I love this New York Times' reviewer, Ligaya Mishan!
The descriptions are wonderful.
Thank you for hiring this interviewer.
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I know some people who swear by these food cart places but I would not touch them with a ten foot pole.
They have no bathrooms, no running water, no health inspections like brick and mortar stores do etc. etc.
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@Paul, sorry you have no idea what street food means. Kindly travel to Asia Europe Africa and see how the rest of the world enjoys a street food snack. They don't need to use the bathroom, they go before they eat street food, or after. Not right there.
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Shorter lines for the rest of us. I would check your priors there, Paul.
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@Paul
So you’ve never bought a hot dog from a cart in the City? Or a pretzel?
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This is street food at its best. So glad that NYT featured it on their front pages. For us folks from SW Asia just reading the article makes my mouth water. Oh the taste of Tamarind water and crispy puries with some savory bites of potatoes and vegetables. Heaven!
Thanks you! Now I have to make my way to NYC.
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Hmm, in Pakistan and Northern India, they called them "gol-gappa" or "pani-puri."
They are scrumptious, the key is the imli-pani (the tamarind water)... too spicy and it can choke you, too hot and it burns, too sour and it takes the fun away... that has to be just right.
Gah NYT, you are killing me showing cuisine from the sub-continent lately, my mouth is watering just remembering and seeing the pictures.
By the way, during my time in NY, Jackson Heights had a problem with street vendors taking up space. It still appears to be a problem, but one needs to raise the issue with local authorities folks. These vendors have to be granted permission to do street vending.
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Fuskas are awesome !
If done right, unfortunately some of us are far away .
They sell those puffs balls in Asian stores, the rest are up to us.
.
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Oh to have these options here...mmm.
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Oh man....that means I now have to save even more room after hitting my favorite biryani and Momo stops!
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While in Jackson Heights, don't forget to try momos - a very popular (Tibetan/Nepali) street food.
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May I see a nutrition label, please? Kids in their 20s might not know the difference between this and actual food. The dal, rotis and curries their moms prepared for them are much more appealing to me.
The real way to eat puchkas (original north Indian term for those things) is for a small group to form a tight circle around the puchka-wallah who then, rapid-fire, fills a puchka, dips in the tamarind water, and hands it to the next person in the group, going systematically around the circle. Each person holds a small plate (typically made from flat leaves), to receive the prepared puchka. And, a good puchka-wallah will even remember custom requests: that one likes potato only, that one likes lots of sweet chutney etc. After a 'round', the puchka-wallah will raise an eyebrow and the group can indicate 'bring it on' or 'oh man, we're done'! My very favorite special-occasion celebration when I was a child.
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Lovely! So enjoyed your detailed and colorful personal story. Nostalgic, warm and absolutely mouth-watering.
Food carts are a cancer on the sidewalks of the city.
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Youre killing me with the pictures! I miss jackson heights food so much since I moved out of NY!
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As a South Asian, I love this food. Yes I get it... it’s nice to get something quick and freshly made.
But I also live in Jackson Heights, on this street..and there is another side to this story.
These rapidly multiplying food carts and vendors are choking off the few sidewalks that residents who make this place their home use.
While it’s it may feel like back home for Bangladeshis and is something exotic for the average NYT reader... these carts and the people who frequent them, turn our streets and side walks into dumping grounds for their garbage.
People casually leave their cups, food refuse, and bottles...on sidewalks, door ways and planters...even when trash cans are steps away.
Large groups of men stand 24/7 outside my building. Just to get to the corner of the street...one has to run a gauntlet of leering (and spitting) loiterers, who show no compulsion to move for anyone...wether you’re elderly or a family with a stroller.
These carts and the grocery stores that now take up much of this street... are part of larger story that the NYT should report on. Ask anyone who’s calls this street their home... they’ll tell you the same thing, the city has abandoned this street.
No traffic or liter enforcement, scant police presence..., just last month, despite a nearby building catching fire earlier, fireworks are openly fired off during Muslim holidays. The resident complaints where met with a shrug from the precinct commander.
Please report on this story....
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@MT - I have to disagree that the streets have become dumping grounds for refuse. These food vendors do provide their own trash bins for the use of their customers. And if you happen to see refuse on the street there, you should talk to the city about that. 37 Ave in Jackson Heights does not have any garbage bins between 70 St and 75 St. The city provides bins starting from 75 St. Why is it that only people who live past 75 St deserve garbage bins? And those "leering and spitting loiterers" actually help to make the neighborhood safer, in my opinion. The stores that stay open all night in that area and the customers who frequent those stores and restaurants create a 24-hour presence that actually deters crime in that part of JH. I for one feel safer walking home that way at night rather than going through the more deserted parts of the neighborhood. And to be fair, most New Yorkers - whether in Queens or Brooklyn or Bronx or Manhattan - actually don't show much compulsion to move for strollers or anyone. I don't think this behavior is specific to the people who enjoy the fuchka at these vendors. And finally fireworks are also known to be set off on secular holidays such as 4th of July in Jackson Heights. I love the vibrancy and diversity (of people and food and food places) in Jackson Heights which has yet to become fully gentrified and I hope we don't lose this amazing mix of cultures any time soon.
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@JH supporter Absolutely spot on.
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I’m a JH supporter as well. The difference is I actually live on this particular street and sadly its not getting better.
Everybody loves the neighborhood’s many food options...but for once let’s think about the diverse residents who call this place home. Why are our concerns being ignored?
Would this behavior be tolerated in JH’s pricey Historic Garden District or the UES? Maybe they would feel safer, like you, with dozens of loitering men trashing their block 24/7
Maybe festively blasting M80 firecrackers at 2am or having passing females verbally harassed would liven things up?
Or maybe they wouldn’t mind seeing their sidewalks blocked off with food carts, coconut cutting stands, wooden palettes, watermelon bins, trash bags, homeless people,...or shopping wagons dripping with raw halal meat.
Just for the record....
It’s also the business’s responsibly to clean both their sidewalk and street space. That means using a broom and hosing off all that grease and sewage.
Unlicensed fireworks are illegal...period! With all the combustable restaurants here...fire have and do happen.
City removed many street trash bins because many local businesses used them to skirt paying for their own commercial trash pickup.
Jackson Heights has 2nd highest Rat complaints in NYC... so they must be enjoying the fuchka as well...
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Dear Sir, I say , outrage Hard boiled eggs in a fuchka ? What travesty ,even lèse-majesté, is this ! Must be Bangladeshi's ! Fusakahouse ? I can only roll my eyes !
Now if you were to come to Calcutta ,( notice it is spelled Calcutta and not Kolkatta !) in front of Victoria Memorial on a balmy autumn evening, hungry and try our fuchkas from Calcutta followed by some amazing Jhalmuri.
Now that is a thing of beauty , wonderment and nostalgia !
yours etc
Tufan
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@Tufan Ghosh
My ghati bhai, I appreciate your found outrage with these egg-laden fuchka; to which I say, don't knock it 'til you try it. My Barisali trained tastebuds initially found disappointment in the jhalmuris of Calcutta, as I was left wondering, what happened to the jhal in this supposedly jhalmuri. Three bites in and I realized I was asking the wrong questions and missing out on the exellence that was in front of me. Bangus Bengal over have differing ideas of what is gustitorily right and proper. At the end of the day, let's allow for culinary variation within the region and subregion and thana. There are revelations to be had in both the dois of Bogra and the rashogullas of Krishnagar.
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Please open a stall in Houston!
Houston badly needs some Bengali food.
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