The front of Indian Tasty Halal Cart with a window with a vendor working behind it and colorful photos of their food.

Food Cart Tour: Midtown

Get a taste of the streets of New York City and learn about the challenges of running these thriving but demanding small businesses.

Tour Highlights

  • 2-hour guided food tour with 5 generous tastings
  • Taste food from some of the best street vendors in NYC
  • Meet the vendors and learn what it takes to run a demanding street food business
  • Learn about street vending history and the complex present-day regulations
  • Tours offered select Fridays at 12pm
  • Walking tour
  • Tours begin near Bryant Park
  • Private Group Tours available
  • Tours support theStreet Vendor Project

Get a taste of the streets of New York City on this 2-hour walking tour that explores the past and present of street food and the challenges of running these thriving but demanding small businesses. Each tour includes generous tastings from some of the best food carts and trucks in New York City—the menu rotates from week to week, but tastings on your tour may include falafel and lamb, halal chicken and rice, Bengali kati rolls, Belgian waffles, and Mexican tacos, all prepared in these curbside kitchens. But beyond the delicious food, you will also get the chance to meet working street vendors, understand the rules and regulations they navigate every day, and learn what to takes to launch and run a successful street food business. You will never look at street food the same way again! Five percent of all Food Cart Tour ticket sales are donated to the Street Vendor Project.

Tour Information

Admission

Public Tours

  • General Admission: $60 per person
  • Seniors (65+): $54
  • Students and Veterans: $54
  • Children (5-12): $30
  • Children under 5 are welcome to attend free
  • Advance ticket purchase is required

Private tours are available seven days a week, depending on availability. Pricing for private tours is based on a minimum occupancy of 10 guests, and a gratuity of 8.5% is added to all private tour bookings.

Menu

This tour includes five generous tastings from different street food vendors. Because street vendors often change locations, this menu is subject to change, but dishes frequently featured on this tour include halal chicken over rice, Indian kati rolls, grandma-style pizza, and Mexican tacos.

We strive to accommodate most dietary restrictions and requests, including vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free diets, as well as allergies and food sensitivities. When making your booking, please be sure to indicate these so that we can make appropriate arrangements. Our team will strive to accommodate you as best we can, but we cannot guarantee all dietary accommodations. If you have any questions regarding the menu, please contact us directly.

Directions

All tours begin in Bryant Park, at the southeast corner of 6th Ave and 42nd St. The guide will meet you in front of the Wafels & Dinges kiosk.

  • PUBLIC TRANSIT: The nearest subway stations to the meeting location are 42 St-Bryant Park (B,D,F,M), 5th Ave (7), and Times Sq-42 St (N,Q,R,S,1,2,3,7). Please visit mta.info for routes, schedules, service changes, and delays.
  • Unless otherwise noted, tours end at the same location in Bryant Park.
  • Visit our Frequently Asked Questions page for complete directions and information about public transportation.

Accessibility

We strive to lead the tour over a physically accessible route, but due to construction, weather, or other unforeseen circumstances, we may encounter uneven paths, obstructions, or steep inclines along the tour route. If you do use a wheelchair or have any other accessibility need, please contact us directly and/or include this information when booking, so that we can offer a fully accessible experience.

Please visit our Accessibility Page for the most up-to-date information on all access accommodations.

About the Street Vendor Project

The Street Vendor Project is a membership-based project of the Urban Justice Center with thousands of vendor members who are working together to create a vendors’ movement for permanent change. The organization does outreach to vendors and stakeholders to educate about rights and responsibilities, campaigns for changes to laws and policies that unfairly target street vendors, provides legal representation to vendors in court, and helps vendors through small business training, loans, and direct assistance. Since we launched the Food Cart Tours in 2010, Turnstile Tours has donated 5% of all revenue from these tours to the Street Vendor Project, totaling more than $20,000.

FAQ

  • Midtown tours begin in Bryant Park on the southeast corner of 6th Avenue and 42nd St.
  • Financial District tours begin in the public atrium in the Continental Center, 150 Maiden Lane.
  • Jackson Heights tours begin at Arepa Lady, 77-17 37th Ave, Jackson Heights, Queens.
  • Street Vending After Dark tours begin outside the Conrad New York Midtown, 151 West 54th St.

Please visit our Frequently Asked Questions page for complete directions and information on public transportation, or consult our transportation map.

Our Food Cart Tours require a maximum of about 1.5 miles of walking over the course of two hours, though this may vary slightly depending upon the location of the carts and trucks that we visit. Our guides strive to make everyone as comfortable as possible, so we try to provide places to sit and give you all the fuel you need to make the walk with delicious street food!

Your Food Cart Tour ticket includes five generous tastings from different food carts and trucks, your knowledgeable and helpful guide, and a bottle of water. The amount of food served on the tour is equivalent to a very, very hearty lunch, so come hungry!

We strive to accommodate most dietary restrictions and requests, including vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free diets, as well as allergies and food sensitivities. When making your booking, please be sure to indicate these so that we can make appropriate arrangements. Our team will strive to accommodate you as best we can, but we cannot guarantee all dietary accommodations. If you have any questions regarding the menu, please contact us directly.

We strive to lead the tour over a physically accessible route, but due to construction, weather, or other unforeseen circumstances, we may encounter uneven paths, obstructions, or steep inclines along the tour route. If you do use a wheelchair or have any other accessibility need, please contact us directly and/or include this information when booking, so that we can offer a fully accessible experience.

Please visit our Accessibility Page for the most up-to-date information on all access accommodations.

The Street Vendor Project is a membership-based project of the Urban Justice Center with thousands of vendor members who are working together to create a vendors’ movement for permanent change. The organization does outreach to vendors and stakeholders to educate about rights and responsibilities, campaigns for changes to laws and policies that unfairly target street vendors, provides legal representation to vendors in court, and helps vendors through small business training, loans, and direct assistance. Since we launched the Food Cart Tours in 2010, Turnstile Tours has donated 5% of all revenue from these tours to the Street Vendor Project, totaling more than $20,000.

People of all ages can enjoy street food, so if your child is an adventurous eater and doesn’t mind spending a couple hours walking the streets of Manhattan, then they are more than welcome. Tickets for children ages 5–12 are half price, and children under 5 are welcome to join the tour for free.

Still have any questions?
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