How Do You Keep Vegetarians From Getting To Their Lunch? Park a Hot Dog Cart in the Way!

Healthy Vegetarian Food Cart

A new cart popped up this morning on 52nd & 6th, and Lunch’er Yasmin sent in this report: “I was getting my daily fruit smoothie this morning when I noticed a new cart had been set up directly next to the smoothie truck on NW corner of 52nd and 6th. This DEFINITELY wont appeal to you, but might appeal to your vegetarian readers, or those on diets. Here are some crappy phone pictures…”

I was in the area when Yasmin emailed the photos, so I decided to swing by this new cart and found a “scene” that at this point should surprise nobody.

Healthy Vegetarian Food Cart

Ah, the old park a hot dog cart in front of your new cart trick! We’ve seen that one before… although in this case there is that extra F you to the particular clientele that would be interested in checking out a new cart such as this one. Strangely enough the vendor with the hot dog cart was wearing a Shendy’s Halal t-shirt (their cart is two spaces to the East) and appeared to be unofficially representing all the other vendors parked on that particular stretch of 52nd and 6th.

Healthy Vegetarian Food Cart

Eventually the cops came, and forced the hot dog cart to move (although as of 2pm it didn’t look like anybody was actually selling hot dogs from it. Purely a protest cart, I suppose.)

But what about the food, man!?! Vegetarians deserve a cart of their own, don’t they?

Healthy Vegetarian Food Cart

Veggie burgers, vegetarian chili, veggies, yams, beans, soup, brown rice and the like… choose any four options for $6. Not bad at all. They’re also open for breakfast, serving up oatmeal and fresh juices.

Healthy Vegetarian Food Cart

Apparently these guys are from Chicago, where they own a vegetarian restaurant. They’re committed to staying on 52nd and 6th, so look out for them tomorrow. I didn’t partake (naturally) but if any vegetarian early adopters want to check it out and report back, feel free. You know, provided there aren’t random planters installed in the spot tomorrow.

Healthy Vegetarian Food, NW corner of 52nd & 6th Ave.

33 Comments

  • I walk away really fast when i see ‘healthy’ and ‘vegetarian’.

  • have we any updates on those sloppily cemented planters?

  • “Healthy” connected with “Vegetarian” — in the same sign?

    Really?

    This has got to be a classic New Yawk City oxymoron, if I have ever seen one.

    Oh, I KID New Yawkas. You folks keep me in stitches.

  • They have an actual laminated sign…the nerve.

  • #Cartblocking to become a trending topic on Twitter?

  • that looks good to me! i think…

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    see, the other carts i get, but this one? come on… its a vegetarian cart and youre selling hotdogs… youre not going to get the customers that were going to buy food at the vegie cart anyway!

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    I’d eat at this cart from time to time, can’t always eat like shit… and healthy food is expensive in midtown.

  • Understand that DocChuck’s idea of eating healthy is to wait by the side of the road (near the trailer park in deep rural Arkansas where his rusted singlewide is parked) for roadkills to occur, so he gets them fresh rather than hours (and several additional overruns) later

  • Fred, do you actually need to comment on every one of docchuck’s posts? 99% of the time I can understand the desire to succumb to his trolling. But his last post was as if he was parodying himself, and it was quite funny….

  • LOL DocChuck and Fred.
    **getting popcorn**

  • I am getting annoyed with this whole thing. I (please read in the voice of Dan Akroyd from Trading Places) am a Graduate of Columbia University. My Senior Thesis, in 1998, was the effect of Hot Dog vendors on the NYC economy. To sum up 80+ pages, including statistics, my theory was that Street Food Vendors should band together to form a Union. This would prevent both the black market economy in permits, the vendor fighting, etc etc etc. Ironically, about 3 weeks following my defense, this happened:

    http://www.nytimes.com/1998/06/04/nyregion/sidewalk-vendors-rally-to-protest-street-restrictions.html

    My point in this, is that with the fighting amongst each other, THE MAN will end up putting everyone out of business. I find every vendor’s behavior, from the old school hot dog and knish to the hipster vendors with the fancy pants schnitzel to have lost sight of a number of the great principles. What are those principles you ask?

    1. Cheap food, readily available, to the majority of the NYC urban working class. The have nots as opposed to the haves. You know, me and thee.
    2. There are 10 Million and more people in this city, there is plenty of space and in the end, the superior cart will win out due to repeat business and/or not causing diarrhea. Yes, they ARE mutually exclusive.
    3. Every single purveyor of food who has a Brick and Mortar business would like to see all the cart vendors sent to Jersey City for resettlement. (The Jersey City Brick and Mortar would send your asses to Newark)
    4. Hang together, hang separately or eat hanger steak

    I know, I know. You going to say, but what about the Street Vendor Project http://streetvendor.org/public_html/ ? Well, what ABOUT the Street Vendor Project?

    Well, if it was working as well as it should, would some assholes be planting their cart in front of Vegetarian Food Trucks? Would what look like fake planters be put in place? Everyone has read the articles here.

    What does dear old Api suggest? A Magna Carta, a constitution, dare I say, a UNION AGREEMENT signed by all purveyors of Street Meat! What are some things that must be included:

    1. One Face to represent the community to the NYC and NY State Government
    2. An Arbitration Panel as regards claims on individual spaces
    3. A plan to reform and revise the street vending permit system as it exists
    4. An internal force to police and enforce the agreed upon rules

    I am sure there is more….

  • I would single-handedly keep this cart in business if only it weren’t 20 blocks away from my work….What’s so wrong with below 42nd st, cart friends???

  • What’s so wrong with below 42nd st, cart friends???
    *******

    Less tourists

  • A dear friend of mine, David Stanford, President & Chief Executive Officer of TermNet Merchant Services, Inc., was telling me just today that he visited this cart, and was quite impressed with their veggie burgers and vegetarian chili.

    When my friend Dave from Atlanta says that something ‘vegetarian’ tastes good, I am on the way to check it out for myself.

  • Also, 6th ave in midtown is the financial corridor of Manhattan. Higher density, and people are used to spending more on lunch, so they in turn charge more for lunch.

  • sigh, but *I* work along sixth ave *and* I’m not making finance cash… sigh…. also, chris6, I defy your statement: I work between Macy’s and the Empire State. I direct at least 2 groups of people to one or the other every day.

  • also I would like to comment that I find the concept of “bean of the day” hilarious.

  • If it was an indian vegetarian cart, I might be better sold. Like a chaat cart.

    Still, 4 items for $6? That sounds decent…depending on their portioning of course.

  • DocChuck: well, thats a real hard break losing your part time job changin oil down at that thar fillin station, Dave

    Dave: well, me n the rest of the Samford clan’ll get by somehow. where did you say you go to apply for that thar guvment velveeta?

    DocChuck: fill out a form at that thar unemployment office, evry week, jist lahk I do

    Dave: that’ll be good, we dun been eatin nothin but vegetables I done stole from local farms after dark lately, you know, veggy-tarian meals are better’n I thought.

    DocChuck: i got some leftover possum iffn you all want it

    Dave: Naw, wouldn’t want your missue to starve, looks likes she’s under 400 today

    DocChuck: it’s ok, I gotta rabbit roadpizza ta work on later. been hit 4 er 5 time,s so you know it’s good n tender, she dont even hafta put her teeth in ta eat it

    Dave: I think when i get my first unemployment check I’ll drive the ole’ new Yorker down to the A&P and fill up my cart with good fresh vegetables, them are tasting really good lately

    DocChuck: New Yorker, cart, vegetables, tastes real good. *grunt* Gotta go git on mah com-pooter and piss some folks off. Seeya Dave.

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