Puschart Shop Talk
The best things about working as a mobile food vendor—besides the abundant availability of sausage and the daily opportunity to work out of doors—is talking to customers and passersby. Under normal circumstances I am horrible at making small talk, but the Dogmatic cart is a wonderful source of banal but appropriate material for casual conversations. People ask how long Dogmatic had been in the park (about five weeks), who came up with the idea (people who are not me), where the idea came from (people who are not me), what the sauces taste like (depends on the sauce), what we plan to do when it gets cold and snowy (dress warmly and give it our best shot).
I’ve found that New Yorkers are particularly asky. I’ve worked a number of jobs that involve dealing with the public, and most anywhere in the country patrons and customers are talky—they’ll mention the rain, or the traffic on the way over. I’d have to ask them questions to get a good, non-weather conversation going. But here, in New York, usually the customers are the ones who ask me questions. Where did those toasting spikes come from? How do you get this cart here to the park? Do you own this? They want to know. I love it.
This weekend, a fellow walked by the cart, did a double take, and turned around to face us. He was probably in his mid-forties, heavy-set but not fat—a very regular-looking guy. In our West Village neighborhood, most of our customers are either young and stylish or old and eccentric, so everyday folk stand out a bit. He asked me how much a dog was. I told him they were five dollars, and he said, “What the heck. I’ll have a beef sausage with white cheddar jalapeno.”
While I prepared his order, he told me he operated a hot dog cart for twenty years, so when he saw our cart it stirred his curiosity. I asked him how he prepared the dogs, and he said “boiled. It was a non-processing cart.”
Ah! Dirty water dogs. So that’s a non-processing cart. In New York City, any cart that sells mixed, cooked, chopped, cut, toasted, steamed, or grilled foods is considered a processing cart and must have a sink. A cart that sells items as-is, such as pre-packaged ice cream novelties or uncut, unheated bagels, is non-processing. But there’s an exception: carts that sell boiled (a.k.a. dirty water) hot dogs need not have a sink. This hot dog loophole is so illogical to me. I told him that, and the ex-hot dog man said that it boggled his mind, too, and that he couldn’t even sell knishes at his cart, just hot dogs, which had miffed him.
By this time his sausage was ready, and when I handed it to him he thanked me and walked away. I would have loved him to linger so I could ask him questions about the hot dog business. But maybe he was in a hurry, or maybe it didn’t occur to him that someone might find years of experience working at a non-processing hot dog cart very fascinating. But it was fun to have a few minutes of shop talk. I need to seek out other mobile food vendors during their slow times and pepper them with questions, and then I’ll be the asker.
I’ve found that New Yorkers are particularly asky. I’ve worked a number of jobs that involve dealing with the public, and most anywhere in the country patrons and customers are talky—they’ll mention the rain, or the traffic on the way over. I’d have to ask them questions to get a good, non-weather conversation going. But here, in New York, usually the customers are the ones who ask me questions. Where did those toasting spikes come from? How do you get this cart here to the park? Do you own this? They want to know. I love it.
This weekend, a fellow walked by the cart, did a double take, and turned around to face us. He was probably in his mid-forties, heavy-set but not fat—a very regular-looking guy. In our West Village neighborhood, most of our customers are either young and stylish or old and eccentric, so everyday folk stand out a bit. He asked me how much a dog was. I told him they were five dollars, and he said, “What the heck. I’ll have a beef sausage with white cheddar jalapeno.”
While I prepared his order, he told me he operated a hot dog cart for twenty years, so when he saw our cart it stirred his curiosity. I asked him how he prepared the dogs, and he said “boiled. It was a non-processing cart.”
Ah! Dirty water dogs. So that’s a non-processing cart. In New York City, any cart that sells mixed, cooked, chopped, cut, toasted, steamed, or grilled foods is considered a processing cart and must have a sink. A cart that sells items as-is, such as pre-packaged ice cream novelties or uncut, unheated bagels, is non-processing. But there’s an exception: carts that sell boiled (a.k.a. dirty water) hot dogs need not have a sink. This hot dog loophole is so illogical to me. I told him that, and the ex-hot dog man said that it boggled his mind, too, and that he couldn’t even sell knishes at his cart, just hot dogs, which had miffed him.
By this time his sausage was ready, and when I handed it to him he thanked me and walked away. I would have loved him to linger so I could ask him questions about the hot dog business. But maybe he was in a hurry, or maybe it didn’t occur to him that someone might find years of experience working at a non-processing hot dog cart very fascinating. But it was fun to have a few minutes of shop talk. I need to seek out other mobile food vendors during their slow times and pepper them with questions, and then I’ll be the asker.
posted by Lefty at 6:53 AM
1 Comments:
'dirty water dogs'
good title that
says Yoda
Post a Comment
<< Home