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Our snack prayers have been answered. After studying vending operations in New York, Chicago and other cities, D.C.’s Department of Consumer & Regulatory Affairs is ready to give our street carts another go. Intimidation tactics–mob-style, we imagine–led to the 1998 moratorium on licenses, which finally ended Oct. 15.
Under the city’s phase-in program, currently licensed vendors get first dibs so they can keep their current locations. New applicants can apply for spots within the Downtown BID starting in January, and for locations in a wider zone stretching from Union Station to Georgetown in July. Citywide permits are up for grabs at the start of 2008.
Best of all, we, the eaters, get to have a say in what gets hawked around town.
DCist received this survey asking what we think of our current street vending options, how we think our vendors rank with those in other cities, and most importantly, what we think D.C.'s new vendors should sell. Do we want ethnic, healthy (seriously?), pre-packaged (as if we can’t just go to CVS for our Doritos and PowerBars) or seasonal (i.e., roasted chestnuts in winter, ice cream in summer)?
Would breakfast carts provide a much-needed service to the working masses? What would a tapas cart look like? And more importantly, would said tapas cart serve sangria? Can we request a dessert cart be strategically placed outside Washington Sports Club?
Street carts 2.0 will no doubt make for even more dawdling at Decision Corner, the downtown intersection in the middle of the lunch action, where we hem and haw with our co-workers about where to eat. But the carts' speedy service should get us back to our cubicles on time.
Photo by andertho.
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CREPES! BREAKFAST TACOS! CHURROS!
Thanks for including the survey link. I can only hope no one checks the box advocating more FBI sweatshirts and CIA hats.
I'd be happy if vendors were permitted to use gas or propane grills in the carts, like they do in NY and Philly, rather than those flavor-robbing steam trays they use here.
I will start filling out my application now. I look forward to positive DCist coverage on my first day in business . . .
Falafel
Bratwursts, decent hot dogs
Roasted nuts would be awesome
umm, just so i am clear, the DC goverment is taking a survey of what we want for the street vendors and they are using a site called "surevymonkey.com" really? how strange.
TACOTOWN!
Definitely agree with #3. Philly has some of THE BEST street vendors around. In DC we are stuck with half smokes/hot dogs but I can get genuine Korean/Japanese/Mexican food for under $5.
@ Ryan. Yup. It's not that strange, actually. Surveymonkey is a (fairly) widely used online survey tool.
Adrian Fenty's, I mean, Hizzoner's Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention Program Inventory Questionnaire is on Surveymonkey too.
Speaking of kiosks, what I'd really like to see is those nine boarded-up former Dupont trolley entrances to become footprints for new kiosks. See a Photoshop version of one at href="http://flickr.com/photos/77945684@N00/112667633/">Proposed Kiosk for Dupont Circle.
As for what to sell: Kohrs frozen custard, pretzels, flowers, newspapers, coffee, gelato, dry cleaning (connected to the space below), crepes, etc. Some of the entrances could still connect to the space below, perhaps for a gym or pool hall or club.
HOT.ROASTED.NUTS.
and burritos.
Please, DCist Celeste, Hizzoner is a title (similar to Mayor for Life) that CM Barry has exclusive claim to. At the least, please wait for Adrian to earn it.
Less incense and cheap glasses. More hot roasted nuts, decent Hebrew National hot dogs, tacos.
Can we please have a moratoreum on tapas carts? There are plenty of places to get small portions of overpriced food. Sweet jeebus, tapas places are the new Starbucks.
Tacos, burritos, falafel, gyros, klav khalash with crab juice, Japanese noodle vans with udon, ramen, and soba. But what this town really needs is DONER KEBABS!
Anybody ever wonder why Ben's doesn't have hotdog carts on the Mall?
Anybody ever wonder why Ben's doesn't have hotdog carts on the Mall?
No, but I'll hazard a guess that it's because they can't grill their dogs in a cart. You don't want to dilute your brand by having a bunch of outlets serving an inferior product.
KEBAB!
Couldn't they grill the dogs on an electric grill? Seems like some of the vendor carts use generators anyway. Having natural-casing grilled dogs with some snap in them is the way to go. Death to the Tepid Swamp Water Weenies! Gimme one from the bottom, I'm feeling lucky today.
I dunno, maybe. But I don't know that there are electric grills that can stand up to the kind of heavy duty (high heat, on for 10-12 daily) use that would be necessary.
Unless DC allows for some type of flame grilling/broiling on vending carts, we'll be stuck with, at best, steam trays. This might be okay for bread puddings and such, but not for tastey hot dogs or doner kabobs.
I'm not sure which agency oversees the safety regs in this. I want to say DCRA...
As far as I can tell, there is no prohibition on grills in the regulations.
However, there is this, "No fish, poultry, or animals shall be cleaned or have their entrails removed in a food vending vehicle or on or at a stand; nor shall fish poultry, or animals be cut, processed, or otherwise prepared in a food vending operation."
It's unclear how far "otherwise prepared" extends.
FOR GOD SAKES MAKE A CHIPOTLE CART
CHIPOTLE
CHIPOTLE
CHIPOTLE
CHIPOTLE
CHIPOTLE
CHIPOTLE
CHIPOTLE
CHIPOTLE
Bring on Korean BBQ.
Don't they use open-flame grills during the food festivals, like Taste of DC and the Smithsonian festivals? Even if they are restricted, how tough would it be to unrestrict them? Saigon vendors just build a little charcoal hibachi out of chicken wire and cinder blocks and that town hasn't burned down. Japanese tappanaki joints use an electric mesh grill to crisp up their grilled unagi. Bulgogi and bulgalbi just ain't the same cooked in a regulation hotplate.
Knishes!
Oh what good news! I must have a falafel cart! Why does Philly get all the good food? Guess that's why it's America's fattest city.
Also, re #9 and #12, the Hizzoner title has belonged to far greater men than Marion Barry.
Chicago was ranked as America's fattest city in 2006. Philly dropped out of the top 10.
Will the new carts have refrigeration?
some of them probably will, but the cheap ol street vendors we have will probably stick to their old ways of steamed weeners n canned pepsi's