Honestly, if you hate cables, stick with the Sony ecosystem. In my experience, the Sony ECM-G1 Vlogger Shotgun Microphone is the sleeper pick here. Its way under your budget and uses that digital shoe so no messy wires to snag. I've tried many setups and for street food vlogging, you want a small footprint. Just use the included wind screen since NYC wind is no joke... it keeps things super clean without the bulk of the B10.

Jumping in real quick because I actually ruined a whole day of filming in Queens last year because of wind noise. It sucked. If you are doing street food, you definitely need something with a decent deadcat (that fuzzy wind cover) or you will just hear whistling the whole time.

• Rode VideoMic GO II
• This thing sounds incredible for the price, seriously. But be careful with that cable. In a busy NYC crowd, someone is gonna snag it and might rip your port. Its a bit risky for street work.
• Deity V-Mic D4
• I love this one because it has a smart 3.5mm jack. If you decide to add a wireless lav later for interviews with vendors, you can plug it right into the back of this mic. Very handy.
• Sennheiser+MKE+200+Directional+On-camera+Microphone&linkCode=osi&tag=7649-20" target="_blank" rel="nofollow sponsored">Sennheiser MKE 200 Directional On-camera Microphone
• This one is super tiny and has the shock mount built-in. It doesnt look like a giant fuzzy ball on top of your camera which is nice for being discreet. I would suggest keeping an eye on your gain levels tho. The ZV-E10 preamps can get hissy if you crank them too high in a quiet spot, but for loud NYC streets, you should be fine.

Late to the party but honestly, im so satisfied with my current rig. @Reply #2 - good point! about the wind noise ruining shots... I had a similar scare filming a bagel spot in Brooklyn last winter where the gusts were hitting 25mph. I eventually settled on the <a href=" https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?Ntt= Sennheiser+MKE+400+%282nd+Gen%29&BI=8941&KBID=10361&SID=12345&DFF=d50" target="_blank" rel="nofollow sponsored">Sennheiser MKE 400 (2nd Gen) and it basically solved everything for me. What I love from a technical side is the integrated shock mount and the internal wind protection. It actually has a mesh inside the housing before you even put the furry on which is a lifesaver. I usually keep the low-cut filter toggled on to kill that NYC subway rumble and set the sensitivity to +20dB. This lets me turn the ZV-E10 internal gain way down to like 2 or 3 which keeps the noise floor super low. No complaints at all with the results. Quick tips:

• Set the mic to +20dB and lower in-camera gain to minimize hiss.
• Always double-check the deadcat is pulled tight so no air gaps let wind into the capsule.

I spent way too much time looking at frequency response graphs when I first got my setup, but I ended up with the Sony ECM-B10 Digital Shotgun Microphone and honestly, I havent had a single complaint. I used to worry about the analog floor noise on other mics, but the digital interface on the ZV-E10 is a game changer for reliability. I remember filming near a construction site recently and being so happy with how the beamforming tech worked:

• The signal path is purely digital, so you avoid that extra digital-to-analog conversion step that adds hiss.
• It has three pickup patterns, which is perfect for street food because you can switch to unidirectional when you are talking to a vendor to block out the street noise.
• The shock mount is built-in and feels way more solid than the external ones that bounce around in your bag. Its been super reliable for me and having no cables to snag while dodging crowds is such a relief... plus the wind filter is surprisingly robust for such a small unit.

Regarding what #2 said about ruining a shoot because of wind noise, they are 100% correct. In my experience, street vlogging failure often comes down to gain staging rather than just the hardware.

• Lower your in-camera audio levels to about 3 or 4
• Let the mics preamp handle the heavy lifting This prevents digital clipping when NYC sirens or crowds peak unexpectedly. It makes a massive difference in the edit.

Seconded!