A Talk With Cesar Fuentes

Pork Chop Express this week published a lengthy interview with Cesar Fuentes, the spokesperson for the Red Hook Ballfield Food Vendors, which went through so much tsuris last summer at the hands of the City. The Vendors have not yet returned to the park, though it's hope their south-of-the-border delectables will be back by the end the June.

The saddest news to come out of the interview is that the vendors appearance will have been sanitized. The will operate out of city-mandated mobile food vending trucks, and the blue tents will go bye-bye. No doubt this will created a more sanitary environment. But the special flavor of the set-up will be gone. As Fuentes says, "The physical, unique aesthetic - weather beaten tarps, an old world food bazaar and unique 'mercado' feel - couldn't be kept despite our appeals for its preservation. And the operating costs for each vendor to continue selling in the park may be prohibitively high for some."

Read the entire interview here.