For some people， street food is a nuisance. Vending carts invade your nostrils with smells， clutter sidewalks， and can give you heartburn-or worse.But if you ask me， the smells， the litter， and the heartburn are all worth it. Street food is one of the great humanizing forces in any city. I'm not the only one who thinks this. As I talked to salami-master Armandino Batali about street-side cannoli and tripe sandwiches，3 he told me that street food \"does make a city feel like a city.\" Street food makes you stop for at least a moment to jam a hot dog in your mouth， peel away the foil from your burrito， or wipe the melting drumstick juice from your chin.And just for that moment， it is not just food， but the city itself-with all its noise and smells and overcrowding-that nourishes you.