Vendors litter the streets of New York City, attracting customers ranging from local students and business people to soldiers, shoppers and tourists. Why these people choose the particular lunches that they do may just be a matter of cost and convenience, but sometimes there is more that motivates them to buy a particular type of food.
Halal food carts are scattered throughout the Manhattan district attracting a diverse customer base. On Lexington Avenue and 25th Street alone, there are two Halal food carts, one on the North corner, another on the South corner, just outside Baruch College. The vendor on the corner of 25th and Lexington, presumably from the Middle East, speaks only Arabic, with a very limited command of English. The customers, however, are Americans.
These two Halal food carts on Lexington appeal largely for the convenience they afford the Baruch students, although they do get a trickling of other customers from the area. “They’re right here and the food’s good,” said a Baruch student, who buys Halal for lunch “basically daily.”
Another Baruch student noted the cost effective nature of the Halal food. For a Halal lunch, all he has to do is walk a few yards and pay a few dollars, about “five dollars, no tax,” he told me as we stood by the cart and waited for his order to be ready, food that was being made fresh on the spot.
Chui, a soldier stationed in the vicinity, also frequents this Halal food cart. He said he purchases Halal lunch about “once a week.” “I work right here,” he said, “and when I don’t have time for much else, I come here and grab some lunch.”
But Halal does not only attract a local crowd seeking food that is budget friendly and easy access. Halal is a specialty food, made to satisfy the stringent Muslim requirements for meat. On Park Avenue and 32nd Street, the Halal cart seems to attract a more select customer base.
Customers frequenting this Halal cart will also tend to be from the area, but here many or the customers are religious, seeking food that meets their religious standards.
“I know all the customers,” said the vendor. “They are mostly religious,” he said, referring to the nature of the “regulars” who come not for convenience but for the exclusivity of this type of food.
Although the Halal food carts appeal to a varied customer base, appealing to different people for different reasons, the Halal food cart commands a more homogenously Islamic vendor base. Still, there is no rule without its exceptions, and the Halal vendors have their exceptions, too.
The vendor at the Halal cart on Park Avenue and 32nd Street is a Bukharin Jewish immigrant. He chose to work at this food cart since it was an available job and since he associates Halal with Kosher food. “It’s like Kosher food,” he said. “Everything is clean.” This type of food seemed more acceptable to him, closer to home, with his Jewish affiliation and background.
The vendor, with his deep, Jewish identification, said he would be putting a Menorah on his cart’s dashboard for the Jewish holiday, Chanukah. Perhaps this is ironic for a food cart that so strongly identifies itself with the Muslim religious food requirements, or perhaps it is a manifestation of American pluralism that goes along with the diverse constituency it attracts, some for reasons of convenience and proximity, others for its inexpensive price, and of course yet others to satisfy religious laws regarding food.
Mere proximity effect? Even if it is, it’s something more.