It's striking that New York has many more food carts than Chicago. Some folks speculate that it's because Chicago has such stringent plumbing requirements for mobile food vendors.

Whatever the case, it's really cool to see the variety. Who doesn't want a dosa from a tempting cart?

The other day, Jonathan was telling me that New York restaurants also tend to move together through trends. The current trend, he said, is panini, which he suggested had reached the point of absurdity.

I thought he was exaggerating at first. But the other day, I walked by this place in Greenwich Village:



I'm glad to know that Indian folks are contributing to this trend.

Finally, while I haven't found really great Mexican food, I have learned not to trust even the most compelling hype:

Tags: New York, food, street vendors, Chicago

I've decided to move from Chicago to New York, where I'll be starting a new job at the Brennan Center for Justice-- so what better time to start a blog? Perhaps I can document some of the fun-- including trying to find a studio apartment in Manhattan that's comparably priced to my oversized (and apparently underpriced) 2-bedroom in Chicago.

I'm sad to leave Chicago for other reasons-- I'll miss a lot of people here, and my present job-- but as long as I'm leaving, New York is an exciting place to end up, right?

Tags: New York, Chicago, Brennan Center, Shriver Center