April 22, 2008

The food carts of Madison.

I'm back in New York City, after arriving in the wee small hours of the morning. But I'm still dragging Madison photographs out of the camera. Look, there's a new food cart:

Food carts on Libarary Mall

It's for men, apparently. Men who identify with Frank Sinatra, John Belushi, and Bozo, it seems. Fine Italian. (Enlarge.)

A cart that looks like it's made of brick. Why not?

Nevertheless, the old food carts are much more popular, at least for now:

Food carts on Libarary Mall

Food carts on Libarary Mall

Good luck to Fib's and to everyone trying to get a sandwich or a bowl of stew and to everyone breaking out the flip-flops and shorts.

IN THE COMMENTS: I'm told it must be written: FIB's.

47 comments:

Triangle Man said...

The east African food at the Buraka cart is outstanding. FIB will have to serve some mighty good beef to compete. This post on the heels of the Bill Ayers kerfluffle reminded me that somewhere I had heard that one of the 1970 Sterling Hall bombers was running a juice cart on the library mall. Wikipedia seems to confirm this, so I suppose it might be true.

tituswantsababy said...

I love Italian sausage.

ricpic said...

Althouse's anti lower middle class ethnic bias is showing.

Triangle Man said...

Incidentally, fashion in Madison takes a sharp downturn when the weather gets warm. People just don't seem to know what to wear when they hang up the fashionable parkas and Badger sweatshirts.

tituswantsababy said...

I love fashion when it gets warm.

Less is more.

You finally get to see peoples arms and tits and that is very important. Legs I don't care much about and don't want to see men in shorts just like Althouse-hee hee, hugs. Also, there heads are up because they aren't ducking the cold so you can see their faces better-especially when the sun hits them.

I love walking around in warm weather and looking at people. It makes me horny.

MadisonMan said...

Why is there a cart solely for people from Illinois?

The bomber also once owned Radical Rye (a sandwich shop), which was located in a former Adult Book Store where MMoCA is now.

tituswantsababy said...

I went to an adult bookstore on State Street when I was like 16 years old.

It was really creepy there. There were two of them about a block down from the Capitol.

reader_iam said...

Ain't reality grand? From plotting grand-scheme revolution to serving the people, one sandwich or juice drink at a time, in one little lifespan.

Thanks, triangle man and madisonman, for helping me to start my day with a laugh.

tituswantsababy said...

You are welcome Reader!

Make it a great day.

Peter V. Bella said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Peter V. Bella said...

"Good luck to Fib's and to everyone trying to get a sandwich or a bowl of stew and to everyone breaking out the flip-flops and shorts."


Hey, I thought men in shorts were a no-no?

Unknown said...

Wonder if FIB's Italian beef is any good. Haven't been able to find any place in Madison that has lean Italian beef. Gino's beef sandwich is terrible. Portillo's in Chicago is great. Wish they'd open a branch here.

Dust Bunny Queen said...

This is the first picture I have seen that even remotely makes New York seem to be a place that I wouldn't cringe to visit. Everyone looks happy, relaxed,the vendors look like they are having a good day and most importantly no grafitti or depressingly decaying brick buildings.

Ann Althouse said...

Middle Class Guy: Ponder "good luck."

Modern Otter said...

I left Madison in early 1983, and have only visited back once, I believe around 1986 or '87. Those shots of Library Mall, the U. Club, etc. have a sort of soothing effect on me that so much remains the same. Had you turned around 180 and aimed the camera down State Street, the picture would go a long way in explaining why I haven't returned since. Even by the time of that one visit back, I found State Street disturbingly glitzy.

George M. Spencer said...

I thought you were famous for your bridges.

KCFleming said...

Sorry to harsh your mellow, DBQ, but that ain't NYC.

Hazy Dave said...

Readers from elsewhere may not realize that FIB is an epithet directed toward people from Illinois in parts of Wisconsin, even - or especially - those that benefit from all the tourist dollars. Presumably, the cart's proprietor and patrons are aware of this. (Hint: the "I" stands for Illinois.)

al said...

FIB is an epithet directed toward people from Illinois in parts of Wisconsin

While it's been awhile since I've ventured into Cheeseland it seems like the farther north one got the less likely you were to be referred to as a FIB. I always thought it was strange as if it weren't for the people of Illinois spending their money in Wisconsin the state might go broke.

ricpic said...

Harsh your mellow
Flip your bird
Plump your pillow
Flush your turd.

KCFleming said...

I have difficulty eating food from a cart, as it is two steps below even a dinner party, where one must balance a paper plate on the knee while spilling one's drink down the front of your pants.

It spells "hurry up" to me, "I am hungry and must eat now". Ugh.


I have only a brief respite from rushing through the morning and rushing through the afternoon. I would at least like to fake serenity for a half hour, sitting, calmly using actual utensils, at an actual table, not a concrete curb.

Yes, I do think too much about such things.
Carry on.

AllenS said...

The Minnesota State Fair is the Mecca of Fast Food. Anything edible that can be stuck on a stick is served there.

Dust Bunny Queen said...

Sorry to harsh your mellow, DBQ, but that ain't NYC

Sigh. I guess I can't read!!! Not enough coffee (it's early here).

Too bad, I was starting to like NYC and now I find out it's Madison which seems like a very nice place to be.

former law student said...

a dinner party, where one must balance a paper plate on the knee while spilling one's drink down the front of your pants.

At a dinner party, one sits at a table and dines. You're referring to either a cocktail party or a backyard BBQ.

KCFleming said...

Sez you.
I was there. 50 people. 20 chairs.
People in suits, trying to eat dinner while standing, or occasionally sitting, but sans table. without looking ridiculous. Failing, spilling. Quiet desperation with hopes for an early exit.


Pedantry is always unbecoming, FLS, and always boring.

Bissage said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
MadisonMan said...

I was there. 50 people. 20 chairs.

I hope they weren't serving spaghetti!

Anonymous said...

Lumiere - I agree that it's dern near impossible to find a good Italian beef in Madison, or anywhere in Wisconsin, for that matter.

Good news. Portillo's ships their Italian beef. Check their website. Ordering a couple days ahead of time does take the spontaniety out of lunch, but the result is worth the effort.

The combo (Italian sausage with Italian beef) is the best sandwich on Portillo's menu.

KCFleming said...

I hope they weren't serving spaghetti!

Fish.
And green beans that dove straight to the dress slacks and clung there, as if I might try to rescue them rather than shake them off like someone's two year old finding the wrong Dad.

I perfected a wan smile that night.

paul a'barge said...

What is up with Wisc? Every one of the people in those photos have a weight issue.

Trooper York said...

Well Dust Bunny Queen, a lot of your sense of what Brooklyn and New York is like from the professors photos is somewhat skewed because she likes desolate landscapes and dogs urinating. There are plenty of great shots of the garden side of Brooklyn that just didn't make the cut. The new series in the Brooklyn Botanical Garden shows the greener side of my fair borough. I must admit that I went to Frisco on my honeymoon and thought it was one of the worst cities I ever had to misfortune to visit. The highlight that so many people told us to be sure to visit was Alcatraz. A prison. That's like coming to New York and being told not to miss Rikers Island. I guess I didn't get to see the city the way a native would so I have to suspend final judgment until someone took me on a tour. Same with New York. You can't judge it by Times Square and the urban jungle shots you have been seeing from the professor.

Madison seems very nice; I just think so many commie pinko's in one place would make me sneeze a lot. All the best, your pal Trooper.

Bissage said...

There’s a reason why those guys are crowding around Fib’s Fine Italian Beef & Sausage.

Just look at them.

You can tell they’re mathematicians.

And they’re a sentimental lot.

They’re all ordering the rabbit sandwich!

tituswantsababy said...

Wisconsin residents, for the most part, are big beer drinkers.

Also, they eat quite a bit of fried food. They fry anything and everything.

I still love them though.

This time of the year through August it is beautiful there.

Although, they could still get a whopping snowstorm any day now.

Trooper York said...

If the professor wants some shots of a real bunch of carts and al fresco eating she should go to Red Hook park where Mexican and South American immigrants have set up these great food stands and there is a big party every weekend near the ball field. You will get real authentic Mexican and South American food from Guatemala, Peru, Bolivia and other points south of the border. Roast guinea pig on a stick has been known to make an appearance for you adventous diners. Know officially as the South Brooklyn open air food festival it is informally know by the guys in Red Hook projects as the spicnic and it is one of the best places for outdoor eating in NYC

tituswantsababy said...

I don't think I could ever eat anything from a pushcart.

Some of my friends love a few of them around the city but it seems kind of gross to me.

The smell of those peanuts always makes me want to barf.

It's tankey weather and I am so excited.

Is everyone getting out their tankeys? Are there arms ready to be judged and hopefully loved?

vbspurs said...

Wait, wasn't John Belushi Albanian?

Remember in Wag the Dog, the phony international situation involved Albania, and the MSM pictured interviewed James Belushi to get a comment?

I think FIB's is fibbing.

Cheers,
Victoria

tituswantsababy said...

For men the tankey should be the ordinary white wife beater.

Nothing weird, no colors, no stripes, not unusual shoulder straps, nothing.

Just the wife beater. A hanes or fruit of the loom is fine. Don't go all D&G or Diesel on the tankey. It's way too gay.

Trooper York said...

Quite a few of the pizza joints in the city are now owned by Albanians who have also become a lot of the muscle used by the Italian mob. Albanians are about as close as you can get to the old school guineas who came over from the other side to start the pushcarts and pizzerias. They will work the long hours and take the crap to make a good living. So Albanians selling Italian sausage is par for the course.(of course a Mexican will be the guy actually cooking the stuff, that's America land of opportunity).

tituswantsababy said...

Albanians are hot.

So are Armenians.

tituswantsababy said...

I have a big zit on my face today.

How come I am over 30 and still get zits?

former law student said...

Pedantry is always unbecoming, FLS, and always boring.

hey, don't pick on me; your host is the one who hates you. Tents and tables can be rented; if necessary card tables and folding chairs can be borrowed. The VFW and the K of C can be rented; even trailer parks have clubhouses that can be reserved.

I hope you sent him your dry cleaning bill.

MadisonMan said...

The host may have been clueless, not hateful.

KCFleming said...

Aye MM; that she was.

Palladian said...

"How come I am over 30 and still get zits?"

Because you're covered in bacteria.

Ralph L said...

Every one of the people in those photos have a weight issue
Where do you live? East Africa?
Every one of those people would be considered thin in the South.

Ralph L said...

Except the girl in green with the red backpack. She'd be normal if she were middle-aged.

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