Comments on: Parks & Rec. Department Looks to Legitimize Street Food

By: zinzin

zinzin — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 17:38:31 +0000

seriously, sf pols want to regulate EVERYTHING. behind every “progressive” veil lurks a rabid, authoritarian, inflexible, dogmatic despot.

By: SFDoggy

SFDoggy — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 16:24:54 +0000

What’s up with the requirement that they serve “healthy food” — Why should the City be regulating my eating habbits? Much street food, such as creme brulee, is not healthy, that is why it is delicious and gets a following. No one is going to run out to Dolores Park and line up to get carrots with hummus dip.

By: zinzin

zinzin — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 20:53:10 +0000

actually i take that back. probably the advent of popular street carts gave them the idea in the first place.

but knowing that brulee dude and soup girl would never be able to afford it, they’re appealing to people who can.

but i doubt it’s a move against street carts specifically. more like an underground idea going main stream.

be interesting to see who buys in.

overall, it sounds lame to me and i bet few do.

By: zinzin

zinzin — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 20:49:42 +0000

y’all…this isn’t anything about “legitimatizing street food”, ie independent carts like brulee dude and soup girl.

it’s not anything about them at all, either good or bad.

it’s about the city raising money by allowing established businesses (with extant permits and cash flow) to expand into parks.

my guess is they didnt think about independent street carts one way or the other when they thought this up. only about “how can i make money?”.

street carts are too low level for them to think about as anything other than possible sources of illness (and therein, cost).

i don’t think GGRA has brulee dude on their radar either, but that’s just my guess.

all that said, i do love the street carts. viva the street carts. keep em underground, and keep em cheap.

By: Drew

Drew — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 20:08:44 +0000

This is basically extortion. Maybe $100/month to get your cart inspected for sanitation and health purposes makes sense. But it should be coming from DPH, certainly not Parks and Rec. This is just moneygrubbing bureaucracy at it’s worst. As if I were surprised…

By: Da Truff

Da Truff — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 01:19:38 +0000

I wouldn’t be surprised if the GGRA (Golden Gate Restaurant Association) is behind this. The permit is too expensive for actual street cart vendors, but turns public parks into outdoor seating for restaurants…

By: johnny0

johnny0 — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 00:20:47 +0000

Um, maybe $1000 a year. Or $1000 period. Make them like taxi medallions. (Hmm, that might not end up well…)