SLC26-W1 | Street Business Diaries: Street Food and Snacks

_{Edited by Canva}

Hello Steemians,

There are smells and noises and tastes that belong to each city for me, the street food stalls represent everything that can be said about Tunis. The moment I saw the theme for this week's Steemit Challenge Street Food and Snacks, I imagined the old neighborhood of Bab El Khadra. In Tunisia, street food is not just a type of fast meal, it's cultural heritage, which runs on through generations and is eaten in the accompaniment of laughter and chat accompanied by an appetizing smell of grilled food.

In this post, I want to transport you with me into that world from the golden light bathing the stalls to the sizzling griddle and exhausted yet proud grin on the seller's face. In this report, I share not just the tastes and costs of these Tunisian treats but also the human tale of a tiny venture that each night breathes life into the streets in Tunis.

What kind of street food is available in your city or area?

_{Beb El Khadhra Gate- The ancient stone door that still stands there in peace overlooking past times and daily life.}

Street food in the city of Tunis, particularly close to the historic Beb El Khadhra Gate, is far more than merely convenient but it is a living tradition that fuses generations of culture with warmth and life in real-time. At night, as the day gives way to cooler air, a little stall somewhere in Herbé on the streets starts bustling with life, offering distinctively Tunisian flavors under the arch of that ancient door.

_{Fresh ingredients ready for the grill, neat rows of meat, veggies, and cheese to make into delectable sangers}

Fresh vegetables, ripe red tomatoes, crisp lettuce, and thinly sliced onions along with shiny pepperoncini peppers, also spread across the counter offer a bright contrast to the meats. From the chilled trays are a variety of proteins with slick spiced coiled merguez sausages, chicken escalopes, minced beef rolled into juicy patties, and liver that's dark with flavor. Eggs sit beside them, uncooked but warmed, in case some need to be swiftly savored before becoming too set, cheese grated and sliced into blocks large enough to ooze and bubble over a just-made filling.

The delicious angrier Tunisian tabouna tease, soft yet strong nigella seeds and flavors	Tunisian sauces, the fiery harissa and smoky salade méchouia that carry local flavor

The breads are characters themselves, the ubiquitous long sandwich loaves with their glossy brown crusts live side by side more intriguingly with the round tabouna bread of our heritage days, which is covered no, dusted, with black nigella seeds for a more rustic look. With the chili punch of fiery red Tunisian harissa and earthy salade méchouia with a smoky confetti of roasted peppers and tomatoes, every mouthful is primed for personality. This allows for every sandwich to be unique and as per the customer's requirements, but made right from scratch in front of your own eyes on a hot metal plancha that sizzles and smokes using cracked seasonings.

Have you eaten these foods yourself? Show their taste and price in pictures+videos.

_{The night stall, Hung above simple lights, the smell of meat roasting wafts through the line of customers.}

So I couldn't resist a heated combination of merguez and chicken escalope and went all out with cheese so that it melted right through. They were something to watch being prepared, the chef took an instant to lay the meats out on the sizzling plancha and let them sear, releasing deep, musky scents all around. Next, he placed rounds of green bell pepper, wedges of ripe tomato, and strips of onion, leaving them to soften in the meat juices while they absorbed its flavor. Then, at the perfect moment, he sprinkled shredded cheese over the top by letting it melt into the casserole forming on the bottom of the dish with ultra-rich meats and dairy.

Fresh bread, just out of the oven so it was soft inside and crusty on the exterior, was used to mop up all that spiced harissa broth. For dessert, I allowed myself a plate of wild pears, skinned by an expert in tough membranes to show the bright red and yellow inside. The delicate and creamy taste of the Afternoon Mkhana was light on the sugar hit, served with ice cubes in it and a lovely finishing touch to a substantial meal.

_{Dessert, Peeled prickly pears served with ice.}

TND Price Table Note: Exchange rate to Steem the open day

Sandwich / Dish	Price (TND)	Steem equivalent if 1 TND = 2.64 Steem
Merguez sandwich	7 TND	18.48 Steem
Chicken escalope sandwich	8 TND	21.12 Steem
Minced beef sandwich	8 TND	21.12 Steem
Mixed merguez + escalope sandwich	10 TND	26.40 Steem
Liver sandwich	7 TND	18.48 Steem
Royal Sandwich (All meats + cheese)	12 TND	31.68 Steem
Figs of India	per Portion: 2 TND	5.28 Steem

My own sandwich was a merguez-escalope mix with cheese, and it ran me 10 TND or 26.40 Steem, which for the portion size, ingredient quality, and care in preparation seemed like an excellent deal.

My YouTube Video:

What did you learn about the shopkeeper's struggle?

Apparently, the man who runs this stall has been in the street food business for the last 15 years, and his story of persistence, adapting to situations, and dedication is inspiring. Having traveled from central Tunisia to the capital in search of a better life for his family, on a daily basis, in the afternoon, he would go to the market and choose what would be used for that day, meat from a reliable butcher, vegetables from farmers' stalls, and bread from a baker near his home. Back at his stall, he cleans, cuts, and carefully lays them out before opening for business later in the evening.

_{The chef at work}

He works nonstop on the grill from six till almost midnight, sometimes later, filling dozens of orders at a time, chatting with customers as he cooks but never stopping his friendly smile. It's grueling labor by standing for hours, lifting 50-pound sacks of flour or bags of onions, the heat and humidity of the cooking stations, yet he takes pride in it. When it comes to this food, he can see that the people who eat have comfort in what they are consuming, and his stall is a place familiar for regulars as well as accepting to those seeing him for the first time.

What do you think about the importance of these small street food businesses in our society?

Vendors like this little street food really it's not just about fast food stalls, they are more... they are part of the urban scene and heritage. They pave the way for everyone to be able to eat real food, made from scratch and affordable, preserving old recipes nobody else would know how to make them better than a fast-food chain could. To make spaces, where strangers break bread for an exchange of words, moreing that taps into the beat of the city between every counter-service.

From a financial perspective, they present affordable entrepreneurial options for those with limited capital to make an honest living by using one's skills and working hard. Whereas in the social application, they bring night to life in the streets and consequently increased security, appeal, and liveliness. Tunis alone, where the government aid , you guessed is very slow, also would mean losing part of any city’s soul.

Detail	Information
Google map	https://maps.app.goo.gl/e612xSj6ejwW1kiK9
Steem atlas location	[//]:# (!steematlas 36.80918282 lat 10.17363906 long d3scr)

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Thank you very much for reading, it's time to invite my friends @pelon53, @adylinah, @karianaporras to participate in this contest.

Best Regards,
@kouba01