New York City Cuisine Exploration

NYC Cuisine Exploration (20%).

For this assignment you will choose a small geographic area in New York City. It can be a block, an intersection, or a couple of blocks. The area has to be small enough for you to provide a concise analysis, and big enough to cover at least 2 food businesses that can be all of the same type (for example, restaurant, supermarket, food carts) or from different types. For this assignment you will describe the location that you have chosen and the cuisine that characterizes that area –feel free to use pictures, drawings, videos, etc– the geographical area and its cuisine. Make sure to cite at least one academic reference and refer to one course topic (see the weekly themes/topics in the course schedule) in your analysis.

In the written report (max 3 pages double spaced) you will develop an argument in which you explain, describe, characterize, and compare the cuisine in question, as represented by the food businesses that you chose. Your site selection will play an important role in a successful argument. For example, if you choose the area on the following map you can chose three food establishments there: Think Coffee, Starbucks, and the Halal Food Truck. A tentative argument can be: cuisine on the go: fueling students. I argue that the cuisine in the chose area has evolved around speed and convenience. The establishments in this area are geared towards students who are on the go. During a 30-minute observation I witnessed the influx of students who were eager to get their food and go as opposed to sitting down and enjoying a meal. The design of the utensils that are used evidences the necessity of a speedy delivery of food as they are designed for take-out, with its sustainability consequences. The geography of my choice is characterized by being close to NYU’s campus. This is a unique site since it is too close to the main university buildings to be a place where people go to enjoy a cuisine, hence why convenience trumps flavor. I argue this since there are other areas near NYU’s campus in which students go to enjoy a particular cuisine, etc.