As many of you know, Portland has a unique and special scene when it comes to street food. Our food carts are revered by many municipalities who want to replicate what we have succeeded in. Many cities have outdated laws and regulations that hinder or outright prevent street food, so they have a long way to go to create the culture. This past week, I spoke with CBC Radio from Vancouver about recent changes they are looking at.
Kimono Koi Crepes, Vancouver BC
Vancouver BC has had street food for many years, but it was relegated to variations on hot dogs and souvlaki. In the past year though, the city has embraced street food, creating new opportunities for many and making a concerted attempt to grow their scene. The challenge is that they are doing it in very prescribed way. In 2010, they had a specific number of licenses and used a lottery to issue them. There has been growth and expansion, albeit regulated. In 2011, they want to add 15, but do the selection process differently. This year, they want a panel of foodies, bloggers, food critics and others to review and then determine which applicants could get a license. Further, Vancouver Coastal Health, the board that manages health inspections of the carts wants to incorporate nutrition standards in with the licenses.
Wow, and we thought we had some challenges with the recent porch-gate. Portland added something in the range of 140 carts in 2010. Naysayers may complain that the growth is too fast, but compare that to 15 and you have a significant difference. In Portland, anyone who wants to serve food out of a cart has the opportunity to do so. If you want to have a cart serving toast – just toast – you can. No one is going to regulate what bread or butter you use except for the customer. Can you imagine, in this food town, what a panel of foodies would look like?
After hearing what other cities make their street chefs go through, I’m glad we have such a great selection of carts. We should thank the entrepreneurs who started the first food carts and laid the groundwork. We should thank the cart owners of today for continuing to excite us and offer us excellent culinary delights. And what about the the owners of the parking lots downtown for thinking outside the box a few years ago and allowing the carts to congregate and create the Pods. Lastly, the tireless workers of Multnomah County Board of Health who continue to work to enforce the health codes and keep us safe without burdening the small businesses with undue regulation. Oh, and thanks to the eaters who make this all possible.
Now, I’m thinking of getting some fries and poutine with extra cheese curds from Potato Champion. I wonder if they would allow that in BC.
[Thanks you to James from VancouverStreetEats.Ca for the photos]
I was completely shocked when I read the about the proposed selection process for this year.
1st off, around 60 carts had been proposed to be added this summer.
Then we come to the topic of selection process.
Forcing the vendors to serve ‘healthy’ food is completely unfair. Brick and mortars can serve any combination of ingredients approved for consumption in Canada. Basically, I believe the same should hold true for the carts.
If you want to batter and deep fry bricks of lard, go to it! The market will decide whether it’s sustainable. Which brings me to the eco-sustainability jargon that city council is also tossing around. They speak of sustainability but it seems that the stability and profitability of these small business owners is the last thing on their minds.
To keep my bitchy momentum going, I’ll take a hit at the ‘foodie’ and food blogger ‘expert’ panel.
I’ve seen enough of these ‘experts’ running around setting up tripods and $2000 cameras without permission in various restaurants around town writing uninformed criticism to bookend their food porn money-shots to know that it’s a bad idea.
Vancouver took a step in the right direction with last year’s pilot program. I made some new friends and had some incredible food on our city’s streets.
Attempting to mimic Portland’s scene by appearance won’t work. The organic growth of your city’s carts started with the vendors and the customers whom they serve. Bring something original to the table is rarely something attributed to bureaucrats, so why leave it up to them?
Double cheese and gravy on my Poutine please!
yeah, the whole “fooderati” panel to determine who gets the license bestowed upon them, seems rather idiotic. And by idiotic, I mean completely fascist…..and here I simply thought Canada was Socialist.
Now, let me say that Portland is ripe for this kind of anti-free market BS.
Canadian politics is all about headline/vote-grabbing policies that are rarely followed through and laws that are laxly enforced.
That’s what I’m hoping happens with this..lip service and business as usual..
We’ll have to wait and see
There’s a “toast only” cart in PDX? mmmm, one can only hope!
Interesting, I can see both paths have their merits. I like the idea of curated food cart choices, and l, living here in Portland, appreciate the creative wackiness that we’ve got here. And at the same time there’s some definite chaff that is just extraneous/repetitive here.
The whole getting indignant that we should be able to do whatever we want thing strikes me as a particularly American thing – to exaggerate, if they made it illegal to fatally stab yourself, people here would probably get mad, “I should be able to stab and kill myself if I want to!!”
Having a little health in the mix of food carts ain’t half bad in my book. What you eat definitely shapes how you think/interact with the world. Less junk food would probably clear up a lot of BS that happens out there.
It is illegal to fatally stab yourself. It’s called suicide and It’s a felony. It’s also the only felony that once you commit it, you cannot be charged. Because your dead. Just like this stupid topic.
Sigh! It is embarrassing to live in a city with such bureaucracy! Be proud that Portland is the Model city for food carts! Thats why, I make several visits for the tasty goodness! Keep it up.
Honestly, I’m betting on this whole process being a sham. I was happy to be selected to the panel before I got the information sent to me regarding the details.
I was considering resigning but thought a bit more about it.
When else would I have have such a chance to watch ‘democracy’ in action at Vancouver’s city hall, and to be a part of the process?
Locally grown foods will, without a doubt benefit local farmers.
Organics are almost always more expensive and some could argue that they are not actually better for the environment as they tend to produce less per acre. (I’m no expert and will leave that one alone.) Plus there are different certifications of organic. Hudderties in BC’s interior grow and raise EVERYTHING organically using traditional means but are not ‘organic certified’.
The other one that really bothers me is ‘Fair Trade.’ Tim Hortons does not sell fair trade coffee and it is much cheaper than places that do (crap example, but I’m hald asleep here). That extra expense paid by the consumer for fair trade is for proceeds going back to the local farmers/craftsmen to improve their lives. There are certification issues with this as well.
I bought a pound of Capulin coffee that ISN’T certified. It costs over $20 per pound with almost all of the money going back to the Mexican village where it is not only grown, but processed by hand.
‘Certified’ Fair trade products typically yield much lower returns to the people that produce them than many realize. Money is paid to marketing boards, people get rich misleading others that they are ‘making a difference’, the consumer buys into this and pays more, not realizing that many fair trade operations are just the opposite.
Do you see where I am going with this.. it’s all a touch political isn’t it? Organics, fair trade.. these are industry buzz-words used in ‘green marketing’ circles. The same circle that begot ‘Happy Planet’.
Vangroovy’s ex-hippies are making a killing these days.
Without a doubt, these initiatives will force vendors to raise prices, making street food less affordable to people on a budget. I have no problems with upscale carts. I have a problem with not letting the market decide what is sold.
I’m trying to think beyond the current administration to the future.
This healthy/sustainable/organic plan fits ever so nicely into the city’s ‘green’ social engineering plans.
Millions spent bike lanes that only a few wanted and are rarely used, while the downtown east side is only getting worse and services for new immigrants are being stretched to the limit.
Think past this merry bunch. They will not survive another term in office at this rate.
If food carts really take off this year in Vancouver, they will be a fixture on our streets for years to come. With different leaders, come different mandates.
The nutritional standards won’t be around for long…
Above all, try to keep in mind that the vendors themselves do not work work the city and have to go through mountains of red tape to get on to the streets.
Despite the lottery system being a complete joke, some excellent food carts toughed it out and have added some soul to our streets.
I expect more of the same this year. Vendors will find ways to navigate in and around the city’s rules. The ones that do will be the ones that make it.
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