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Food Truck in Hasidic Williamsburg Raises Suspicions Among Ultra-Orthodox



When Nathan Lichtenstein first parked his truck in the Hasidic area of Williamsburg in early September, some other members of the ultra-conservative branch of Judaism handed out leaflets denouncing the truck. They feared it would tempt the devout out of their houses and into the street, where men and women might mingle and young Hasidim would neglect their studies.

The protests died out two months ago. But now some of the most conservative Hasidim see a new threat — hipsters.

The neighborhood, home mostly to members of the Satmar sect of Hasidism, is a place where most people cook dinner at home with their families, where small groceries outnumber restaurants, and where signs in Yiddish are as common as those in English.

Lichtenstein’s food wagon is parked on Lee Avenue where it crosses over the Brooklyn Queens Expressway, in the heart of the neighborhood.

Lined with small shops selling baked goods, discount items, jewelry and electronics, Lee Avenue is the main commercial strip. There are no chain stores. Women shoppers pushing strollers wear skirts to their ankles. The minivans and cell phones seem incongruous.

The gleaming silver food wagon, its sides lined with red and purple lights, stands out, too.

Lichtenstein named his business “Sub on Wheels.” The menu features a variety of subs, not surprisingly, as well as traditional Jewish foods like kugel and knishes, and street foods like hot dogs, hamburgers and “Philly Steaks.” Yes, that’s Philly Steak, not Philly Cheese steak.

The vast majority of Lichtenstein’s guests come from the local Hasidic community or from other Jewish neighborhoods in the city. A convenience store worker two blocks from Lichtenstein, on Broadway, said he gets hipsters all the time. But Broadway seems to be a dividing line. Except for the day when thousands of runners in shorts take over the strip of Bedford Avenue that runs through the neighborhood — another subject of criticism for conservative Satmars — the Hasidic area of Williamsburg seems to remain intact, untouched by the hipsters farther north.

http://www.brooklyneagle.com/categories/category.php?category_id=27&id=16722