By Gus Saltonstall
“A Taste of Ecuador” food cart has served Upper West Siders for more than 25 years from its usual spot in Riverside Park near West 101st Street.
The popular food option appears in the spring each year and departs in the fall.
That did not happen this year, though. The food cart has been completely absent in 2026, prompting multiple worried messages from West Side Rag readers and discussions on Upper West Side community pages.
“Any idea what happened to Taste of Ecuador?’ Andrew Dominus wrote to the Rag on June 4. “Surprised and saddened not to see them in the park so far this season.”
“A Taste of Ecuador” is a family-run business. Ana, the mother, heads the operation, along with her husband Guillermo, and their two children Miguel and Carlos.
“I’m very concerned as to the whereabouts of the Taste of Ecuador food cart. Since moving to the neighborhood a decade ago, it has been my personal marker that spring had officially begun,” Andrew Moore wrote to the Rag more recently. “I not only miss them, but given the current ICE reign of terror being inflicted on the country, I’m deeply worried about their well-being.”
WSR reached out to the New York City Parks Department for any available information about the food cart’s absence.
A spokesperson for the city agency told the Rag that Ana is in Ecuador this summer due to family health issues. The spokesperson added that they would work with her to get back up and running in her usual Riverside Park spot as soon as she wished to return.
A source familiar with the situation stated that it was Ana’s plan to return with the cart in 2027.
Along with standard hot dogs, ice creams, and beverages, “A Taste of Ecuador” also serves up incredibly popular meat and cheese empanadas, along with roast pork and roast chicken with rice and bean dishes that West Side Rag reviewed for a Here’s the Dish article in 2021.
On a personal note, this West Side Rag reporter spent a seemingly endless amount of time as a kid in Riverside Park between West 101st and 110th streets. On many occasions, Ana would give me an extra Gatorade or water after a day running around, and I lived off her empanadas for multiple summers. The family is kind almost to a fault. Both of her sons also worked as coaches at the nearby Carlos Olivera Soccer Camp, and then would return to the cart to help their parents in the afternoons.
Everyone knew the family and the family knew everyone.
The cart is not just part of the fabric of that section of Riverside Park, but more akin to its heartbeat.
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Oh no! Wishing her family a speedy and healthy return!
wishing the family well.
at the same time, I would rather not have food trucks in our parks, with the meat smell, the exhaust, and the vehicles bringing them in and out.
I wish we had more and more diverse food trucks in our parks! Those $5 gray water hot dogs are nasty.
I was looking for them on July 4 while I was there for the boat parade. The wife wanted to bring snacks and I said don’t worry we’ll get something from the Ecuadoran cart.Good to hear they’re coming back or at least plan to.
Very grateful for this information. Ana has been so lovely and her food is a delicious treat. We have wondered and worried about her and the family.
So many empanadas and Gatorade’s and chicken and rice!! Hope the family returns in good health!
AToE is a literal institution. Cannot wait for her return.
I’m so glad to hear that Ana and her family will return although I’m sorry to hear of the family illness. She and her family are lovely and I’ve never had better Ceviche! Thanks to West Side Rag for clearing up the mystery and assuaging fears about the reason for the absence of the delightful green truck.
yes the ceviche was the bomb!
Fingers crossed that we will see the green truck again. Their food was always delicious and good value for money.
Wishing this wonderful family all the best. This cart and the frozen ices have meant a lot to our family.
Come back soon, you are missed!
I hope everything works out for the positive in Ecuador. Give us the heads up when they return so we can all support them by eating their good food, a lot of it!
Yes! And their delicious coffee too! They are missed.