The different size of the tortillas are a defining factor for what is usually sold off trucks. There is a noticeable difference in size and the manufacturers like Mission sell smaller tortilla labels “street taco size”. They sell them in just about every supermarket in the Bay area. You notice the difference is size when you order 4 tacos from a truck…they fit on a regular 9” paper plate. The larger size fits 1.5. Won’t bore you with a link, you can do the search if you care.
Is it marketing? Partly but after the fact that trucks and carts usually used the smaller tortillas. But taco trucks have been using smaller tortilla for a long time. Street taco simply became a short hand for smaller tortilla…bought off the street, cart or truck. Not really a mystery and there a reason to differentiate, whether you agree or not. Just like sliders are little burger…street tacos let you know the tacos are smaller. That’s why the fancy place served you three. Of course they’re just trying to sell a little street cred and marketing, right?
As for Mission burrito, that’s a regional definition…much like Chicago deep dish, Detroit square pizza, NY thin crust pizza, etc. Yup, they’re all tacos and pizza…but different kinds due to region, style, size or other factors. I mean why call it a chimichanga if it’s really just a deep fried burrito?
Truck tacos in the extended Bay Area range from $2 for the most basic (meat and simple garnish) to $3.50 for more elaborate garnish, like lots of grilled onions. They are small, usually 3 1/2 inch tortillas. You can split them, if your are inclined, and spread the filling over each single tortilla. It works. 2 to 3 street tacos are a decent meal. I have seen laborers go for 4, and they’ve put in 4 hours of work and looking to repeat the same.
I reaslly like street tacos because of the high protein to carb ratio, as opposed to a sandwich…
There’s very little talk of it on line, but NYC’s street food is way more plentiful and diverse than the well known hot dog stands. Yes, there are the halal carts, offering lots of Middle Eastern food, & there are Caribbean Island food carts & hundreds of roast nuts or pretzel carts (yes, they count too). But, each Chinatown is lined with street vendors, some single item carts, but some offering up to 10 items each. The “Red Hook Ballfields”, now way past its prime but still in existence, was visited by Bourdain years ago & was a weekend destination for many of us. There were 20-30 vendors lining the area, each offering Latin American foods, from tuna ceviche to arepas. Lots of these areas throughout NYC still exist, in East Harlem and around much of Queens, including Flushing Meadow Park, where the Queens Night Market has taken up. Going to food trucks & Smorgasburg have replaced many of these carts as destinations, somewhat due to increased health regulation enforcement, but you can eat for a week just using the carts that dot the landscape of the city. Just thought I’d mention that.
I know NYC has good street food options, beyond street meat.
That said, as a relatively frequent visitor to NYC pre-pandemic, trying to squeeze food, art, theatre and friends into my 4 day visits, I haven’t managed to get to the corners of Queens or Brooklyn to try the interesting street food. Maybe some day.
I admit, I’m too scared about possible food poisoning to try some carts and stalls I’ve seen in Manhattan. So, my street food in NYC has been limited to hot dogs, chestnuts, sugared coconut, hot nuts, Pappa Perrone’s rice ball truck (I think it no longer exists), a fancy dessert from a food truck near the EV, a memorable Merguez sausage on a bun from the Alliance Française during a street fest on Bastille day, and maybe some zeppole from a street festival in the 90s.
To ask people on the San Francisco board to agree that street food in NYC is better is brazen.
You seem very passionate about this, so not going to debate it, and happy that you call them all tacos.
But when @pilgrim labeled this thread as it is, I knew exactly what she was talking about. I didn’t think she was talking about the fried fish tacos I grew up eating when we’d camp on the beach in San Felipe, or the gussied up Korean tacos at Surisan. Subcategorizing food when looking for something particular is normal and efficient. Like I wouldn’t make a thread titled “Sandwiches: where and how SF” when I was particularly looking for banh mi.
Which actually reminds me (must be getting old to have forgotten this with the name and all) that there is a place I used to live next to actually called Street Taco, and I happen to be walking by there today so will stop in. I probably didn’t think of it because they don’t do cabeza, lengua, etc., but their meat tacos (and nopales) are pretty good made with good in-house tortillas. I’ll take some photos and add them later.
I really miss the diversity of street food. Even before the pandemic, there were way fewer regular trucks on the streets of SF than in NYC. (I don’t count the truck “gatherings” like Off the Grid). You can’t even get a basic street hot dog here–the carts with the bacon-wrapped dogs aren’t a regular thing and they seem a bit dodgy anyway.
Not the newer Keller place I was thinking of, but of course! I’ve loved Gotts before it was Gotts! I only just realized my favorite Pinot Grigio was the same Gotts. Duh!
