Expatriation issues: street food...

Since my flight has been faced a mandatory postponement, I’ll grumble and gripe a little bit more about the things I’m looking forward to, and the things I’ll miss in Paris. Most notably, I’m interested in the street food culture shift that I’m facing.

In New York and other urban areas, you can buy a hot dog and eat it in the street. Tacos, falafel, pizza – you name it, Americans walk with it and eat it. We’ve got things to do, people.

In Paris, don’t get me wrong, the falafel (see photo) is way better than Maoz or Mamoun’s, two New York City favorites. And the doner kebabs, if you haven’t been following, are my raisons d’être. But you can’t just grab a sandwich and walk with it. It’s considered distasteful, and quite frankly, I’d prefer not to deal with the looks and judgments of the Parisians.

Maybe they’re just envious of my Lebanese grilled chicken, olive, and hummus sandwich – at least they should be. But walking and eating is a practice I must leave behind. It’s not a bad trade-off though. So I can’t get great pizza or cheesesteaks anymore. I get crepes and doner kebabs with fries. I’ll just have to learn to sit down and enjoy it. What a concept!