Now, I know this is hard, but in light of recent events I think I need to come out and say it. Hi, my name is Flic, and I’m a street food addict. It feels good to get it out in the open.
How do I know I’m a street food addict? There are symptoms. If you are suffering from any of the following then I’d recommend seeking your nearest food van and going in for some serious treatment options.
The tell-tale signs of a Street Food Addict
1. Your phone is full of pictures of food. I don’t know when I stopped being able to appreciate a meal for what it was, but once upon a time, before we were all hardlining the internet, I used to eat things without taking pictures of them first. But then how would the rest of you know what it looked like?
Genuine pictures from my phone over the last year. Clockwise from top left: Breakfast toastie, bowl of cereal (no, I don’t know why), home made biscuits, chocolate fondant, the rocky road toastie, beef miso soup, penis pasta, egg quiche and central: spring onions and ginger root.
2. You can no longer eat the fast food versions of your street food favourites. Burgers are a great example of this. You eat a glorious, messy burger from one of our street food buddies (Meat Shack or the Original Patty Men if you are anywhere near Brum) and the limp, tasteless form of a McDisappointment seems like a waste of jaw movement.
3. You know most of the other local street food addicts. We all hang out in the same places, so we bump into each other a lot. We should probably start a support group with circles of chairs and pale tea in syrofoam cups.
Or picnic tables in the sunshine, either way.
4. You go out in the rain to get it. I really appreciate this one. I mean technically, when I’m out in the rain doing street food, I’m also inside a nice warm van. You guys are just getting wet, and that’s a level of dedication that goes above and beyond the usual food fan, who will scarper at the first sign of drizzle.
5. You choose a festival based on the food as much as the music. We’re still a few years off Glasto announcing that The Jabberwocky are headlining the spot just over from the Pyramid Stage, but loads of festivals are actively seeking better food, and many people have started taking a sly glance at the culinary line-up before firing cash at a weekend of mud and music.
6. Sourcing isn’t just about adding ketchup. You find yourself noticing a free range here and a rare breed there. You enquire after the origin of bread. We like this: It makes us feel like the extra care, time and expense is justified. Also please; if it needed ketchup, we’d add ketchup.
7. Even when street food sucks, you can’t help but stick with it. Probably more one for the traders amongst you. These last few months everything that could possibly go wrong, and several things that really were highly improbable, have gone wrong. Yet here I am, with a working van and only a few lasting scars, and we’re still sticking with street food.
Now gather round, you’re in a safe place here. Are you a street food addict?
I know I’m a street food junkie abroad. Eating in restaurants just doesn’t have the same appeal. I went to Morocco last yr with my bf and we were the only tourists in a densely crowded market street eating from a open top hot plate. Fried mince and spices with a cracked egg mixed in, shoved in a bun. 50p for dinner and we even got a table covered in stains and surrounded by flies. Far more authentic and people seemed impressed we were there eating their local grub. Restaurants? No thank you!