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I've been told that the guys selling ice cream and corn-dipped-in-mayo from trucks and carts are also selling, er, recreational herbs. Is there any truth to this rumor? Also, who would eat something that had been dipped in mayonnaise that spent all day roasting inside a metal cart?
Sincerely,
Curious In The East Village
Dear Curious:
The good news is that the Fuzz have pretty much zero idea what a great chance this would be... for a coupla kids like us to finally strike it rich. Meet us outside in an hour.
As recent victims of crime ourselves (our bike was stolen last week! we are still complaining!), its a funny feeling to have secretly wanted this hare-brained drug-distribution schema be true. We certainly spent enough near-homicidal days listening to the cloying sound of the ice-cream music, wondering why the truck needs to play that song for so many hours in a row.
But then Ask Chicagoist did some investigative-reporting to our pals at the CPD-- 311, "media relations", and Narcotics ("Hi, Narcotics? Good morning! We'd like a creamsicle, please!") And the Fuzz had next to nothin' to say about Softee's dark side. Instead, we got a whole lotta "Hm, no, haven't really heard about that...do you have an address or a date to investigate?", and not a single comment about the absurd recent innovations in ice cream novelties. Only one 311 operator said something like "yeah, maybe once or twice I heard of that." Seems like the Fuzz don't track crimes based on Food Groups, only by banal facts like date and location. 
So, if you've got your eye on a Fudgsicle-walla, you can call 311 with a specific location.
So none of this means that those vendors are innocent. No way. It just means they are SMOOTH and CREAMY and ONLY A DOLLAR (or 2?), and getting away with all sorts of things, right under our chocolate-smeared noses.
Vendor licenses are a mere $137, so if anyone is thinking what we're thinking, drop us a line. We can discuss the Business Plan over a King Cone.
Craving a sweet treat? Need some advice? Email Ask(at)Chicagoist.com
P.S. We apologize for ignoring part 2 of your question, but we don't engage in mayonnaise-related conversations. For any reason.
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i think the corn they're talking about is elotes
It is elotes, and they are good with the chili-powder on them.
What I want to know about the ice cream trucks is how late those damn trucks are allowed to run at night. Having almost reached a homicidal rage at 10:30 pm on a weeknight I would really like to know.
We know from the movie "Comfort and Joy" that the ice cream trucks are all controlled by the mafia!
:D
there is one ice cream truck (kinda looks like a junk-mobile actually) that cruises the old town/cabrinee green area even in the middle of winter. I have even seen the truck out and about in a snow storm - so you figure it out.
In my youth in Brooklyn, our local ice cream truck definitely had an herbal distribution thing going on the side. It was the worst-kept secret on Ocean Avenue, and all the kids who got to work in the truck and help the ice cream guy (!) saw (but were not allowed to handle) the product. It really was a brilliant business model, because, you know, everybody loves ice cream.
I can't belive nobody has mentioned the "Bread Lady" who used to haunt the Ukranian Village bars selling bread and muffins with special herbs added.
yeah, the muffin lady. gaper's block mentioned that yesterday:
http://www.gapersblock.com/news/archives/2005/06/#008993
I don't know...when I lived in Humboldt Park (Kimball/Armitage), the ice cream trucks would cruise by at like 11:30 at night. There were no kids around, so something's going on.
no kidding, y'all--that's why we were so totally shocked that the CPD apparently had NEVER heard of this.. they thought we were batty for asking!
clearly they are in on it.