Food Sleuth: Cabbie Go-Tos

A cab driver’s favorite refueling stop is likely to be the one that hits the convenience trifecta: speed, parking, and price. But at least at these four places you’ll also get a hot meal, which is more than most airlines deliver.

1. Fresh Express (Citgo, 110 Service Rd., East Boston)

Hours: 5 a.m.–2 p.m. and 3–9 p.m. daily. This deli truck behind the Logan Airport gas station is an unexpected find. “The state troopers go there, the construction workers go there,” says Commonwealth limo driver Jacqueline Boyd.
Try: The turkey and cheese wrap. At $5.99, it’s a better deal than the gas.

 

 

2. Adam’s Convenient (120 Blackstone St., Boston)

Hours: 24/7. This market near Faneuil Hall sells pizza for partiers and halal meat for Muslim cabbies. “It’s fresh and hot, and very close to where we work,” says Balwinder Gill of Top Cab.
Try: The chicken kebab sub ($4.99): huge, messy, and glazed with sweet vinegar.

 

 

 

3. Nan Ling (179 Massachusetts Ave., Boston)

Hours: 11 a.m.–3 a.m. Monday–Saturday, noon–3 a.m. Sunday. It’s not near Logan, but it’s a solid option for Chinese food at 2 a.m. Tibetan native Pema Jigmey of Cambridge Checker Cab assuages his hunger for momo (Tibetan dumplings) with Peking ravioli. “They’re not exactly momo, but they’re good.”
Try: Along with the peking ravioli ($6.15), Nan Ling serves unexpectedly light fried squid ($9.85).

 

 

4. Sunrise (Corner of Maverick and Jeffries, East Boston)

Hours: 4 a.m.–2 a.m. daily. For convenience, livery drivers can’t beat the food truck in Logan’s limo parking lot (civilians can order here, too). “When you don’t have time to stop and eat, it’ll fill you up,” says Lifestyle limo driver Christian Derobert.
Try: The pizza ($1.50 a slice) is floppy and greasy, but still quite satisfying. “I got the best food in Boston!” crows night cook Jeff Powell.

Fork On The Road
Almost every cabbie insists that eating and driving is something only others do. Still, many have managed to observe useful tricks of the trade...

Use all available limbs. “I drive with my knees sometimes when I’m opening a bottle,” says cabbie Rob Splaine.
Skip the lettuce and tomato. Toppings are a luxury of the stationary eater. Nelson Hernandez suggests “a cheeseburger, not a Whopper.”
Keep it clean. Joe Peter knows he can’t avoid touching money, which he finds “really, really dirty.” But he’s got a trick: keeping a damp paper towel in the cup holder to freshen up before dining.
Keep it clean, part II. Almost as dangerous as a slippery road? A slick steering wheel. Avoid fried chicken, says Hernandez. “It’ll just get grease all over the grip.”
Pull over, already. “No telephone, no eat, no drink,” says Charles Joujoute, a 20-year taxi veteran. “Park your car, and then you eat.”