Dec. 24: Street food
When I was in my early 20s, I used to make a lot of money performing
magic on Electric Avenue. On the way home, I would pass a street vendor
selling beef souvlaki, which was a skewer of beef chunks topped by a
piece of toasted bread. I would sometimes ask for a piece of bread and
he would give me one and I'd ask how much I owe him and he'd just wave
me away.
He gave me free bread.
I have no idea who that guy was but I wish I could find out so I could thank him. Maybe I'd give him a Timmy's card.
*
My friend, Jeff, used to sell hot dogs on Electric Avenue. He was a stocky redhead with a mustache. The last time I saw him was 2001. I know that because I saw him at the University of Calgary where he was helping setup for the Amanda Marshall concert. Once I asked Jeff if he made a lot of money selling hot dogs. He said it depended entirely on how many hot dogs he sold. He also got tips. Alcohol was a great factor in determining his tips too.
Jeff was on Electric Avenue every night from about 9 p.m. until 2:30 a.m. Sometimes it was nut-numbing cold. On those occasions, Jeff would dress in three or four layers. He'd don a balaclava and thick wool mittens, which he'd have to take off to make people their hot dogs.
Jeff was a Buddhist. I liked him.
*
In my community, a chip truck is king.
There's this chipstand about two blocks from where I live. It's been there for decades and it is a staple of our town. About seven years ago, the town council tried to kick the truck out of its present location (insurance reasons) and the four people who wanted it gone were not re-elected. Only the three who voted to keep it retained their jobs on the town council.
The dude who owns that truck actually makes a living building food trucks, which are then shipped all around the world.
*
When I think about street food vendors, I usually think about hot dogs. But I have seen people sell everything from cotton candy to sushi from roadside food stands.
I doubt what you'll get at a food stand is as healthy as what you'd get in a restaurant, but it's a lot faster.
*
In college, one of my classmates told me a story about something that happened to him when he and his wife were first married.
It was his wife's birthday. She worked mornings at a day care and he was working full days at an office. But since it was her birthday, he arranged to take the day off so that he could surprise her. He bought flowers and chocolates and he brought them into the apartment and then he drew up a bubble bath and then he climbed in so he could await the arrival of his lady love.
Around the time that he arrived at the apartment, his wife was buying a hot dog from a street vendor.
Around the time that he placed the flowers, his wife had boarded the bus home.
Around the time that he started filling the bathtub, his wife realized that the hot dog didn't quite agree with her.
The poor guy was sitting in the bathtub when the front door slams open and his wife charges into the bathroom, drops her pants and plops down on the throne and what happened next is perhaps better left imagined than described.
He gave me free bread.
I have no idea who that guy was but I wish I could find out so I could thank him. Maybe I'd give him a Timmy's card.
*
My friend, Jeff, used to sell hot dogs on Electric Avenue. He was a stocky redhead with a mustache. The last time I saw him was 2001. I know that because I saw him at the University of Calgary where he was helping setup for the Amanda Marshall concert. Once I asked Jeff if he made a lot of money selling hot dogs. He said it depended entirely on how many hot dogs he sold. He also got tips. Alcohol was a great factor in determining his tips too.
Jeff was on Electric Avenue every night from about 9 p.m. until 2:30 a.m. Sometimes it was nut-numbing cold. On those occasions, Jeff would dress in three or four layers. He'd don a balaclava and thick wool mittens, which he'd have to take off to make people their hot dogs.
Jeff was a Buddhist. I liked him.
*
In my community, a chip truck is king.
There's this chipstand about two blocks from where I live. It's been there for decades and it is a staple of our town. About seven years ago, the town council tried to kick the truck out of its present location (insurance reasons) and the four people who wanted it gone were not re-elected. Only the three who voted to keep it retained their jobs on the town council.
The dude who owns that truck actually makes a living building food trucks, which are then shipped all around the world.
*
When I think about street food vendors, I usually think about hot dogs. But I have seen people sell everything from cotton candy to sushi from roadside food stands.
I doubt what you'll get at a food stand is as healthy as what you'd get in a restaurant, but it's a lot faster.
*
In college, one of my classmates told me a story about something that happened to him when he and his wife were first married.
It was his wife's birthday. She worked mornings at a day care and he was working full days at an office. But since it was her birthday, he arranged to take the day off so that he could surprise her. He bought flowers and chocolates and he brought them into the apartment and then he drew up a bubble bath and then he climbed in so he could await the arrival of his lady love.
Around the time that he arrived at the apartment, his wife was buying a hot dog from a street vendor.
Around the time that he placed the flowers, his wife had boarded the bus home.
Around the time that he started filling the bathtub, his wife realized that the hot dog didn't quite agree with her.
The poor guy was sitting in the bathtub when the front door slams open and his wife charges into the bathroom, drops her pants and plops down on the throne and what happened next is perhaps better left imagined than described.
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