Manuel Lopez and Liz Estrella Tellez arrive at Randall's Island every day at 11 a.m., shouting “Lunch! Lunch!” from their stand. They prepare their $10 menus – pork chops with beans, fried fish with beans, fried chicken with beans, or pork chops with boiled potatoes – at a friend's apartment in the Bronx.
“Some days we sell it all,” Manuel says. “Other days, business is slow. But we have to make a living somehow.” They have to send money back to Peru, where they left their 1-year-old son with his grandmother.
“Some days we sell it all,” Manuel says. “Other days, business is slow. But we have to make a living somehow.” They have to send money back to Peru, where they left their 1-year-old son with his grandmother.