well. Not knowing all of the rules and regulations around food preparation, naming, etc, the other person also took the name of "Le Anh" food cart. She then sold the foodcart to another owner. Long story short, she had to change her foodcart name and that was how she came up with the "Real Le Anh" food cart.
This foodcart serves mostly Mexican food, including burritos, tacos, quesadillas, and enchiladas.
Small foodcart that sells fresh fruits, salad and smoothie.
The owner of this cart is Vietnamese. She sells fruit products in the summer months and in the winter month switches to Vietnamese hot food. The reason is that she can't handle the heat during the summer as a result of a stroke. She has continued to work to support her family and so she paid for two licenses to be able to operate her food cart that way.
There are more Indian restaurants in the area, but there aren't a lot of Indian food carts. I don't think this one is that busy. I haven't tried the food either.
This Mexi-Philly foodcart serves Mexican food that cater to the Philadelphian taste bud I guess. Typical dishes.
Typical food cart serving both breakfast and lunch fares such as egg sandwiches, hot dogs, hamburger, sausages, chips, etc.
Patrons deciding which food cart that they're going to eat from today. Three out of the four carts in this location are owned by Vietnamese.
Chinese food cart loudly labeled. The other ones in the back were getting ready to close down for the day. Either they have completely ran out of inventory or they have started the day early. Owner is Vietnamese.
Another view of the "Caribbean-colored" foodcart getting ready to close down for the day.
View of other food stalls going back to the office.
