One of the first signs of city spring are the return of the sidewalk fruit vendors across midtown Manhattan. We passed three on a lunch time walk this afternoon, as the temperature stretched above 60 degrees. The vendors haven't seen them out in force like this since it snapped cold around Thanksgiving.
The carts add a pop of tropic colors to gray street corners, even if their umbrellas are covered with ads. And we like to think of each cart as a little reminder to all of us to eat our fruits and veg.
But we want to know: do our fellow city-dwellers eat the offerings from these carts or do you consider this fruit forbidden? Do any of you have a favorite fruit cart?
I am concerned about quality and freshness. I prefer seasonal produce from the city's many farmers markets.
What a pitiful survey; the survey reeks of snobbery, and the stench is worse than anything you would find from a fruit vendor. Who knows how many people have touched your organic produce at the markets? And yes, I have felt soft fruits at the markets as well! There is nothing wrong with purchasing from the fruit vendors, unless your head is stuck up you ass. Please come up with better surveys!
When visiting New York, I rarely buy fruit from produce carts, but I ALWAYS buy sodas and bottled water--and at least one hot dog every visit. Living in Chicago, I love that New York has the critical mass that such businesses can exist. And yes, if I lived in New York, I would be happy to have the convenience of buying a piece of fruit during my lunch hour without going to a store.
Regarding the whole locally or organically grown issue, a recent Time magazine article shows that it's not exactly a black and white decision:
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1595245,00.html
after 4 episodes of food poisoning this past summer, no more fruit stand produce for me.
I'd also like to note that i got food poisoning from a high end vegan restaurant also and it's not snobbish, just realistic.
when i first moved to NY, three years ago, i LIVED off of produce from fruit vendors. With the summer I probably will do a good bit of shopping there because it's cheap, and you can always find the best one in your neighborhood or work area to go to where you know the freshness is ideal. I have become more snobby about my produce though living here simply because there are so many local and organic markets to choose from.
I'm not sure I'd buy from a fruit stand myself, but I'd appreciate having the option. There are no street vendors in Montreal because of a bylaw.
Last summer on my visit I asked a vendor what a Lychee nut was and he peeled it and offered it to me. I bought a bag and was thrilled to make a new delicious discovery. I tried to get some here but was told they have a limited season. It is a great memory and I will try to have it again. The dragon fruit, however, was beautiful but tasteless.
I definitely buy from the carts near my midtown office- agree that it's best to eat the fruit right away but the cherries are a heck of a lot cheaper than most places and always taste good to me
When I live dthere I ate from the vendors...Rafiqi's and the fruit salad/ smoothie girl in midtown... I would get a blueberry muffin in the am from one of them on the way to work and once a week a sausage and a knish. The fruit though..... nope. sketched me out... the exhaust- ick. I would go to the Union Square greenmarket a few times a week and get fresh there. Support the local farms whenever you can!
Hi Pierre,
We're always open to survey suggestions and constructive feedback! Play nice...
My parents sold vegetables at an outdoor market so I'm all for patronizing the little man on the street when they first came here from Asia. I find it snotty to regard fruits from the hawker as dirty when you have no idea if the garde mangier from your five star hotel washed his hands when he assembled your $75 room service fruit basket.
I agree - produce from both carts and stores needs to be cleaned right away.
Cherries, as Sarah said, from fruit carts are so much more affordable. That reminds me of an Ina Garten recipe where white bread is layered with summer berries and weighted under a plate. I can't think of the name of this treat right now, but it is so good. The juciy, serve-it-now fruit from carts is perfect for this recipe.
I live/work so close to the Union Square farmer's market that I never really buy fruit from the carts. I must point out with the exhaust issue though, the farmer's market is right next to a busy street corner too.
I'm sorry, but I'm with Pierre on this one. "Who knows how many people have touched it?" Seriously? Last time I checked, the local and/or organic produce at Whole Foods isn't kept behind red velvet ropes.
I would buy fruit from carts if we had any in San Francisco.
Chris--you are thinking of summer pudding. Juicy, ripe fruits layered with white bread to soak up all the goodness. Yummy!
Maybe I was a bit harsh. Sorry Chris; sorry Sara.
If you are ever buying fruit, especially grapes, berries, or apples, from any stand or any other place for that matter, try letting them soak in water and vinegar to remove bacteria such as ecoli, salmonella, or external pesticides.
Can we have a poll listing our favorite fruit vendor in NYC? We could identify them by their street corner. We could even send in pics of the vendor and his/her cart. Maybe not.
Pierre, good idea. We'll do a poll about what fruit cart vendor is the best. I really like a stand at Flatbush Ave near 7th in Park Slope/Prospect Heights in Brooklyn. Very good peanuts.
Should we wait a few weeks for the favorite vendor poll until more vendors are out? Do you have some preliminary picks we can be sure to add to the poll?
And if we could Flickr together some pictures of all the carts, that would be fun too.
I wonder how many different sources there are for fruit cart vendors -- I wonder how they source all their produce. Sometimes at night, you see trucks going around to collect the unsold produce, but where do they park the carts? I'm going to start asking them for more info.
There is a vendor near Grand Army Plaza, who sells from the back of a red pick-up truck on weekends. Ive only seen him a few times during sporadic runs in the park, but it is a sight to behold. The next time Im there Ill take a picture.
I also like the vendor on the corner of Pine St. and Maiden Lane, in lower Manhattan. There is nothing special about him, except that hes friendly and his fruits are fine. Imagine if we knew our vendors names?
Pierre, I know the red truck guy too. He has a green and white canvas awning sometimes? I've seen that truck at 7th Avenue in Park Slope near the Key Foods.
yes, I buy from the guy a block from me. I've never had a problem with any purchase. We also have a couple who shows up 3 times a week on the same corner and they sell from the garden in the backyard out of the back of their pick-up truck. I'll buy from them before going to the fruit/veg. market a couple of blocks away.
When I lived in Philadelphia, we had fruit salad carts. There were a couple of them around the Liberty Mall park. On a summer day, almost every desk in our office had a fruit salad container from the carts.
There's a fruit cart on University and 13th that sells boxes of strawberries for $2 each! Three boxes for $5! He also sells lemons at four for $1...There might be some downsides, but sometimes it's well worth the great price.
i tend to buy things like bananas and avocados from the street cart and lemons and limes. it's easy and the vendors are quick.
my favorite source for "street avocados" is the cart by astor place, he's usually parked in front of the newish "undulating" building or over by k-mart.
just realized that the quotes might make those avocados sound inferior...i just call them street avocados or street fruit because i buy it on the way to/from work. i find that they are just as delicious and about half the price!
I buy bananas frequently, because they are just ripe with no yucky black marks. The vendors exist for a very good reason and bring produce to neighborhoods that otherwise have no grocery stores or charge and arm and a leg for a peach eg. far West Village and Mid-town.
Snobbery aside, I think everyone agrees that the fruit from carts is riper and lasts less long than most supermarket fruit - partially because it's purchased through a completely different supply chain.
That's why I almost never buy from them. I'm not a big fruit eater and anything I do buy is likely to sit around my fridge for at least a week after I have two bites. Even lots of supermarket fruit doesn't last that long. So I try to concentrate my buying at the local farmers' market (small but across the street from my house) or places like Stew Leonard's where the stuff seems to last.
BTW, what do you think the cart guys do with the fruit after the day is up? Now I'm curious. . .
Just on principle alone I refuse to purchase from the Eli's, Zabar, Food Emporium, Pathmarks, Gristedes etc, etc. Their employees are paid low-wages with very little if any health benefits and one does find "soft fruit and veggies" not to mention rodent droppings etc. Not to mention unsanitary employees and customers who pick up fallen fruits and veggie off the dirty floors and restock 'em...nice.
So, I proudly buy my stuff from the farmers market guys who stand on 1st avenue and 90th street Saturdays and Sundays Spring thru end of Fall or at 14th Street. When those guys are gone my purchases are done from the street cart guys. As long as I have soap and water my stuff are always bought on the streets of NYC, where one cannot escape the pungent noxious eau de exhaust!! Here, here for Mohammed on 86 and Third!!
i definitely buy fruits from local carts although some carts do sell some bad stuff. As for stores, I think Wholefoods has some good stuff but it's expensive. Trader Joe's prices are better but not as good in freshness as Whole foods. For instance, the clementines are only good on the first 2-3 days they put them out and then it sits there until it gets way too soft. My favorite place to get fruits is on the corner of Mulberry and Canal in Chinatown. There is a mega fruit cart stand there filled with fruits in season. A good place to check out fruits like lychee, and star fruit when in season. They always have your usual oranges and apples but a surprises depending on the season. The prices are very good and the fruits are always fresh. My general rule of thumb is to spend more on fruits that you don't peel (like strawberrys, grapes) and save on those with skins you peel off (like oranges, bananas.
Has anyone found those fruit stands that put lime juice and cayenne pepper on the fruit like they have in S.F.? Havent seen any out here...
We watched as a street vendor on 86th & 3rd in Manhattan dropped a carton flat of strawberries on the nasty sidewalk. He picked them all up and put them right back on his cart. Let me ask you... how hard do you scrub your strawberries?
How often do you lick the sidewalk? More often than you realize if you buy from street vendors.
If they had street vendors where I live or worked, I would. I have local markets and organic fruit and veggie deliveries to compensate though.
IMO whereever you buy the fruit from its likely to need a good scrubbing- farmers market, the big chain down the street, or a vendor on the corner.
Seeing street corner fruit vendors to me felt like a throw back to how things probably were in NYC way back when people were trying to make a buck by being industrious - maybe it's too fairy tale in my mind but I like to be able to walk down the street and buy some fruit. Besides, has anyone read the recent articles about the disgustingness going on at the LA Produce Market - the fruit you get elsewhere is probably no better.
I love buying from the street vendors as long as they don't treat ME as a "for-sale item." The produce is great but the leers and inappropriate comments I receive have caused me to boycott several near-by vendors.
Yeah, Erica, like you'rs so hot some middle-aged married Paki selling fruit makes inappropriate comments about your tits. NOT!
we buy organic.
Before we had a kid, we did buy off the carts, but not now...
why am i reading this? i'm half the world away from NYC
You watched a vendor pick fallen fruit up off a sidewalk?? - of course he did - where do you think the fruit grows?? - in piles of manure and soil on a farm, thats where!! - its not grown in sterile conditions and is certainly not washed before its packed
People you need to WASH YOUR FOOD before you eat it - it doesn't matter where you buy it - supermarket or street vendor - if you want to eat the skin, rather than peeling it, you need to wash it first - just the same as you would an apple you picked off your own tree in your back garden (unless you like the taste of bird poop)
(This is why bananas are such a great fruit - they come ready sealed in their own easy-open packet!!)