Photograph courtesy of Peter Cunnigham Gotham foodies can rest easy. The Parks Department has finally decided the fate of the wildly popular Latin-American food vendors who sell some serious eats to soccer players and fans during the warmer months.... More
The blog Porkchop Express reports on the latest hurdle that the Red Hook soccer field food vendors have run up against. This time it's not the parks commission but the department of health, which has some issues with the set-up: Foremost amongst these: no running water at the fields. So today (Tuesday) at 5:15 pm, Cesar was contacted about a “big” meeting Wednesday with the Deputy Commissioner of Health. Pressure has intensified, City Officials are again flexing muscle, and the implied bottom-line is rough. Worst-case scenario, the Vendors will have to shut down operations stat to comply with DOH mandates. But we wont know anything until [Wednesday] afternoon. Earlier: Red Hook Soccer Tacos Safe for Whole Season... More
The vendors at the Red Hook ball fields in Brooklyn have been granted at least a temporary reprieve in their battle to keep the concession license at the soccer fields that have brought them at least some measure of justified fame. This means that the great Latino food we have talked about will now be served until October 28, the end of the soccer league season. Previously the New York City Parks Department had threatened to yank the delicious food vendors' permit on September 7. Our well-placed source, who spoke to us on condition of anonymity, says that this decision can only be seen as a show of good faith on the part of the Parks Department as the... More
The call came Friday morning as I was leaving the house. "Ed Levine, this is Sam Schaeffer from Senator Chuck Schumer's office. Tomorrow afternoon at 1:00 p.m. the senator is having a press conference at the Red Hook Soccer Fields to lend his support to the current food vendors. We would like you to come out and say a few words in support of these vendors." "I'll be there,' I stammered into the phone. After all, we had posted two days before about what serious eaters could do to support the thirteen immigrant families who have been cooking delicious Latino food at the Red Hook soccer fields for the last thirty years. I arrived at the soccer fields at 12:30.... More
It's at once amazing and not all that surprising that the Red Hook ball fields in Brooklyn are getting so much attention from New York City food lovers. From bloggers to anonymous activists to chefs, everyone agrees: The place is a culinary treasure and needs to be preserved. I love that Save Soccer Tacos sprang up, complete with a sample message that it suggests sending to New York City Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe and City Councilwoman Sara M. Gonzalez, whose 38th District includes the ball fields. I hate that the Parks Department website makes you use a black hole of a form to email Commissioner Benepe, so with a little digging, we found direct email addresses to ping him... More
Josh Ozersky reports on Grub Street that the food concession contract at the Red Hook ball fields in Brooklyn are going to be put up for bidding by the city this fall and that the last day to eat the terrific grub found there will be September 7. This, my friends, should not be allowed to happen. The Red Hook ball fields, where Latino families put up makeshift restaurants serving real, honest food of their home countries, is one of the last bastions of real food to be found in New York City. If it's replaced by a series of dirty water dog carts, a sausage-and-pepper stand, or some generic high bidder, it would be a travesty. Serious Eats... More
