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Dominican Republic Street Vendors

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Vendors sell from carts or little permenant spots in the streets, beaches and doorways in all parts of the Dominican Republic.

These street vendors are usually out no matter the weather. They work from their little carts of varying types. Motorized, peddle carts, under a umbrella, push carts or horse drawn carts. Some carry a tray of food atop their heads even using a disgarded fan cover as a basket. Some are walking with the items they are selling dangling from every available place. They can be seen on foot in the streets. You can see them hanging out at an intersection or weaving in and out of traffic. They can be any place the cars are known to slow down (watch out at stops, you may get your windshield washed even if you do not want it). Some of these street vendors have permanent spots. Some are roamers. They are walking up and down the beaches. They can be seen almost anyplace in the country. Many times these vendors can be a nuisance and need to be chased away.

Some of these persistant sales people will take no for an answer while others see a potential "victim" and will be very persistent. All one needs to do is walk away if they can, wind up the window or don't look at them. If they get aggressive call for the police, but most will not bother you. They see no need wasting their time with you when there are other potential buyers for whatever product they are selling.

You can buy almost any type of food from these vendors. There is such a great variety of food I cannot hope to list them all here. There are restaurants on wheels. You can buy a little bag of nuts, a pack of gum, a piece of fruit, or a few little coconut sweets. There are people selling meats, and the small filled pastries to a complete meal be it breakfast or pork with veggies.

You can purchase fresh squeezed juice, shaved ice, ice cream, corn on the cob, hard boiled  eggs and a cup of coffee or bottle of beer. There are hamburger (called Chimi Churris here), hot-dog and sandwich vendors. They sell fresh fruits and vegetables. Some sell the fruits already cut and plated which can be a very refreshing and healthy treat. Get a coconut and drink the fresh water right there in the street.

Buy some snacks or a hard boiled egg from a small plate carried by a vendor. You can buy fresh fish or even a live chicken murdered and cut up as you wait. One cannot get much fresher meat than this.

The non-food substances are plentiful also. There are people selling anything they can carry, push in a cart, or set up on a street. You can get paintings and souvenirs of any type and variety. Some made in Dominican Republic but most are made elsewhere. Get your shoes shined, buy calling cards, cell phone parts, watches, jewelry (including rosaries), greeting cards, lottery tickets, CD and cassette tapes with typical Dominican music, and newspapers. They sell things for the home, mops, brooms, shelves, mirrors, cane mats and junk that they picked up in the street. There is even a knife sharpener with an electric grinder on his cart.

While in Dominican Republic you must try some of these foods sold buy a street vendor. Be careful of anything served using ice. Make sure it is bag ice. Observe their serving and food storage practices also. Your stomach may not be quite as tough as the locals.

Buy a piece of fruit (to learn some of the names of foods) while walking around the city. A pealed and halved orange  can be very refreshing to enjoy. There are many vendors all over selling fresh, and I mean fresh, fruit. Most of the fruits are picked that same day. Since it is fresh picked and locally grown the flavor is so much better. A mango, papaya, coconut or orange eaten here has so much more flavor. Please give some of the native fruit a try and see for yourself the difference.

After a night out its quite normal for the locals to stop and get a late night bite from a street vendor selling hamburgers, hot-dogs or a pork sandwich. Stopping to get something to eat on the way to the next destination. You know a late night snack, or any snack for that matter, always hits the spot.

There are not as many late night food vendors in the street, the new law does not permit it. But there are still some around doing business maybe inside a small building or Colmado.


lady selling a late night hamburger from her street cart
+click image to enlarge A lady selling a late night hamburger from her street cart
mobil juice and sandwich shop
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A mobil juice and sandwich shop
Man selling his fresh catch of the day in the street
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Man selling his fresh catch of the day in the street
selling mamajuana and paintings in the conde
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Selling mamajuana and paintings on Calle el Conde
To learn how to say the foods you would like go to our food words pages.
Descriptions of Street Vendors and Their Wares
Fruitero
These vendors of fruit can be seen on many street corners. They usually have their own little spot and do not move around much. They sell all types of fruits (pine/ pineapple, guineo/ banana, melon/ cantaloupe, sandia/ watermelon, either whole or cut up on a little plastic plate with a skewer to eat the luscious fresh fruit with. Many will ask if you would like honey/ miel drizzled on top of the fruit. Not only do they have many human customers but they have many bees enjoying the sweetness also. The price is generally $50 to $60 pesos (as of 12/08)

Fruit vendors in Colonial Zone: (check the Colonial Zone map to find the streets)
*A very nice smiling lady, Fifa, is on the corner of Padre Billini and Isabel la Catolíca about a block from Calle el Conde in Ciudad Colonial. She has her fruits and juices for sale inside the building on the corner in the window.
*A long time fruit vendor is on the corner of Luperon close to the corner of Duarte in Zona Colonial. He is a great guy to talk to.

fruit plate labeled
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A fruit place from Fifas Fruit stand
El Panadero/ The Bread Man
He usually walks carrying a large basket, pushes a cart or rides a bike or motorized vehicle. He has fresh baked bread and at times pastries from a local panadería/ bakery yelling out "Pan, panadero" (Bread, Bread Man). Usually he is out very early in the morning providing the fresh baked goods for breakfast and then again in the evening for dinner or a snack. This type of vendor sells pan de agua/ water bread, both hard and soft. There is sweet bread that is a wonderful with a cup of coffee or hot chocolate. My favorite is the garlic bread. It is covered with garlic, salt and oil. Fattening but so wonderful. Some of the new fangled bread vendors now have a motorized cart - motorbike with a nice variety of breads, sweets and even cold sandwiches. One of our local Panaderos has a large display case on the back of a motorbike with all sorts of goodies.
Panaderos in Colonial Zone:
*There is usually on that passes by the park San Jose (in front of the statue Monticino) near to Colmado Arca around 6PM. You can get some great garlic bread or a little ham sandwich from him.


A bread man loaded down making his rounds
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A bread man loaded down making his rounds
 
 
 
 
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