Lesson of the Day: ‘Eating My Way Through New York City’

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Lesson Overview

Featured Article: “Eating My Way Through New York City” by Melissa Guerrero

In this lesson, join Melissa Guerrero, a New York Times reporter, as she travels from the Bronx to Brooklyn to try as many dishes as she can from New York City’s food carts.

You will learn about the food Ms. Guerrero ate and the people she met who made it. Then, you will write a poem honoring the smells, tastes and sounds of cooking in your own community.

Warm-Up

Spend a few minutes free-writing about the tastes, smells, sights and sounds that come to mind when you think about the food made in your home or in your community.

For example, what does food preparation look like in your house, either on a regular weekday or for a special event?

Do you have special memories of people cooking in your home? Does the smell of a certain spice remind you of helping a family member in the kitchen? Or does the sound of bread thudding against a table remind you of kneading dough with someone in your family?

What about in your community? Do you ever recognize the spices that your neighbors are cooking with? When you walk down the streets, do you smell the cuisine of certain countries or cultures? Do you try foods with different flavors and ingredients when you visit your friends’ houses?

Vocabulary

Here are eight words from the featured article that you may, or may not, be familiar with. Look through the words. Do you know any of their meanings? Could you use them in a sentence?

1. vendor
2. promote
3. prosciutto
4. request
5. simmer
6. inherited
7. scavenger
8. shish kebab

To practice these eight words, visit our list on Vocabulary.com for definitions and quizzes.

Questions for Writing and Discussion

Read the article, or the PDF, and then answer the following questions:

1. What makes the carnitas made by Armando Flores Barrera and Ma. Guadalupe Romero, special? Have you ever made or tried carnitas? What flavors do you remember tasting?

2. Why did the Street Vendor Project organize the scavenger hunt? Do you think it is a good way to create more business for food carts? Or do you think something more should be done to support these businesses? Explain.

3. Why do you think some of Tony Dragonas’s customers want him, instead of his co-workers, to make their meals? Are there any foods that you prefer to eat when they are prepared by a certain family member or friend? What are they and why?

4. How did Jack Xia go from owning a restaurant to operating a food truck? Do you think this was a smart business decision?

5. Why are the shish kebabs that Zaina Elkordy makes meaningful to her and her family? Are there any foods you enjoy that are made special because of what they mean to you personally or culturally?

Going Further

Return to the free write you did in the warm-up. Circle, underline or highlight the words that feel most important or meaningful to you when you think about food in your home or community.

Then, write a short poem using those words to honor the smells, sights, tastes and sounds of cooking in the place you live. You can read some of these poems for inspiration:

Share your poem with your class, or post it in the comments section of this lesson.

Want more Lessons of the Day? You can find them all here.