Let me use a recent trip to Spain and Morocco to illustrate. Madrileño food is terrible. Don’t get me wrong, I had some good meals there, but had to spend $40 per person to get it. Anything fast and cheap was either of the American fast food ilk, or disgusting tapas in the form of greasy fried cod or deep-fried cheese croquettes. A quick flight accross the Straight of Gilbraltar took us to an entirely different culinary culture. The highlight of Morocco was Marrakesh’s bustling Djema El Fna which filled with carts serving soups, grilled meats, teas, pastries, and even some more exotic dishes. About $7 was enough to stuff yourself, share a table with some new friends, and enjoy the scene of thousands of people out to enjoy the evening. While Madrid can provide a civic model in many ways for Los Angeles, (a highly efficient mass transit system for one) a few lonely immigrants selling prepackaged sandwiches and a few drinks on cardboard boxes late at night are a miserable expression of the culinary heritage of a country. New York has its hot dogs and pizza, and we should have our tacos.
We’ve been collecting photos of street food from Los Angeles and beyond for a few months, and will continue to do so as a celebration of world-class food. Keep emailing your submissions to contact@yorkblvd.com, and don’t forget to tell us where the picture was taken and what it is you’re eating. Enjoy!
It’s a great day to stand on the side of hardworking Angelenos, fair capitalistic competition, and delicious food. Today in Los Angeles Superior Court, Judge Dennis Aichroth ruled in favor of our hardworking taqueros stating in part that the recently enacted law effectively banning taco trucks was “too ambiguous to be enforceable” and was “arbitrary and not based upon any rational, intrinsic or natural basis”. Furthermore, Judge Aichroth agreed with an argument we’ve championed from the beginning, writing, “this attempt to restrict the operation of catering trucks […] is a pretext for creating a “naked restraint of trade” and, as such, must be declared invalid”. In short, Gloria Molina and her developer backed cabal of myopic gentrificationists have lost. The people of Los Angeles have won.
While we would like to declare the “big taco” bureaucrats down and out for good, we unfortunately must temper our joy with the realization that this may only be round one. The county can still appeal this decision, or rewrite the law in an attempt to stay within their constitutionally limited legislative powers. So then, what’s a socially active taco lover to do?
1. Write your Supervisor urging them to stop legislating taco trucks out of business. Their email addresses can be found here.
2. Take someone unfamiliar with the taco truck lifestyle out for a night of unforgettably delicious food. $3 should buy you two tacos, a drink, and a political ally for life.
3. On a self serving note, continue to submit your street food pictures and keep on wearing your “Carne Asada is not a Crime” T-shirts. Photos can be submitted to contact@yorkblvd.com and T-shirts can be purchased here.
While we may lack the money of the business groups and restaurant owners associations that backed this misguided law, we still carry the votes necessary to put these politicians in their posh offices and wield a bright spotlight which they’d rather not have shined on their political handouts. (Especially those who have built their careers on an image of championing the working class, Latinos, and/or the fair market.)Keep up the good work and know that you are on the right side of history.