Netflix Street Food: North Hollywood Edition

The morning constitutional can be the highlight of any day. Air is at its freshest. Fellow denizens of the street are few. Which music will set the mood for what is to come today? The promise of goodness to come. Something new. So many squirrels. This is their time.

It’s so quiet out that when you do see something remarkable it truly stands out. I’m not wandering through the general melee of regular life. If you’re up at this time it is for a reason. This purposeful nature of the particular brand of living going on makes the morning my favorite time.

I see the same people often. Sometimes acknowledged. Sometimes with just an undercurrent of knowing from both of us. I recognize you and you recognize me and that’s where we shall leave it until the same time tomorrow. See you then. 

But with the purposeful nature of everyone who’s up at this hour, and the regularity of those who are, it’s always a treat to see something completely new. How often are we lucky enough to see something that we’ve truly never seen before? Not as often as I would like. But today I had that perfect gift.

Close to the train station in one of the many encampments that dot the sidewalk a person who was currently spending their time in a tent on the sidewalk was cooking breakfast. This in itself was not new or unusual. Those with traditional housing arrangements and those without all have to eat in the morning. But the method of cooking was what stood out to me.

At the intersection of a busy crosswalk I saw a person with a small but very functional offset smoker. This warmed both my heart and my person as I walked through the wafts of smoke emanating from the cylindrical drum. I am very partial to some barbecue and while I’m not a chef I do understand the effort and care it takes to smoke anything in this fashion. Not only did this person need to acquire said offset smoker, but they needed the fuel to run it. In this case some variety of wood chips judging by the smell of my sweater after my brief smoke bath. It takes patience, care, and not a small amount of skill to cook in this fashion. The keen home cook is often overwhelmed by the time and effort and expense that it takes to smoke something low and slow in the style of the Texas greats. But this person was undeterred. Maybe they woke up early to get the fire started. Maybe they stayed up all night with excitement for the delicious smoke-kissed meal that was to come the next day. No matter the situation I was deeply impressed.

That was until I noticed the food storage situation. A plastic shopping bag, piled high with chicken breasts and what appeared to be miscellaneous cuts of beef. All mixed in together. All sitting on the pavement next to the traffic light pole that was busy charging everybody’s phones with a spider web of wires. That cannot be hygienic. No I don’t need a sample but thank you kindly for offering. I am impressed nonetheless.