In an age of short form internet entertainment where everyone seems to be striving to create the most raw, unfiltered, and authentic content, comedian Kareem Rahma has found a perfect niche with his short-form internet show, Keep the Meter Running. Each of his KTMR segments posted to TikTok, Youtube, and Instagram begin with Kareem in the back of a New York City yellow cab, “take me to your favorite place” he says to the driver, “and keep the meter running.” Keep the Meter Running is a celebration of the lives and culture of New York City cab drivers, the food they eat, and the company they keep – equally as much an exploration of the city’s lesser-known restaurants and neighborhoods as it is a window into the unique and storied lives of the men behind the wheel of the cab.
With a graphic of the cab meter running at the top of the screen, Kareem sits in the back of the cab, chatting with the driver on the way to his favorite spot. As the meter climbs, he probes the drivers about their career path, lives, families, and for most of them, how they came to the United States. Rahma’s warm and quippy humor punctuates the drivers’ stories of their family’s immigration to the States, their favorite foods and restaurants in the city, and the realities of working-class life as a cab driver.
Keep the Meter Running isn’t a food show by nature, but Kareem’s prompt of “take me to your favorite place” is almost always taken as an invitation out to lunch for the cab drivers, and an indication of the cultural significance and comfort that food brings them. For those working long days behind the wheel on New York City’s streets, visits to their favorite restaurants often serve as bookends to their days, early stops in the morning before picking up their first passenger and again at night on their way home. One driver, Wing, makes a stop at the same dim sum restaurant every single morning before work, laughing to Kareem in the back that the delicious food starts tasting pretty awful once it’s a daily routine, “but it’s the only place that opens at 5 o’clock in the morning!” For these drivers who have no time to prepare food before or after their long shifts, restaurants and the food, service, and community they provide are an integral part of their lives.
Keep the Meter Running also demonstrates the importance of restaurants as a third place outside of home and work for community members in New York City’s boroughs. Many guests, like cab driver John who took Kareem to the iconic Katz’s Deli in a recent February episode, call up another friend to tag along to the restaurant or deli they choose as their “favorite place.” The guests and their friends are comfortable and familiar together and with the staff at their favorite spot, clearly a common post work meeting place for them. At home and in their element, Kareem’s guests tell stories like old friends, calling restaurant owners and managers over to regale the show host with the tales of the establishment’s history, laughing and joking like the camera isn’t there.
For Kareem, sharing a favorite meal with a stranger in a place they feel safe, comfortable, and happy, is an immediate trust builder that puts his guests at ease. Asking them to share their favorite food with him is an invitation to engage in a conversation about themselves and their culture, something Kareem welcomes and searches for in his interviews. Food is the vehicle that drives the interviews, opening doors for Kareem to probe the cab drivers, restaurant owners, and friends about what these places mean to them, how long they’ve been a regular at the restaurant, and what the place means to the neighborhood and community – all while embarking on a culinary tour of the menu’s most iconic and well loved dishes.
A large part of the charm of the show is Kareem’s genuine curiosity in the culture and cuisine of his guests and his willingness to go anywhere and try any food. Often likened to Anthony Bourdain in the comment section of episodes, he brings a similar open inquisitiveness to that of the late, great, food writer that makes his guests feel valued and understood. Giving space to the cabbie to speak transparently and with pride about their culture, via the food they love and share, and gives the audience a chance to experience their cuisine vicariously through Kareem.
Some of Kareem’s episodes take him on a much longer and deeper journey into the life of a particular driver, like Balde Mohamed, an Ivorian driver who invites him to have Iftar with him at his Masjid in Queens during a special Ramadan episode in 2023. After picking up food from Mohamed’s family outside of their home, Kareem breaks fast with him and the other members of his Masjid. Speaking candidly to them about his own relationship with Islam as an Egyptian immigrant, Kareem joins them in prayer, using the experience as an opportunity to build connections across cultures through their shared religion.
Kareem Rahma’s Keep the Meter Running is a brilliant project that perfectly utilizes his awkward charm and charisma to deliver a show that is delightfully fun and lighthearted without sacrificing depth and purpose. A brief yet thorough exploration of New York City’s working class culture – one taxi driver, dish, and deli at a time – Keep the Meter Running is an ethnographic inquiry into food, place, and culture that impresses and performs within the short form medium that dominates internet entertainment today.
