Red Hook Ball Fields veteran vendor, Esperanza Ochoa, emmigrated from Guatemala in 1983. Like many of her fellow food truck vendors, she first came to the Red Hook Ball Fields as a customer when a friend and fellow Guatemalan suggested that it would be a good place for her to sell food. “When I came, there were maybe two other people selling—way out there, far off,” says Esperanza. During the week, Esperanza worked as a seamstress, and on the weekends she would come to the soccer fields to vend. In those days there was a large contingent of Guatemalans who would come to the fields to watch the soccer games and socialize, and Esperanza cooked all the specialties they missed from home: pork and chicken tamales, chiles rellenos (battered and fried peppers stuffed with meat and cheese), carne adobada (adobo-marinated meat), sweet fried plantains, and a bright and tomato-packed ceviche with shrimp and mixed fish. Esperanza recalled the early days of the ball fields and the rustic outdoor-mercado-feel of the place: “I would bring the food in pots and put them on the bench and sell from there. Then I started to make a wood fire and cooked in front of the people, until one day the health department arrived and said things had to change—it was very pretty back then, it is still pretty.”
Esperanza’s husband, Juan, and her sons help her out, but primarily she does all of the prep and cooking. It’s hard and time-consuming work. The food is prepared fresh with traditional methods—no modern shortcuts, and that was, and is, part of the delight of the ball fields. Just one of Esperanza’s tamales—which come wrapped in green Maxan leaves instead of corn husks—can be a substantial meal on its own. Hearty and filling, they’re homey and comforting, like a hug from your Guatemalan grandmother.
“The people were Guatemalan, so I cooked what we eat, in the style of our country—tamales de puerco y de pollo, chiles rellenos, carne adobada, plátanos fritos.”
Everything changed in 2007 when the department of health got involved. “The health department said we must sell from a truck. They said it was for health reasons, but nobody was sick from my food. It was freshly cooked, and the people would eat it—from the fire to the client. It would be different if I brought the food already cooked or if it had been frozen for days, but everything was fresh,” she says. When the health department made their demands, it was hard. Vendors who had sold for years without incident retired. “Many people complained. We jumped, we screamed, but it was impossible,” she laments. Faced with the prospect of closing their business or complying with the city regulations, the Ochoas invested in a small truck, with a tight yet efficient kitchen. And while Esperanza’s food is as good as ever, these days with the city involved, things are different. “You pay more, and the sales are not as good. Before the people could watch us cook and they say that was part of the fun—people miss that.” When asked about the future of the vendors and her predictions for five years down the line, Esperanza is direct: “Most won’t be here because the expenses are too much. Just for parking it is $400 a month—the truck has to park in the commissary.” All the expenses—from the permits to the parking—add up. “I have to clear $1800 for the eight days of work in the month. If we could get more permission [to sell other days] we could do it.… I think if we had two or three days out more we could make it.” Still Esperanza tries to remain optimistic. “I hope it gets better because it doesn’t make sense to go into debt to lose money and not make a living …You have to have faith because God doesn’t abandon us.”
Adapted from Esperanza Ochoa’s recipe
One of the best deals at the Red Hook Ball Fields is without a doubt the ceviche, a lime juice–cured seafood that comes in pint-sized-containers for just over $10. Perfect as an appetizer for a summer meal, this dish is a guaranteed crowd pleaser.
1 pound large or medium raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 ½ cups fresh lime juice (about 20 limes)
½ medium white onion, julienned
½ teaspoon salt
¼ cup fresh cilantro, minced
2 cups fresh tomatoes, diced
hot sauce, to taste, for serving
Rinse shrimp and place in a large nonreactive bowl. Add 2 cups lime juice and stir to ensure shrimp are covered with juice. In a medium non-reactive bowl add onion and salt and marinate with remaining lime juice. Cover and refrigerate both bowls for three hours.
Just before serving, add onions, cilantro, tomatoes, and hot sauce, if desired, to shrimp. Serve cold.
