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First murals...now...taco tracks (L.A./Latino-R)

mannybolonemannybolone Los Angeles, CA 15,025 Posts
edited April 2008 in Strut Central
Chalk up some more bullshit:http://www.laweekly.com/eat+drink/counter-intelligence/keep-on-taco-trucking/18741/"Last week, led by Gloria Molina, the L.A. County Board of Supervisors passed a law basically outlawing taco trucks, making it a crime for them to linger at one location for more than an hour, punishable by a $1,000 fine or up to six months in prison."W T F

  Comments

  • waxjunkywaxjunky 1,849 Posts
    They've tried similar bans in some towns in Northern California as well.
  • pcmrpcmr 5,591 Posts
    this shit is unbeleivable

    racial legal profiling

    I can't beleive a democratic country would allow this
  • Jonny_PaycheckJonny_Paycheck 17,825 Posts


    I can't beleive a democratic country would allow this

    Well for whatever it's worth this is not that much different than certain cities in Mexico cleaning out the squares of carts - happened back in the 90s in Morelia and (I think) D.F.

    That said this is immensely foul hey Drezzie you know if they get rid of all the taco trucks out there you can always come back here and hit it up on 86th/Broadway!
  • twoplytwoply Only Built 4 Manzanita Links 2,915 Posts

    I can't beleive a democratic capitalistic, business-favoring, constant-Horatio-Alger-Story-citing country would allow this


    Portland has quite a few decent taco carts, but I doubt they'd be able to stay in business if people weren't sure where to find them. That sounds less like a reasonable law and more like a direct attack on a specific business model.
  • pcmrpcmr 5,591 Posts
    That sounds less like a reasonable law and more like a direct attack on a specific business model.

    its the direct aim part that frustrated me about the 'democratic' country

    usually (at least here in canada) there are constarints against any laws that would directly intefere with a cultural manifestation or lifestyle..if not amendments are made

    thats a case of protecting diversity through law and watchdogs thinking ahead in case of juridiction

    in this taco truck case its politicians looking to constrain lifestyles and then using the law as a tool

    bizarro world and all the bullshit patriot emotional arguments that make up these 'political discussions'

    thats whats weird (no america is evil) debates about racial integration and values get attention...demand attention (no bitter)

    actual semi-racist laws...
  • SnappingSnapping 995 Posts

    I can't beleive a democratic capitalistic, business-favoring, constant-Horatio-Alger-Story-citing country would allow this


    Portland has quite a few decent taco carts, but I doubt they'd be able to stay in business if people weren't sure where to find them. That sounds less like a reasonable law and more like a direct attack on a specific business model.

    The proliferation of taco carts in Portland over the past few years has been great for people like me who are "ballin' on a budget."
    But the owners of downtown Portland restaurants frequently complain about competition from the food carts, who have much lower overhead than the brick and mortar restaurants and can offer much lower prices. I suspect that there is a similar dynamic gong on in LA, where the owners of indoor taquerias and restaurants don't want to compete with the trucks.
  • johmbolayajohmbolaya 4,472 Posts
    In this part of Washington State, there has been a push to define and refine zoning laws because of all of the taco trucks. Most of them have parked and sold food in the same spots for years, but now that taco trucks are moving out of the "normal areas" and selling food in spots that are now unoccupied (i.e. old K-Mart, old Food Pavilion), it seems some feel they are a nuisance even though they have obeyed all of the rules, pay everything that needs to be paid. There have also been moves to create laws to reduce the sound not in an entire city or town, but a section of the town because the music coming out of the one nightclub near the train tracks is too loud.


    But the owners of downtown Portland restaurants frequently complain about competition from the food carts, who have much lower overhead than the brick and mortar restaurants and can offer much lower prices. I suspect that there is a similar dynamic gong on in LA, where the owners of indoor taquerias and restaurants don't want to compete with the trucks.

    Same up here, but to me that's healthy competition because if you just want a couple of tacos and go, or sit outside with some Tapatio, you can. If you want a nice and cozy restaurant, you can. All of the trucks and restaurants I've seen do not have a problem with customers, although I don't own a restaurant either.

    On a related note, there's a fish & chips truck in Richland which has some pretty good food, and seem to have done well in the parking lot they're parked in. Now people there are protesting because the place, a simple yellow camper, is now considered a nuisance and I guess people in Richland are now aiming to change a few things on how food trucks can be sold and where. Yet if you head up about five miles to Battelle, Bechtel, and the outskirts of Hanford, the same lunchwagons are there, with absolutely no problem or protest
  • behemothbehemoth 2,189 Posts
    same thing happens everywhere with other types of food establishments. a local hot dog cart where i used to live was required to move every 20 minutes.

    i can see this being retarded if it was JUST taco trucks and not other mobile vendors
  • grandpa_shiggrandpa_shig 5,799 Posts
    i have been following this fairly closely, of course. it has more to do with the businesses in molina's district pointing out to the politicians that taco trucks are benefitting from the demography while not having to pay the tax to do so. and the city is in the business of taxing. so you know they were on board. anyways, i have often fantasized of taco trucks trolling the blvd like a giant ice cream truck with like a grip of paisas and fat dudes like me waving dollar bills and chasing it down the street. im not against that.
  • waxjunkywaxjunky 1,849 Posts

    But the owners of downtown Portland restaurants frequently complain about competition from the food carts, who have much lower overhead than the brick and mortar restaurants and can offer much lower prices. I suspect that there is a similar dynamic gong on in LA, where the owners of indoor taquerias and restaurants don't want to compete with the trucks.

    Yes, that's the real base of the issue -- money. I can see how restaurant owners (often Latinos themselves) would try to get these operations out of their market. The restaurant gig is already a tough business with slim margins, and competition can hurt the bottom line.

    Still, from a consumer perspective, I like the trucks for their convenience. Where I live, there's plenty of them around, and the good ones match the quality of the sit-down establishments. Besides that, some of the trucks where I live operate as satellite locations for the brick-and-mortar operations.

    Most of all, I like the cultural aspect of the venerable roach coach. They are a nice foil to the Starbucks-style gentrification happening all over this state. People should really be complaining about that. It shouldn't be mom-and-pop versus mom-and-pop, it should be mom-and-pop versus the corporations.

  • mannybolonemannybolone Los Angeles, CA 15,025 Posts
    Even bacon-wrapped hot dogs ain't safe!

    http://www.laweekly.com/eat+drink/dining/the-bacon-wrapped-hot-dog-so-good-its-illegal/18276/
  • waxjunkywaxjunky 1,849 Posts

    I saw that article when it ran. Those bacon wrapped hot dogs are so delicious. The aroma will get your attention down the block. They don't have them where I live, but I would hate to see them leave LA.
  • mannybolonemannybolone Los Angeles, CA 15,025 Posts
    They're not trying to ban the hot-dogs outright - but they are targeting "unlicensed" vendors. The ostensible claim is around health issues but I think it's more about removing competition.
  • ZEN2ZEN2 1,540 Posts


    ..and yet I'm sure these are perfectly legal.



    Personally I wouldn't eat either.. but that seems like a ridiculous double standard targeted at local business owners.
  • HAZHAZ 3,376 Posts
    Street food, like carts & trucks is illegal in my city. I've never had it as part of my local culinary experience, so I can't say I'd miss it. The mayor banned them 30-40 years ago because he said they were unsightly, detracted from quality cuisine, and unsanitary.
  • edpowersedpowers 4,437 Posts



  • RockadelicRockadelic Out Digging 13,993 Posts
    I think we should start a fleet of traveling Soul Strut record stores in Winnebagos and park them outside all the real record stores still open in L.A.

    We can undercut their prices because we'll have no overhead, and we can snag all the folks coming to sell their vinyl before they enter the real store.

    Any interested investors?
  • grandpa_shiggrandpa_shig 5,799 Posts
    youd be cutting in on the homeless digger's business! he travels california in a van selling cut up raers out his trunk
  • UnconSciUnconSci 824 Posts


    I refuse to even read that! I was talking to Plann B outside of Soul Sessions a few weeks ago. Me and my friends are definitely fully addicted to those bacon wrapped hot dogs with onions and all that good shit. He was saying every so often a paddywagon will just pull up... load the hotdog card into the back and head out. Just confiscating their set up and rolling.

    I can understand cracking down on these dudes but I always assumed the trucks were illegal, as most of the carts already are. So... are some of these dudes legit with licesnses, or have they just made it easier to prosecute them?

    The food is unregulated for quality and cleanliness. Plus their lack of expenses creates unfair competition that fucks with the local business equivilents of taco trucks. There has been a Taco Truck Parked outside my window for 8 months now like 12 hours a day. J's Burritos. Ima go hit up for the first time today, I donno catering trucks just kinda scare me. Do I sound white?
  • UnconSciUnconSci 824 Posts
    youd be cutting in on the homeless digger's business! he travels california in a van selling cut up raers out his trunk

    Who DJ biscuit?
  • grandpa_shiggrandpa_shig 5,799 Posts
    i dont know his professional name. he's the dude that posts up outside of roscoes selling raer.

    anyways, its hot as fuck today. time to go back to bed and then catch "the hammer" later this afternoon...
  • p_gunnp_gunn 2,284 Posts
    That sounds less like a reasonable law and more like a direct attack on a specific business model.

    its the direct aim part that frustrated me about the 'democratic' country

    usually (at least here in canada) there are constarints against any laws that would directly intefere with a cultural manifestation or lifestyle..if not amendments are made

    thats a case of protecting diversity through law and watchdogs thinking ahead in case of juridiction

    in this taco truck case its politicians looking to constrain lifestyles and then using the law as a tool

    bizarro world and all the bullshit patriot emotional arguments that make up these 'political discussions'

    thats whats weird (no america is evil) debates about racial integration and values get attention...demand attention (no bitter)

    actual semi-racist laws...

    i wouldn't come on as Capt Canada if i were you, as street vendors have been illegal in montreal since like the 30's or 40's (no such thing as buying a hot dog on the corner or a taco for that matter), ostensibly for the same reasons this ban is being talked about in LA, b/c restaurant owners claimed it hurt their business...
  • edpowersedpowers 4,437 Posts
    its hot as fuck today.
  • SouthCrackalackSouthCrackalack 3,853 Posts
    That seems really weird. I wish we had taco trucks where I live.
  • p_gunnp_gunn 2,284 Posts
    Street food, like carts & trucks is illegal in my city. I've never had it as part of my local culinary experience, so I can't say I'd miss it. The mayor banned them 30-40 years ago because he said they were unsightly, detracted from quality cuisine, and unsanitary.

    whoops, missed this post.... what he said...
  • LaserWolfLaserWolf Portland Oregon 11,517 Posts
    Plus their lack of expenses creates unfair competition that fucks with the local business equivilents of taco trucks.

    The government should regulate expenses so every business has the same expenses. It's only fair.

    b/w Rock, if you think you can make more money with less overhead from a Winnebago you should go for it. I would, if I thought it would make money.
  • RockadelicRockadelic Out Digging 13,993 Posts

    b/w Rock, if you think you can make more money with less overhead from a Winnebago you should go for it. I would, if I thought it would make money.

    Cool.....Reserve me a parking space in front of your store.
  • mannybolonemannybolone Los Angeles, CA 15,025 Posts
    I think we should start a fleet of traveling Soul Strut record stores in Winnebagos and park them outside all the real record stores still open in L.A.

    We can undercut their prices because we'll have no overhead, and we can snag all the folks coming to sell their vinyl before they enter the real store.

    Any interested investors?

    Wait - our resident libertarian thinks the government should regulate businesses to insure an equal playing field?

    You down for affirmative action too?
  • RockadelicRockadelic Out Digging 13,993 Posts
    I think we should start a fleet of traveling Soul Strut record stores in Winnebagos and park them outside all the real record stores still open in L.A.

    We can undercut their prices because we'll have no overhead, and we can snag all the folks coming to sell their vinyl before they enter the real store.

    Any interested investors?

    Wait - our resident libertarian thinks the government should regulate businesses to insure an equal playing field?

    You down for affirmative action too?

    I think you're confusing my post with LW's.
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