Street food is ready-to-eat food or drink sold in a street or other public place, such as a market or fair, by a hawker or vendor, often from a portable stall. While some street foods are regional, many are not, having spread beyond their region of origin. Most street foods are also classed as both finger food and fast food, and are cheaper on average than restaurant meals. According to a 2007 study from the Food and Agriculture Organization, 2.5 billion people eat street food every day.
Today, people may purchase street food for a number of reasons including "ethnic taste, nostalgia, and the opportunity to eat quickly obtained, reaonably priced and flavorful food in a sociable setting." Historically, in places such as ancient Rome, street food was purchased because urban poor did not have kitchens in their homes.
Read more about Street Food: History, Street Food Around The World, Cultural and Economic Aspects, Health and Safety
Famous quotes containing the words street and/or food:
“And men left down their work and came,
And women with petticoats coloured like flame.
And little bare feet that were blue with cold,
Went dancing back to the age of gold,
And all the world went gay, went gay,
For half an hour in the street to-day.”
—“Seumas” “O’Sullivan” (1879–1958)
“Feed him ye must, whose food fills you.
And that this pleasure is like raine,
Not sent ye for to drowne your paine,
But for to make it spring againe.”
—Robert Herrick (1591–1674)