The Neverending Story of Food Trucks and City Council

Yesterday, the City Council held yet another meeting about New Orleans food trucks, a two-hour long Q&A meant to address "questions specifically raised" by Councilwoman Jackie Clarkson and Councilmember LaToya Cantrell, reports NOLA Defender and The Gambit, but instead only raising even more questions... such as... how long is this going to drag on? How has La Cocinita's Rachel Billow not had a nervous breakdown yet? Where will all the evil hipsters wash their hands? And why do councilmembers hate carnies so much?

Clarkson and Cantrell disagree with Billow and The NOFTC, and food truck advocates, on various points such as issues over food trucks' proximity to restaurants, restroom and sanitation accommodations (though everybody agrees that public health and safety is a main priority), insurance requirements, and the quantity of permits allowed, but now according to the NOLA Defender, Cantrell has introduced the idea of a possible "appearance requirement" to set the trucks apart from vendors with small hands who smell like cabbage, yes, those darn meddling carnies and their Carnival time candy apples (which Jackie Clarkson apparently just lurvs).

Other concerns cited by Gambit include possible traffic jams near the World War II museum and which city department will handle oversight. And Clarkson has said she wants the Department of Health and Hospitals' commitment to regulate the trucks 'in writing.'

Before New Orleans starts seeing designer trucks with LRA sponsored port-o-lets and plastic sinks attached to the sides and an electric fence around the CBD, maybe the evil hipster nonlocals should consult with the Koch brothers to make sure that's constitutional first or something.

· Food Truck Fracas: City Councilers Cantrell, Clarkson Grill Mobile Vendors on Food Truck Laws [NolaDefender]
· New Orleans City Council Revisits Food Truck Legislation [Gambit]

[Photo: New Orleans Needs More Food Trucks/Facebook]