Fast Food

Ramadan Fasting in the Age of Chowhound

It's hot outside.
It’s hot outside. Photo: See the video.

During the monthlong observance of Ramadan, which ends tomorrow evening, Muslims abstain from all food and drink, including water, from sunrise to sunset. The fast is meant to be meditative in a way, a streamlining of the soul, but it invariably affects those who love to eat. Rollo Romig writes in The New Yorker about a run-in with a jumbo cardboard cheese sandwich and an old and flirty Forum of the Twelve Caesars menu at the public library. Through it all, Romig is undeterred: “This is not a juice fast,” he writes, “this is not giving up candy bars for Lent.” Meanwhile, City Spoonful takes a look in the video below at how Islamic street-food vendors have been coping this hot summer with hot grills and full sun. Yassir Raouli of Rustic and Bistro Truck says he’s used to it, even if that means having to work the galley kitchen inside his food truck all day long without hydration.

Muslim Street Food Vendors Keep Cooking Despite Ramadan Fast [City Spoonful]
Confessions of a Ramadan Rookie [NYer]
Earlier: A Few Details on Bistro Truck’s Upcoming LES Restaurant, Rustic

Ramadan Fasting in the Age of Chowhound