Longreads

Nicola Willey examines the reasons behind the booming street eats of Mexico City:

"Although Mexico City has always had a tradition of street food, as well as a climate that permits year-round outdoor life, Janet Long’s statistics show that the number of vendors has more-or-less tripled in the past decade. The reasons behind that expansion reveal a fascinating blend of socio-economic, political, and infrastructural forces that shape the D.F.’s landscape of mobile dining.

One factor behind the boom in street food vendors is the sprawling growth of the city itself, and its resulting nightmarish traffic. As Long explains, the city’s size and gridlock “force people to travel greater distances to their place of work or study, and make it impossible for them to return home for the mid-day meal, which is traditionally the most important meal of the day in Mexico.” Meanwhile, some recent urban arrivals “must resort to living in single rooms, without cooking facilities,” making them a captive market for taco stands and tamal vendors."