Street Food Home

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  • Hawker Centres
  • The Rules
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  • Bugis Market
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  • Introduction
  • Bottled Water
  • Roadside Coconut
• New York City
  • The Rules
  • Chicken on a Stick
  • Chicken over Rice
  • Kati Rolls
  • Dollar Pizza
  • The Best Torta
  • Mango Aunties
  • Bagel Carts
• Nashville, TN
• Olympia, WA

New York City

Bagel Carts

If you dropped someone from London in 1882 into New York City in the modern day, sure, they'd have some confusion over modern technology, payment methods, and such, but those things get resolved easily enough. They would immediately recognize a city bus, electric lights, and the subway.

More importantly, they would recognize the flow of life. Sure, there's public transit, but everyone still walks at least the last few blocks. People still cross the Brooklyn Bridge to get to work, not as often on foot these days, but still.

And our Victorian would recognize the bagel carts. Before the sun is up, folks are already at work making sure that the people walking to work can get breakfast as they go. These are small carts, no grill, and a very limited menu. Don't expect a toasted bagel. My onion with cream cheese was cold, with still-firm cheese wedged in between the halves. You want a hot bagel, you go indoors at one of the bougie places, or you toast it in the break room when you get to work.

The bagel carts have coffee, and usually a fruit juice or two, and maybe some danishes. They're cheap, no-frills, providing food you can eat while walking. By late morning, they're gone, and the same folks are sometimes in different carts for lunchtime.

And our 19th century Londoner would nod, pay cash for their bread and cheese and coffee, and walk on, as they did back home.