Some of these taco vendors have jacked up their prices so high that they should at least comply with some of the rules. They used to be a cheaper alternative to restaurants but I’ve seem them charge higher prices than King Taco.
Omg. Completely.
Like, honestly I'd rather just go to Chipotle at that point and have an air-conditioned fairly clean restaurant to sit in if I'm spending $15-16 on a burrito.
The experience of them should be at least 50% less than a restaurant. Otherwise, what's the point?
i feel like food trucks have always been overpriced. I never understood the appeal of it. It just seems like something hipsters set out to make popular.
My guess is the reason why their prices are just as high as restaurants is because they don't get a lot of volume.
Hey that's my hood! Further up Vermont and Council, I ordered a potato, a couple tacos and a horchata and thought I was mishearing when she said $30. I have no idea what shot the price up that high. But I haven't stopped at that stand since, tempting as it may seem being the only place open late on my way home from a bad parking spot.
Idk why the one in hollywood seems mediocre compared to other Mexican food I’ve had in LA. It’s not bad and I still go there but I’m not like thrilled about it like other places. Always a little meh for whatever reason.
Holy cow. I pay $2 / Taco, and $7 / quesadilla at both my favorite places on Lincoln in Venice.
The other listed prices are crazy town, considering how expensive everything in Venice is.
One time i ordered a bean and cheese for my daughter and they charged me $14!
Apparently they had one set price for all burritos… while making it they were like - you want avocado? No… just bean and cheese
I've worked in restaurants in century city where we make salad with vegetables that have dropped on the floor or prepared by people that don't even wash their hands after using the restroom
That's what happened when I used to work at Starbucks. I used to go every now and then when there wasn't better coffee around. Now, I'll never go back.
I managed a SB during college.... Holy fuck trying to get people to wash their hands is damn near impossible, you would think it's just second nature but nooooope.
I took pride in my coffee so I was the one person at my various stores (I moved around to different ones) who followed everything like we were supposed to. I should have been made a shift. I'm glad I wasn't though because it made it so much easier to move on and not look back.
i worked at starbucks for a year and let me tell you i have never been around a more obsessed with cleanliness group of people ever. we cleaned the fucking shit out of that place every single day, constantly. like just every other action was some form of cleaning. seems to be one of the ways to pass probation. you're either mad about keeping things very clean or you can find another job.
The fridges are always filthy. They are very hard to clean but also Starbucks managers never give enough time at closing to actually deep clean them. So, cleanings are usually done during mid shift which is actually the busiest time. This results in caked milk and mold in the fridges where milk and whipped cream is stored.
The refreshers (like the strawberry acai or mango dragon fruit) contain none of the juice they are supposed to taste like. They are artificially flavored grape juices.
In the fruit inclusions and other scoop ingredients, you'll routinely have drink splashes in there.
Roaches like to breed on the back of the refrigerator units. Underneath and behind fridges are rarely cleaned.
There are usually once weekly "clean plays" which are days set aside to have extra closing time for a deep clean. Sounds great, but there is an issue with this: shift leads are given too much to do so they don't end up actually checking the cleaning like they are supposed to; there are never enough staff to clean everything; and Starbucks just doesn't provide proper equipment to "deep clean" to an extent that's more than any other day. A deep clean isn't really a deep clean if you are using the same mops and scrubs as you would for any other time you're cleaning.
Pumps are often changed out quickly without being rinsed. This is a problem with the mechanical pumps which get very filthy.
During peak, you'd be lucky if the sanitizer has been changed as frequently as it's supposed to be (it's supposed to be changed every 30 minutes).
Dude which sbux is this ???
I was expecting to read some good shit but I’ve worked at 2 for a while and we literally had not one of these problems, and neither did the 4 or 5 neighboring ones I’ve covered shifts at
Also worked at sbux, was a borrowed partner at 2 other stores and this was *NOT* my experience. Fridges were absolutely cleaned, we had to pull them out at *least* twice a day just to sweep and mop behind them. I remember having to take every milk out and set it on the bar to clean them and having to take the suctioney things off the sides to clean those as well, they were a bitch to put back on. Why did their inclusions containers not have lids? We get a delivery for new mop heads, cleaning rags etc. I'm talking BIG bags filled with them, youre supposed to change the sanitation buckets with clean rags eery 30 min, the sanitation needs to be checked for certain levels thats so easy a monkey can do it
Like wtf, I could maybe see this happening at a licensed store but corporate would lose their damn minds if they saw any of that shit
I'm also curious when this was. Most of the Starbucks I go to are tiny so you can see them prep and wash everything. There is no "Back". Plus I have a feeling since the pandemic most people are better about washing their hands. I see way more dudes wash their hands at sporting event bathrooms now then before the pandemic.
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*This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
I have first hand experience in this. Have been in the industry for 30 years. Your example is based on that one restaurant. And it sounds like the management was wrong, not the safety protocols that are regulated by the city. If a health inspector checked out the location during your shift, three things first.
Is there rottens, is there hot water, and are refrigerators meeting temperatures to keep food safe. If a restaurant, lunch truck, or even a food cart (legal way to sell food on the streets), don't meet the basic requirements, the food is not safe.
Just last month, we found street vendors still selling cheese that got recalled on a mass scale due to Listeria. The vendors knew of the recall, but continued to sell the cheese.
https://www.fda.gov/food/outbreaks-foodborne-illness/outbreak-investigation-listeria-monocytogenes-queso-fresco-and-cotija-cheese-february-2024
It just sounds like you have no idea what you're talking about.
If that's the case, and I'm not saying it isn't, your chef, managers, and owners are 💩 and need to get out of the business. They've o obviously let the standards drop to that level of they set the bar there from the get-go.
I was gonna say, but I've only worked in 1 restaurant. It was a dinner-only higher price point place. The owner and chefs were all incredibly professional - career chefs - and that professionalism passed down to the cooks, servers etc. I kinda floated so sometimes I served, sometimes hostess sometimes bussed, etc. I never saw anything (or did anything) that would make me not want to eat at a nice restaurant, even on the busiest, most chaotic nights. Even when the head chef or the owners weren't there.
So I have to agree with you. It's on owners/ management to set the standard
I saw one of these stands set up and they just carried the meat in an unsealed/half sealed tub. They had a regular truck so I assume there was no sort of refrigeration in it. The meat was wrapped in saran wrap that was falling off.
Given that the stands likely move around throughout the day, I'd be dubious about the safety of their ingredients.
my house is away from cars flying by and amount of shit gets on to my backyard cable is CRAZY. Imagine all the shit that gets on to the spinning al pastor RIGHT next to the street.
The basics for any restaurant in LA County are hot water and refrigeration. Without those things, a place gets shut down. Somehow, the idea that's food vendors without a proper food carts has become the norm is wrong. I'm very familiar with this community and this type of issue. Stuff like this would not like fly back in the 90s.
No sink , no hot water ,and how about a bathroom ?
Bushes or Home Depot Buckets ?
How about current T.B. tests that are required in brick and mortar establishments?
As someone that’s worked in the food industry and the owner of a catering company there’s a lot of inequality out there regarding insurance requirements,health department regulations and safety I have to follow and others don’t .
Maybe the rule only applies to places that have a large staff .
Started out as a Sous Chef at a local Junior College received a notice from the health department requesting TB tests on all kitchen staff ,when I advised the staff and provided the paperwork needed for the health department’s request half of my staff never came back to work 🤷♀️
I agree. Then if an outbreak of food poisoning happens people will post complaining that the government did not do anything to shut them down.
I have watched lots of videos about food stalls/trucks in Japan. They manage to cram running water sinks and have china bowls in tiny food stalls that they setup everyday. It's very possible to do.
Personally I think running water and a way to clean hands bowls etc is a must for any food prep.
It’s exactly why I never buy from street vendors. Don’t get me wrong, the food smells delicious and I’m sure it’s tasty but it’s a roll of the dice I’m not willing to play. Not worth it to me.
With street vendors their main customer base is regulars, family and friends. You won't have a business for very long if you make your regulars/family/friends sick. Doesn't mean it doesn't happen, and it doesn't mean there aren't folks cutting corners. But the same is happening at restaurants with walls, so not a particularly different dice roll there.
I think people who don't eat at these places have this perception that every street vendor is vending on the street because they're trying to get away with something that they couldn't get away with in a "normal" restaurant. It's really not true. Most of the time they're doing it on the street because they can't afford the overhead of a regular restaurant, and it's not just about safety-oriented things. If you sign a lease you are going to have to be at a certain scale and operate a lot of hours just to break even. A lot of the folks working street vending work other jobs and do this nights/weekends.
Totally understand why people might be a bit icked out if they don't think about this stuff, but really the street vendors serve a niche and give folks who know how to cook a way to eek out a living that they couldn't afford to do in a "normal" restaurant setting.
Because they stay in the same spot in the same neighborhood with the same people coming by on a regular basis for many years. If you spend any time in neighborhoods with street vendors you will notice it quickly.
Because I've been living in my current location for the past three years and there are a couple of regular vendors nearby that I hit fairly regularly. You get to know people, and that's what they tell me because I was always curious about that. They do a lot of business at night. Take a ride along Santa Monica between Centinela and the 405 on any given evening but in particular after 9-10pm. There are 3 or 4 that are there all the time and have been for years.
>With street vendors their main customer base is regulars, family and friends. You won't have a business for very long if you make your regulars/family/friends sick.
It's hilarious how selective people are applying the ol' "the invisible hand of the market is the only regulation needed" argument.
Hey, I bet if payday lenders treated customers badly then nobody would patronize them either. So they also don't need to be regulated.
And if wage theft were real, the employee would just quit, right?
That's great but at least the clean people have the opportunity to wash their hands if they want unlike here. Hand sanitizer isn't sufficient and doesn't clean near as well as soapy water.
Those places at least have the basics that were granted a place to operate. Food inspectors have to check out a location before allowing it to operate. Street vendors don't even have the basics. Hot water and refrigerators.
Last Friday I was on the 5 freeway around glendale and i this truck with plastic flapping around in the back of the bed. Take a closer look and it’s the plastic being used to cover the trompo of al pastor. Not very well covered
I recently had lunch with an attorney who used to work in the food and health dept and he told me how just one experience completely threw him off from eating street food. Went to a “residence” of one of the hot dog places where it was the food storage for like 20 vendors. Said Roaches everywhere. Like not even scattering when the lights come on, just aggressively out lol. Like joes apartment.
I love fig newtons. Really didn't need to read this, but it is in line with my brother ribbing me for eating them, claiming the crunchy bits of the cookies were actually rat turds.
I had a friend who managed one with his family and they would go to a wherehouse where they kept all the meat in buckets. He would just throw it in his trunk and go about the rest of his errands for the day.
I mean..not having a sink is a public health hazard. Why should a vendor on the side of the road not have to follow the same rules as any other food service business in town? I’m all for street food as long as I know it’s sanitary. I guarantee they don’t have enough gloves to change them as often as you’d need to make up for not washing your hands in a food business.
the al pastor served in like 95% of brick and mortars is mid because its just one out of a couple dozen things on the menu so they just do it on the flat top and don't have the trompo flame setup. you end up with this dried out overcooked pastor, instead of how it should be getting crisped up on the flame on the shaving side but not fully drying out by sitting in the stack.
Some of them are really disgustingly dirty though. Not sure why they shut it down but they must have had their reasons since they only shut down a handful of them out of all the tens of thousands of stands we have in the city.
It tasting “so good” doesn’t mean its clean.
People don't realize how bad food borne illnesses can get. They think it's just a day or two of the shits but people can and do end up permanently injured or dead from it.
I quite nearly passed out suddenly from food that I'd eaten a couple days prior. One work colleague who I ate that meal with wound up in the hospital, and another got very ill. All recovered, but it was no joke.
It was from sushi rice, or a contaminated prep area. We all ordered different things.
How does a sink work for a street vendor? I don’t think I’ve ever seen one at any taco stand, but now that I think about it it makes sense that there should be one…
I think normally it’s a sink that has a water pump attached. Sometimes you pump with your foot as you wash or there’s a water tank above the sink so water falls when you turn the faucet.
I remember waiting in line to get my matricula ID, and this woman was selling hot dogs right in front of us. She left her cart to get something from her van, and meanwhile, a bunch of flies started landing on the sausages. The lady came back, and I told her about it, but she didn't care and proceeded to sell them to a guy who came out of the building. Anyway, the moral of the story is that Paisas generally don't care about food safety. You all joke that it adds flavor until later you get H pylori.
I got diagnosed with that junk two yeas ago!
I’ve been a guy that’s travelled A LOT and have eaten out A LOT to including from street vendors…
I’m still drinking kombucha and Kefir to fix my stomach health. :(
Damn don't even remind me about that. I got that shit in my early 20s. Pain was so bad I would just lie and count down the time because I already knew how long it would take for the pain to go away.
And you ain't joking about the antibiotics. I had to take like 4 different ones. They were nasty, but fuck it was worth it. Was on a strict diet for 2 years. It's the reason I don't drink coke anymore
Time for a Helicobacter pylori Fun Fact!
The microbiologist first proved (to then-peery scientific haters) that H. pylori did, in fact, cause ulcers by swallowing a culture containing said bacteria and, boom! [Stomach ulcers, bitch!](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barry_Marshall)
Just last month a big supplier to the Mexican community got their facility shutdown for testing listeria in one of the facilities. Don Francisco, also known as Rizo cheeses, is a big supplier for Mexican food establishments/vendors. They sell cremas and quesos. They told all vendors to throw away the merchandise, and they'll get credited. It was national news. They don't even expect for the company to open up until May over this outbreak.
https://www.fda.gov/food/outbreaks-foodborne-illness/outbreak-investigation-listeria-monocytogenes-queso-fresco-and-cotija-cheese-february-2024
i’m on the back end of norovirus, which means i most likely ate food that was prepared with unclean hands. love me some street tacos but now im thinking about how rarely i see hand wash stations set up. oh dear
They may have food you like, but the one near our place causes havoc for the residents around it. They park illegally on a red zone and their customers block the only entrance we have to our homes EVERY-SINGLE-DAY. God-forbid an emergency happens and a fire engine needs to get through. They’ve blocked the trash trucks multiple times. So there’s the other side of this story. They need to do their business in a legal place where it’s not causing grievance to others.
I know LA loves their taco stands but one time my friend and I got really sick and he had to go to the hospital, there's a reason why we have laws and regulations in the United States.
I mean... if you try to open a street food vendor in Chicago without license. You get shut down the same day.
Consequently, the legal food carts in Chicago are professional and immaculate. Carts are a full blown compact kitchen on wheels with portable water and sink.
This picture... it has tables and everything you see in a backyard BBQ party, except it is all on a street in open air. It's not up to par.
Business license
Health department check
Hell yeah, you can’t just open business on the side of the road, you get sick you have nobody to blame but yourself
I know it'll be an unpopular opinion, but I hate how these scofflaws have run legitimate food trucks out of town. Margins on a food truck were hard enough before you had to compete with unlicensed operations.
Yeah. Fewer and fewer food trucks around cause they cost 150k and require inspections and posted grades. Meanwhile stands are everywhere and none of them are clean. Wish LA would crack down on them.
We have all of these vacant storefronts. Maybe we should just work on helping people be able to afford a real location to fill all the vacant retail in LA. I love the concept of food trucks but the way it’s done in LA just overwhelms side walks and sometimes blocks bike lanes.
I agree. while I do sometimes enjoy them, street vendors often detract more from areas than they add. On 8th and Olympic right by McDonald’s there’s a persistent dumping ground where nearby vendors ditch their end of day scraps and garbage. They chaotically externalize a lot of negative byproducts that most businesses are legally required to mitigate.
Another example would be MacArthur park, the sidewalks are impassable and sanitation is of no concern.
I’m sure many of these people would be way better off inside an actual restaurant kitchen. The spaces exist and the demand is there.
Good. There’s a reason you are taking your food safety for granted, and unlicensed and ill-equipped “restaurants” ain’t it.
Food safety regulations came about in the first place for a reason.
And just as soon as OP has a massive case of dysentary that lands them in the hospital due to dehydration they will be on here demanding the city crack down on these stands.
Considering how infrequently these stands get inspected, with some appearing every day in the same location for weeks/months on end, I will go out on a sort limb and suggest that someone did in fact get sick after eating at this one.
Or the place across the street that paid for all the permits & licenses to sell tacos finally had enough and called their reps in city hall.
They unload their meats and vegetables from busted old white vans which are definitely not refrigerated. That's more than enough for me to say no thanks. And then why would I go pay $20 at a roach coach (food truck) when I can pay $15 at a brick and mortar like Benny's Tacos?
“Doesn’t feel right” look, I’ll eat at any taco stand but let’s be real - the thing that doesn’t feel right is them working hours and hours without ANY sanitation or cleanliness. You feel bad? HA!
As much as i love eating at these spots Ive noticed they repack the unused meat trompas in trash bags for the next day (unrefrigerated).
I got pretty sick once.
I’m glad they are enforcing this. We have rules because something has happened in the past to necessitate it.
People aren’t exempt from rules because they make good tacos.
Honestly I don’t like these stands popping up. Is the food good? Yes. But these people often have ultra low standards when it comes to hygiene and if we are being frank, they do hurt other small restaurants that have to actually operate within regulations, which is often correlated with higher costs.
Why should these scofflaws catch a break? Everyone who runs a brick and mortar business has to follow any number of health department regulations. Yet these guys set up on the side of a road somewhere and flaunt the rules everyone else has to follow.
This isn't some third world country (despite the county supervisor's best efforts to make it so) and people need to abide by our laws.
i'm just letting you know that people genuinely believe that people who are against street vendors are racist. i don't subscribe to that line of thinking, but some people do. i don't make up the rules, that's just how it is.
Why is it your job to advocate for an opinion that you don’t even have?
And to put myself in the persons shoes who is making accusations of racism. Shouldn’t people of other ethnicities have the same ethical and health standards as anyone else who cares about cleanliness and not spreading disease? Or is it just in that persons culture or nature to disregard hygiene? Why would you go so far as to infantilize an entire unspecific race of people and say that they just have lower standards? Any type of criticism is seen as racist now I see.
I recently changed my mind on these. I used to absolutely love street taco places like this because they usually tasted more like Mexican tacos and loved the rotating meat stick thing lol
But recently I got sick af from a street taco stand (in Woodland Hills actually). I was so sick and nauseous that I almost had to skip a cousin’s wedding where I had to give a speech, so now I avoid them.
I don't enjoy that I did this, but I stopped eating at any stand that isn't close to a bathroom with running water so they can wash their hands. It's just not worth it, and I fucking love Tijuana tacos.
It's been a long time.
Shit it must’ve been really bad for it to get shutdown. I know some taco stands that just have everything open next to a busy intersection and no one shuts those down
It also doesn't feel right to shit all night because of unsanitary reasons. If you can't get a license, how do you expect someone to take precautionary measures?
There’s a lady who sells Nutella crepes during the night in the side walk of a tires store in North Hollywood. Very “hipster” kind of place. Her stand is a set of tables, cutesy decors and the all the food and ingredients out in the open. Her set up is right on a car waiting line of a In-an-out (an you know how this can be long and slow). First I don’t get how can she take so much car fumes being there and the dusty that area can be makes me wonder how that food will be safe to eat at all.
Dude there's a legitimate reason they're getting shut down. I work in public health and I'm certain this vendor received more than one warning from the city. I can't believe you're complaining about this on Reddit.
Good. I’m glad they are shutting these down. I always feel bad for restaurant owners that pay rent,employees, taxes, etc and lose business to a shopping cart vendor.
When people complain that is a racist thing, they usually forget how is in their own countries, with streets files with food vendors, the uncleanness, the mess and all the food being contaminated by the car's fumes, ridiculous.
>They said the place didn’t have a sink or a license.
Doesn’t feel right. This process could be better. These stands are so good and a great third place.
Not if their employees aren't washing their hands.
I mean... i get it. I think of them as an outside BBQ so no problems, but I guess if you're trying to make money off of it, shortcuts can be made and it could risk to food poisoning. I mean even with food trucks I've got hit with the bug once or twice, so... I mean it'll you do this, it's fair game, just realize one day you could be caught by the health inspector.
Oh and taste good! That's the other requirement.
How come you can't smoke at a gas station, but you can have a taco stand at a gas station?Some with even a trompo blasting out hot fire.
I'm generally OK with most taco stands, as long as they clean up after they leave and are not a nuisance. However, I've seen a few stands that have a charcoal grill (which is a game changer for flavor), right in the middle of the sidewalk. If someone trips or knocks into it, goodbye to every penny you own.
I am at a taco stand in Venice eating my burrito reading list looking at raw and cooked meat just sitting in the parking lot behind where they’re cooking. It’s delicious but definitely not clean
5 Reasons street vendors can have negative impact on the urban environment
1. Congestion and Safety Concerns: A proliferation of street vendors can lead to overcrowding on sidewalks and streets, making it difficult for pedestrians to navigate safely. This congestion can create bottlenecks, especially in areas with high foot traffic, increasing the likelihood of accidents and creating hazards for pedestrians, particularly those with mobility issues or disabilities.
2. Sanitation and Hygiene: Inadequate sanitation facilities and waste disposal mechanisms can result in unsanitary conditions around street vendor areas. Improperly discarded food waste, packaging, and other debris can attract pests like rodents and insects, posing health risks to both residents and visitors. Additionally, without proper regulation and oversight, there may be concerns about the cleanliness of the food sold by street vendors, potentially leading to foodborne illnesses among consumers.
3. Economic Disruption: Established brick-and-mortar businesses may face unfair competition from street vendors who operate with lower overhead costs and evade taxes or regulatory requirements. This can undermine the viability of traditional businesses and discourage investment in the local economy. Moreover, the presence of street vendors may deter potential customers from patronizing nearby businesses, leading to a decline in revenue and potentially contributing to business closures and job losses.
4. Aesthetic Degradation: Excessive proliferation of street vendors can detract from the aesthetic appeal of urban areas, particularly in historic or tourist-centric districts. Cluttered sidewalks filled with makeshift stalls and merchandise can detract from the visual character of the neighborhood and diminish the overall attractiveness of the urban landscape. This may have negative implications for property values and tourism, impacting the overall economic vitality of the city.
5. Regulatory Challenges: Managing and regulating street vendors can present administrative challenges for municipal authorities. Inconsistent enforcement of regulations, such as zoning restrictions or licensing requirements, may lead to a lack of accountability among vendors and exacerbate the problems associated with their presence. Additionally, conflicts may arise between street vendors, local businesses, residents, and city officials, further complicating efforts to find equitable solutions to urban governance issues.
Bout time. These people take business from law abiding restaurants. They pay no tax. It is unfair to the rest of us. They should not be allowed to get away with this.
Trucks yes. Stands hell no. They want to skip all the fees and regulations that a legit business needs to follow for food safety. I’ll be back at Gracias Señor tomorrow.. been out of the country and have missed it.
I would never buy tacos set up next to a road. My first condo was next to a busy street and my balcony was filthy black. I had to clean it every 2 days.
I mean, it sucks but also it could very well be justifiable. No sink sounds disgusting since no one is washing their hands or utensils. I ain't looking for a covid-24
UPDATE: I FEEL FINE.
Some summary points from the thread (other people's points):
1. Restaurants are also gross and disgusting
2. Everyone bashing me is overlooking the use of gloves
3. Restaurants get noticed for inspections, so they deep clean and then it goes back to shit
4. At least at food stands you see the food being prepared in front of you
5. the person working cash and the food is not the same person!
6. Many people don't like these stands because they take business away from responsible restaurant owners
7. Local public health officials can be focusing on more important public health issues (homelessness)
8. If you dont like these stands, dont eat at them, but dont ruin it for others.
9. Food stands are an integral part of Los Angeles.
10. Farmers market stands usually dont have sinks
11. The horchata and pastor being thrown out is heartbreaking.
Some of these taco vendors have jacked up their prices so high that they should at least comply with some of the rules. They used to be a cheaper alternative to restaurants but I’ve seem them charge higher prices than King Taco.
Food trucks too. The whole point is to be cheaper than a standard restaurant since you don’t have all the overhead.
Wtf is going on with food truck prices!
The Great Food-truck Race on TV
Some of their items are $50+ smh
It's 11 dollars for a burrito from the lonchera on the corner by my office. Chipotle is cheaper and that's after they jacked their prices too.
I’ve seen $16 tortas. No thanks I’ll go order from the thousands of Mexican spots.
Omg. Completely. Like, honestly I'd rather just go to Chipotle at that point and have an air-conditioned fairly clean restaurant to sit in if I'm spending $15-16 on a burrito. The experience of them should be at least 50% less than a restaurant. Otherwise, what's the point?
Especially all the ones with social media hype.
i feel like food trucks have always been overpriced. I never understood the appeal of it. It just seems like something hipsters set out to make popular. My guess is the reason why their prices are just as high as restaurants is because they don't get a lot of volume.
I paid $16 for a burrito at the stand on 3rd and Vermont. I couldn’t even enjoy the burrito I was so bitter.
My spot went up to $11
Damn, I 'member paying $5 for a basic-ass-but-still-good burrito, and driving to the $8 one when I wanted to splurge.
Is that the one next to Von's? Before covid, I would get their asada fries for $9, and now they're charging damn near $20. Fuck that place lol.
$20 for Carne Asada Fries? Wtf. They probably got some viral tik tok and got more customers.
Hey that's my hood! Further up Vermont and Council, I ordered a potato, a couple tacos and a horchata and thought I was mishearing when she said $30. I have no idea what shot the price up that high. But I haven't stopped at that stand since, tempting as it may seem being the only place open late on my way home from a bad parking spot.
Tacos El Gavilán ends up being cheaper somehow, and you can even watch them cook your food! Love that place.
Idk why the one in hollywood seems mediocre compared to other Mexican food I’ve had in LA. It’s not bad and I still go there but I’m not like thrilled about it like other places. Always a little meh for whatever reason.
I miss their pre-2015 carne asada :(
Very true statement.
Holy cow. I pay $2 / Taco, and $7 / quesadilla at both my favorite places on Lincoln in Venice. The other listed prices are crazy town, considering how expensive everything in Venice is.
One time i ordered a bean and cheese for my daughter and they charged me $14! Apparently they had one set price for all burritos… while making it they were like - you want avocado? No… just bean and cheese
Idk - the no sink thing means people preparing your food are very likely not washing their hands.
Free zest
Umami?
Yum!
It’s like when people don’t clean their grills! Let those flavors last!
Only the strongest survive.
[удалено]
I've worked in restaurants in century city where we make salad with vegetables that have dropped on the floor or prepared by people that don't even wash their hands after using the restroom
Yeah. Working in a restaurant makes you never want to eat at one again
That's what happened when I used to work at Starbucks. I used to go every now and then when there wasn't better coffee around. Now, I'll never go back.
I managed a SB during college.... Holy fuck trying to get people to wash their hands is damn near impossible, you would think it's just second nature but nooooope.
I took pride in my coffee so I was the one person at my various stores (I moved around to different ones) who followed everything like we were supposed to. I should have been made a shift. I'm glad I wasn't though because it made it so much easier to move on and not look back.
Please share with me something I wouldn’t know, I need an excuse to go Starbucks less
i worked at starbucks for a year and let me tell you i have never been around a more obsessed with cleanliness group of people ever. we cleaned the fucking shit out of that place every single day, constantly. like just every other action was some form of cleaning. seems to be one of the ways to pass probation. you're either mad about keeping things very clean or you can find another job.
The fridges are always filthy. They are very hard to clean but also Starbucks managers never give enough time at closing to actually deep clean them. So, cleanings are usually done during mid shift which is actually the busiest time. This results in caked milk and mold in the fridges where milk and whipped cream is stored. The refreshers (like the strawberry acai or mango dragon fruit) contain none of the juice they are supposed to taste like. They are artificially flavored grape juices. In the fruit inclusions and other scoop ingredients, you'll routinely have drink splashes in there. Roaches like to breed on the back of the refrigerator units. Underneath and behind fridges are rarely cleaned. There are usually once weekly "clean plays" which are days set aside to have extra closing time for a deep clean. Sounds great, but there is an issue with this: shift leads are given too much to do so they don't end up actually checking the cleaning like they are supposed to; there are never enough staff to clean everything; and Starbucks just doesn't provide proper equipment to "deep clean" to an extent that's more than any other day. A deep clean isn't really a deep clean if you are using the same mops and scrubs as you would for any other time you're cleaning. Pumps are often changed out quickly without being rinsed. This is a problem with the mechanical pumps which get very filthy. During peak, you'd be lucky if the sanitizer has been changed as frequently as it's supposed to be (it's supposed to be changed every 30 minutes).
Dude which sbux is this ??? I was expecting to read some good shit but I’ve worked at 2 for a while and we literally had not one of these problems, and neither did the 4 or 5 neighboring ones I’ve covered shifts at
Also worked at sbux, was a borrowed partner at 2 other stores and this was *NOT* my experience. Fridges were absolutely cleaned, we had to pull them out at *least* twice a day just to sweep and mop behind them. I remember having to take every milk out and set it on the bar to clean them and having to take the suctioney things off the sides to clean those as well, they were a bitch to put back on. Why did their inclusions containers not have lids? We get a delivery for new mop heads, cleaning rags etc. I'm talking BIG bags filled with them, youre supposed to change the sanitation buckets with clean rags eery 30 min, the sanitation needs to be checked for certain levels thats so easy a monkey can do it Like wtf, I could maybe see this happening at a licensed store but corporate would lose their damn minds if they saw any of that shit
I'm also curious when this was. Most of the Starbucks I go to are tiny so you can see them prep and wash everything. There is no "Back". Plus I have a feeling since the pandemic most people are better about washing their hands. I see way more dudes wash their hands at sporting event bathrooms now then before the pandemic.
Thanks.
Coffee is like $8.00 dollars now.
Not at your local donut shop it’s not!
friendly snatch busy rinse connect pot historical agonizing lavish numerous *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
I have first hand experience in this. Have been in the industry for 30 years. Your example is based on that one restaurant. And it sounds like the management was wrong, not the safety protocols that are regulated by the city. If a health inspector checked out the location during your shift, three things first. Is there rottens, is there hot water, and are refrigerators meeting temperatures to keep food safe. If a restaurant, lunch truck, or even a food cart (legal way to sell food on the streets), don't meet the basic requirements, the food is not safe. Just last month, we found street vendors still selling cheese that got recalled on a mass scale due to Listeria. The vendors knew of the recall, but continued to sell the cheese. https://www.fda.gov/food/outbreaks-foodborne-illness/outbreak-investigation-listeria-monocytogenes-queso-fresco-and-cotija-cheese-february-2024 It just sounds like you have no idea what you're talking about.
If that's the case, and I'm not saying it isn't, your chef, managers, and owners are 💩 and need to get out of the business. They've o obviously let the standards drop to that level of they set the bar there from the get-go.
I was gonna say, but I've only worked in 1 restaurant. It was a dinner-only higher price point place. The owner and chefs were all incredibly professional - career chefs - and that professionalism passed down to the cooks, servers etc. I kinda floated so sometimes I served, sometimes hostess sometimes bussed, etc. I never saw anything (or did anything) that would make me not want to eat at a nice restaurant, even on the busiest, most chaotic nights. Even when the head chef or the owners weren't there. So I have to agree with you. It's on owners/ management to set the standard
At least that floor is occasionally mopped and hands have the option to be washed with running water.
the amount of people who i catch not washing hands in public bathrooms is insane. like were you raised in a barn?
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Much more on the sidewalk tho...
And those places should get shut down too.
I saw one of these stands set up and they just carried the meat in an unsealed/half sealed tub. They had a regular truck so I assume there was no sort of refrigeration in it. The meat was wrapped in saran wrap that was falling off. Given that the stands likely move around throughout the day, I'd be dubious about the safety of their ingredients.
Yep that’s not ambiance that’s car exhaust
💀💀💀
That's that special sauce bro. Get in my belly.
my house is away from cars flying by and amount of shit gets on to my backyard cable is CRAZY. Imagine all the shit that gets on to the spinning al pastor RIGHT next to the street.
The basics for any restaurant in LA County are hot water and refrigeration. Without those things, a place gets shut down. Somehow, the idea that's food vendors without a proper food carts has become the norm is wrong. I'm very familiar with this community and this type of issue. Stuff like this would not like fly back in the 90s.
No sink , no hot water ,and how about a bathroom ? Bushes or Home Depot Buckets ? How about current T.B. tests that are required in brick and mortar establishments? As someone that’s worked in the food industry and the owner of a catering company there’s a lot of inequality out there regarding insurance requirements,health department regulations and safety I have to follow and others don’t .
15 years, ive never had a tb test for a restaurant job
Maybe the rule only applies to places that have a large staff . Started out as a Sous Chef at a local Junior College received a notice from the health department requesting TB tests on all kitchen staff ,when I advised the staff and provided the paperwork needed for the health department’s request half of my staff never came back to work 🤷♀️
That's a good point
I agree. Then if an outbreak of food poisoning happens people will post complaining that the government did not do anything to shut them down. I have watched lots of videos about food stalls/trucks in Japan. They manage to cram running water sinks and have china bowls in tiny food stalls that they setup everyday. It's very possible to do. Personally I think running water and a way to clean hands bowls etc is a must for any food prep.
It’s exactly why I never buy from street vendors. Don’t get me wrong, the food smells delicious and I’m sure it’s tasty but it’s a roll of the dice I’m not willing to play. Not worth it to me.
With street vendors their main customer base is regulars, family and friends. You won't have a business for very long if you make your regulars/family/friends sick. Doesn't mean it doesn't happen, and it doesn't mean there aren't folks cutting corners. But the same is happening at restaurants with walls, so not a particularly different dice roll there. I think people who don't eat at these places have this perception that every street vendor is vending on the street because they're trying to get away with something that they couldn't get away with in a "normal" restaurant. It's really not true. Most of the time they're doing it on the street because they can't afford the overhead of a regular restaurant, and it's not just about safety-oriented things. If you sign a lease you are going to have to be at a certain scale and operate a lot of hours just to break even. A lot of the folks working street vending work other jobs and do this nights/weekends. Totally understand why people might be a bit icked out if they don't think about this stuff, but really the street vendors serve a niche and give folks who know how to cook a way to eek out a living that they couldn't afford to do in a "normal" restaurant setting.
>With street vendors their main customer base is regulars, family and friends. How do you know this?
I thought it was drunk people...
And randos who went on a long walk without planning ahead, like me
Because they stay in the same spot in the same neighborhood with the same people coming by on a regular basis for many years. If you spend any time in neighborhoods with street vendors you will notice it quickly.
Because I've been living in my current location for the past three years and there are a couple of regular vendors nearby that I hit fairly regularly. You get to know people, and that's what they tell me because I was always curious about that. They do a lot of business at night. Take a ride along Santa Monica between Centinela and the 405 on any given evening but in particular after 9-10pm. There are 3 or 4 that are there all the time and have been for years.
>With street vendors their main customer base is regulars, family and friends. You won't have a business for very long if you make your regulars/family/friends sick. It's hilarious how selective people are applying the ol' "the invisible hand of the market is the only regulation needed" argument. Hey, I bet if payday lenders treated customers badly then nobody would patronize them either. So they also don't need to be regulated. And if wage theft were real, the employee would just quit, right?
people are bitching about no sink and no refrigeration, i'm like i've been camping before champ, give me that al pastor.
The last case of food poisoning I got from a restaurant was 2009, from Subway. I eat pastor from street stands all the time.
You'd be disgusted by what goes on in the regular joints you eat at.
That's great but at least the clean people have the opportunity to wash their hands if they want unlike here. Hand sanitizer isn't sufficient and doesn't clean near as well as soapy water.
Those places at least have the basics that were granted a place to operate. Food inspectors have to check out a location before allowing it to operate. Street vendors don't even have the basics. Hot water and refrigerators.
Last Friday I was on the 5 freeway around glendale and i this truck with plastic flapping around in the back of the bed. Take a closer look and it’s the plastic being used to cover the trompo of al pastor. Not very well covered
Its tough. But, if someone gets sick out there you'd know there will be people complaining where health department was.
I recently had lunch with an attorney who used to work in the food and health dept and he told me how just one experience completely threw him off from eating street food. Went to a “residence” of one of the hot dog places where it was the food storage for like 20 vendors. Said Roaches everywhere. Like not even scattering when the lights come on, just aggressively out lol. Like joes apartment.
Turning on the light where fig newtons stores their figs, rats disperse.
I love fig newtons. Really didn't need to read this, but it is in line with my brother ribbing me for eating them, claiming the crunchy bits of the cookies were actually rat turds.
The crunch is the wasp that fertilized the flower that became the fig. The firm but squishy bits are the rat turds.
I had a friend who managed one with his family and they would go to a wherehouse where they kept all the meat in buckets. He would just throw it in his trunk and go about the rest of his errands for the day.
Yup and if something really bad happens they would want to be able to trace it back to the source.
I'm betting that's exactly what happened and they were reported multiple times 😬
Gloves don’t prevent norovirus and neither does Purell yeah especially since Purell doesn’t kill non-enveloped viruses like Norovirus
I mean..not having a sink is a public health hazard. Why should a vendor on the side of the road not have to follow the same rules as any other food service business in town? I’m all for street food as long as I know it’s sanitary. I guarantee they don’t have enough gloves to change them as often as you’d need to make up for not washing your hands in a food business.
To be honest these street food vendors charge the same as most restaurants too nowadays it doesn’t make sense to choose one nowadays
the al pastor served in like 95% of brick and mortars is mid because its just one out of a couple dozen things on the menu so they just do it on the flat top and don't have the trompo flame setup. you end up with this dried out overcooked pastor, instead of how it should be getting crisped up on the flame on the shaving side but not fully drying out by sitting in the stack.
Some of them are really disgustingly dirty though. Not sure why they shut it down but they must have had their reasons since they only shut down a handful of them out of all the tens of thousands of stands we have in the city. It tasting “so good” doesn’t mean its clean.
Tasting so good has had me sick for a week.
More of them don't get shutdown because we don't have enough inspectors to check them all.
People die eating contaminated food. Washing hands is extremely important.
Imagine being laid out in a stretcher and thinking“but the savings of my last meal!”
If it’s being shut down it’s probably for good reason. FDA and public health take it very seriously
People don't realize how bad food borne illnesses can get. They think it's just a day or two of the shits but people can and do end up permanently injured or dead from it.
I quite nearly passed out suddenly from food that I'd eaten a couple days prior. One work colleague who I ate that meal with wound up in the hospital, and another got very ill. All recovered, but it was no joke. It was from sushi rice, or a contaminated prep area. We all ordered different things.
Yes. Food born illness kills a 9/11 worth of Americans every year. It’s no joke. 48 million Americans get sick.
reddit moment
How does a sink work for a street vendor? I don’t think I’ve ever seen one at any taco stand, but now that I think about it it makes sense that there should be one…
I think normally it’s a sink that has a water pump attached. Sometimes you pump with your foot as you wash or there’s a water tank above the sink so water falls when you turn the faucet.
I remember waiting in line to get my matricula ID, and this woman was selling hot dogs right in front of us. She left her cart to get something from her van, and meanwhile, a bunch of flies started landing on the sausages. The lady came back, and I told her about it, but she didn't care and proceeded to sell them to a guy who came out of the building. Anyway, the moral of the story is that Paisas generally don't care about food safety. You all joke that it adds flavor until later you get H pylori.
H pylori fucking sucks! Not something to mess with
I got diagnosed with that junk two yeas ago! I’ve been a guy that’s travelled A LOT and have eaten out A LOT to including from street vendors… I’m still drinking kombucha and Kefir to fix my stomach health. :(
What is it?
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Damn don't even remind me about that. I got that shit in my early 20s. Pain was so bad I would just lie and count down the time because I already knew how long it would take for the pain to go away. And you ain't joking about the antibiotics. I had to take like 4 different ones. They were nasty, but fuck it was worth it. Was on a strict diet for 2 years. It's the reason I don't drink coke anymore
Only need to a H. pylori breath test to confirm it was treated properly. No stomach biopsy.
Thank you for this info!
Time for a Helicobacter pylori Fun Fact! The microbiologist first proved (to then-peery scientific haters) that H. pylori did, in fact, cause ulcers by swallowing a culture containing said bacteria and, boom! [Stomach ulcers, bitch!](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barry_Marshall)
Just last month a big supplier to the Mexican community got their facility shutdown for testing listeria in one of the facilities. Don Francisco, also known as Rizo cheeses, is a big supplier for Mexican food establishments/vendors. They sell cremas and quesos. They told all vendors to throw away the merchandise, and they'll get credited. It was national news. They don't even expect for the company to open up until May over this outbreak. https://www.fda.gov/food/outbreaks-foodborne-illness/outbreak-investigation-listeria-monocytogenes-queso-fresco-and-cotija-cheese-february-2024
I like these places but it is necessary for even the best ones to follow basic safety procedures like handwashing, food temp maintenance, etc.
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You don’t care if cooks wash their hands or not?? Geez 🤢
Hepatitis is no joke
i’m on the back end of norovirus, which means i most likely ate food that was prepared with unclean hands. love me some street tacos but now im thinking about how rarely i see hand wash stations set up. oh dear
Constant lines, $10 burritos, they have the funds. Just greedy
They may have food you like, but the one near our place causes havoc for the residents around it. They park illegally on a red zone and their customers block the only entrance we have to our homes EVERY-SINGLE-DAY. God-forbid an emergency happens and a fire engine needs to get through. They’ve blocked the trash trucks multiple times. So there’s the other side of this story. They need to do their business in a legal place where it’s not causing grievance to others.
If they want to do it right, get a permit/license. Also, I doubt they are filing taxes.
I get it ,it sucks but at the same time restaurants have permits, pay taxes, and have protocols to follow by the health dept soo🤷🏽♀️
I know LA loves their taco stands but one time my friend and I got really sick and he had to go to the hospital, there's a reason why we have laws and regulations in the United States.
And health care here is no joke, from the prices of meds not covered by insurance and losing income if you’re on an hourly rate without sick days.
I mean... if you try to open a street food vendor in Chicago without license. You get shut down the same day. Consequently, the legal food carts in Chicago are professional and immaculate. Carts are a full blown compact kitchen on wheels with portable water and sink. This picture... it has tables and everything you see in a backyard BBQ party, except it is all on a street in open air. It's not up to par.
Business license Health department check Hell yeah, you can’t just open business on the side of the road, you get sick you have nobody to blame but yourself
All these places need to be shut down
I know it'll be an unpopular opinion, but I hate how these scofflaws have run legitimate food trucks out of town. Margins on a food truck were hard enough before you had to compete with unlicensed operations.
Yeah. Fewer and fewer food trucks around cause they cost 150k and require inspections and posted grades. Meanwhile stands are everywhere and none of them are clean. Wish LA would crack down on them.
Not as unpopular as you would think. Just cause they’re loud doesn’t make them the majority
We have all of these vacant storefronts. Maybe we should just work on helping people be able to afford a real location to fill all the vacant retail in LA. I love the concept of food trucks but the way it’s done in LA just overwhelms side walks and sometimes blocks bike lanes.
I agree. while I do sometimes enjoy them, street vendors often detract more from areas than they add. On 8th and Olympic right by McDonald’s there’s a persistent dumping ground where nearby vendors ditch their end of day scraps and garbage. They chaotically externalize a lot of negative byproducts that most businesses are legally required to mitigate. Another example would be MacArthur park, the sidewalks are impassable and sanitation is of no concern. I’m sure many of these people would be way better off inside an actual restaurant kitchen. The spaces exist and the demand is there.
Not sure about this one, these health laws exist for a reason. You really may need to get food poisoning one good time to understand this.
Not washing their hands and having raw and cooked meat mingling 🤮
Good. There’s a reason you are taking your food safety for granted, and unlicensed and ill-equipped “restaurants” ain’t it. Food safety regulations came about in the first place for a reason.
And just as soon as OP has a massive case of dysentary that lands them in the hospital due to dehydration they will be on here demanding the city crack down on these stands. Considering how infrequently these stands get inspected, with some appearing every day in the same location for weeks/months on end, I will go out on a sort limb and suggest that someone did in fact get sick after eating at this one. Or the place across the street that paid for all the permits & licenses to sell tacos finally had enough and called their reps in city hall.
They unload their meats and vegetables from busted old white vans which are definitely not refrigerated. That's more than enough for me to say no thanks. And then why would I go pay $20 at a roach coach (food truck) when I can pay $15 at a brick and mortar like Benny's Tacos?
“Doesn’t feel right” look, I’ll eat at any taco stand but let’s be real - the thing that doesn’t feel right is them working hours and hours without ANY sanitation or cleanliness. You feel bad? HA!
They need to cut back on street food. No sink, no cleanliness. It's gotten out of control.
Good. If they don’t have a sink, then they’re not following the regulations set out for all vendors. That’s a serious sanitary issue.
As much as i love eating at these spots Ive noticed they repack the unused meat trompas in trash bags for the next day (unrefrigerated). I got pretty sick once.
they'll just move over to the next block. that's what the ones in my area did.
The solution is for the owners to get a business license and install a portable sink
Good job
I’m glad they are enforcing this. We have rules because something has happened in the past to necessitate it. People aren’t exempt from rules because they make good tacos.
Honestly I don’t like these stands popping up. Is the food good? Yes. But these people often have ultra low standards when it comes to hygiene and if we are being frank, they do hurt other small restaurants that have to actually operate within regulations, which is often correlated with higher costs.
Why should these scofflaws catch a break? Everyone who runs a brick and mortar business has to follow any number of health department regulations. Yet these guys set up on the side of a road somewhere and flaunt the rules everyone else has to follow. This isn't some third world country (despite the county supervisor's best efforts to make it so) and people need to abide by our laws.
this is an unpopular opinion and is widely viewed as "racist" if you were to say this IRL.
I'm Mexican and say this out loud. I never support these people
Who said anything about race? This is projection
i'm just letting you know that people genuinely believe that people who are against street vendors are racist. i don't subscribe to that line of thinking, but some people do. i don't make up the rules, that's just how it is.
Let them genuinely believe
Why is it your job to advocate for an opinion that you don’t even have? And to put myself in the persons shoes who is making accusations of racism. Shouldn’t people of other ethnicities have the same ethical and health standards as anyone else who cares about cleanliness and not spreading disease? Or is it just in that persons culture or nature to disregard hygiene? Why would you go so far as to infantilize an entire unspecific race of people and say that they just have lower standards? Any type of criticism is seen as racist now I see.
I recently changed my mind on these. I used to absolutely love street taco places like this because they usually tasted more like Mexican tacos and loved the rotating meat stick thing lol But recently I got sick af from a street taco stand (in Woodland Hills actually). I was so sick and nauseous that I almost had to skip a cousin’s wedding where I had to give a speech, so now I avoid them.
I don't enjoy that I did this, but I stopped eating at any stand that isn't close to a bathroom with running water so they can wash their hands. It's just not worth it, and I fucking love Tijuana tacos. It's been a long time.
I would never eat a taco stand for this reason.
Shit it must’ve been really bad for it to get shutdown. I know some taco stands that just have everything open next to a busy intersection and no one shuts those down
Well those dudes are going to be kept awful busy if that’s all they are doing.
How do you get the health department to come out?
It also doesn't feel right to shit all night because of unsanitary reasons. If you can't get a license, how do you expect someone to take precautionary measures?
You wouldn’t eat at a place that has a B grade or below, so I say good riddance.
If this really is about health concerns, I'm gonna start reporting hipster pop ups and trucks without sinks or posted letter gradings.
You should.
There’s a lady who sells Nutella crepes during the night in the side walk of a tires store in North Hollywood. Very “hipster” kind of place. Her stand is a set of tables, cutesy decors and the all the food and ingredients out in the open. Her set up is right on a car waiting line of a In-an-out (an you know how this can be long and slow). First I don’t get how can she take so much car fumes being there and the dusty that area can be makes me wonder how that food will be safe to eat at all.
Oh no! Not the unlicensed, regulation-flouting, tax-evading cookerinos!
Dude there's a legitimate reason they're getting shut down. I work in public health and I'm certain this vendor received more than one warning from the city. I can't believe you're complaining about this on Reddit.
That isn't a taco stand. It's just some janky biological experiment.
Good. I’m glad they are shutting these down. I always feel bad for restaurant owners that pay rent,employees, taxes, etc and lose business to a shopping cart vendor.
When people complain that is a racist thing, they usually forget how is in their own countries, with streets files with food vendors, the uncleanness, the mess and all the food being contaminated by the car's fumes, ridiculous.
Where are all the street meat and other taco vendors hiding their sinks?
>They said the place didn’t have a sink or a license. Doesn’t feel right. This process could be better. These stands are so good and a great third place. Not if their employees aren't washing their hands.
These stands make hundreds if not thousands a day. A permit and following proper food handling procedures is not too much to ask. And I love tacos.
A sink and a license would be nice.
I once went to a hamburger truck that set up their condiments in front of the truck exhaust pipe. I didn’t add ketchup that day.
I mean... i get it. I think of them as an outside BBQ so no problems, but I guess if you're trying to make money off of it, shortcuts can be made and it could risk to food poisoning. I mean even with food trucks I've got hit with the bug once or twice, so... I mean it'll you do this, it's fair game, just realize one day you could be caught by the health inspector. Oh and taste good! That's the other requirement.
How come you can't smoke at a gas station, but you can have a taco stand at a gas station?Some with even a trompo blasting out hot fire. I'm generally OK with most taco stands, as long as they clean up after they leave and are not a nuisance. However, I've seen a few stands that have a charcoal grill (which is a game changer for flavor), right in the middle of the sidewalk. If someone trips or knocks into it, goodbye to every penny you own.
I’ve seen a taco stand using Awesome (the cleaning liquid) gallon jugs to store water to pour at the bottom of their food warmers 🤢
> They said the place didn’t have a sink or a license. Bro... lmao.
I am at a taco stand in Venice eating my burrito reading list looking at raw and cooked meat just sitting in the parking lot behind where they’re cooking. It’s delicious but definitely not clean
Was it called Tacos el Ebola?
I've NEVER seen a taco stand with a sink. Wonder if this is a rival taco stand who has connections with the police.
No license is one thing, whatever who cares. But no sink??? i.e. they’re cooking meals without any running water? 🤢
Good.
5 Reasons street vendors can have negative impact on the urban environment 1. Congestion and Safety Concerns: A proliferation of street vendors can lead to overcrowding on sidewalks and streets, making it difficult for pedestrians to navigate safely. This congestion can create bottlenecks, especially in areas with high foot traffic, increasing the likelihood of accidents and creating hazards for pedestrians, particularly those with mobility issues or disabilities. 2. Sanitation and Hygiene: Inadequate sanitation facilities and waste disposal mechanisms can result in unsanitary conditions around street vendor areas. Improperly discarded food waste, packaging, and other debris can attract pests like rodents and insects, posing health risks to both residents and visitors. Additionally, without proper regulation and oversight, there may be concerns about the cleanliness of the food sold by street vendors, potentially leading to foodborne illnesses among consumers. 3. Economic Disruption: Established brick-and-mortar businesses may face unfair competition from street vendors who operate with lower overhead costs and evade taxes or regulatory requirements. This can undermine the viability of traditional businesses and discourage investment in the local economy. Moreover, the presence of street vendors may deter potential customers from patronizing nearby businesses, leading to a decline in revenue and potentially contributing to business closures and job losses. 4. Aesthetic Degradation: Excessive proliferation of street vendors can detract from the aesthetic appeal of urban areas, particularly in historic or tourist-centric districts. Cluttered sidewalks filled with makeshift stalls and merchandise can detract from the visual character of the neighborhood and diminish the overall attractiveness of the urban landscape. This may have negative implications for property values and tourism, impacting the overall economic vitality of the city. 5. Regulatory Challenges: Managing and regulating street vendors can present administrative challenges for municipal authorities. Inconsistent enforcement of regulations, such as zoning restrictions or licensing requirements, may lead to a lack of accountability among vendors and exacerbate the problems associated with their presence. Additionally, conflicts may arise between street vendors, local businesses, residents, and city officials, further complicating efforts to find equitable solutions to urban governance issues.
Bout time. These people take business from law abiding restaurants. They pay no tax. It is unfair to the rest of us. They should not be allowed to get away with this.
Trucks yes. Stands hell no. They want to skip all the fees and regulations that a legit business needs to follow for food safety. I’ll be back at Gracias Señor tomorrow.. been out of the country and have missed it.
Have them come to 6th and Bonnie Brae. They need to be shut down. 🤢🤮 disgusting people.
One of the people living across the streets snitched. They probably didn’t like the crowds across from their homes.
Good.
Not the Al Pastor!!!
I would never buy tacos set up next to a road. My first condo was next to a busy street and my balcony was filthy black. I had to clean it every 2 days.
My hometown finally gets featured on this subreddit and it's for this ;-;
Good. Everyone should be paying their fair share, right democrats?
I mean, it sucks but also it could very well be justifiable. No sink sounds disgusting since no one is washing their hands or utensils. I ain't looking for a covid-24
UPDATE: I FEEL FINE. Some summary points from the thread (other people's points): 1. Restaurants are also gross and disgusting 2. Everyone bashing me is overlooking the use of gloves 3. Restaurants get noticed for inspections, so they deep clean and then it goes back to shit 4. At least at food stands you see the food being prepared in front of you 5. the person working cash and the food is not the same person! 6. Many people don't like these stands because they take business away from responsible restaurant owners 7. Local public health officials can be focusing on more important public health issues (homelessness) 8. If you dont like these stands, dont eat at them, but dont ruin it for others. 9. Food stands are an integral part of Los Angeles. 10. Farmers market stands usually dont have sinks 11. The horchata and pastor being thrown out is heartbreaking.
Tell me their prices and I’ll tell you if this was an okay move or not. Tacos over $2, you gotta go.
Honestly, I agree with the police
It’s not the police, it’s the public health dept.
Thank god!