ZB: I vote for RDT!
RockCenter: Um, hey Zach, what happened to your eye?

(pause)

ZB: I fell down the stairs…

In the end, the nominations were just a popularity contest. It’s not like the Vendy Knights scoured the kingdom for the most worthy of contestants, only to have the some evil stepmother’s favorite peddler hand picked to participate while the protagonists of your favorite carts are forced by the wayside (“clean the grill cinderelly”, “make the whitesauce cinderelly”).

I doubt there’s a conspiracy (“don’t attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity”), and I doubt the system is rigged (though I have written my fair share of voting bots).

Zach made a good point. Sure, their dumplings are a little pricey, it’s an offshoot of a restaurant, and the main chef was a judge last year, but to be quite honest, The Street Vendor Project wouldn’t want to fudge election results, especially since this competition is about the carts that juggle making the best food they can while staying competitive with Joe Hot Dog Cart and Jane Kebab Roll.

Simply boycotting this event is the wrong thing to do; the other carts are formidable and VERY respectable institutions (e.g.: the Dutchy cart’s plan to feed 10 people a day). Don’t let these guys suffer.

Let the RT be happy they made the Vendys; whether or not it was fixed, it’s up to the judges (we’re counting on you, Zach) to make the right decision.

(that being said, go Rickshaw! [covers head from tomatoes thrown by angry mob])

I’ve had a LOT of cart food here in the city. I have several ‘go-to’ places. I haven’t even been to many of the highly-regarded ones mentioned on *many* online sites. But I won’t be going back to RT. Twice was enough. (I gave them a second chance.)

The consistent lack of any line at RT should be an objective clue. NYC’s best foodcarts should often have long lines at mealtimes.

And, not sure if it was serious or not, but ironically I do know more than I want to asbout ‘Russian programmers’! (For real.) Does not instill confidence.

Russian??? Wouldn’t someone from Florida be a better specialist at election fraud?

Sean threw a softball there. Can’t wait to see some of these replies (wayne, where are you, you’re quiet today).

I have no opinion on Rickshaw, because I’ve never tried their dumplings, but I will testify to the integrity of the Vendy Awards. As Dan wrote, the finalists are determined solely by nominations from the general public, as they have always been. The final winner is determined by our team of judges who fill out score cards at the event.

If you are not happy with the finalists, all I can do is encourage you to nominate your favorite vendor next year. Nominations open up in June.

Can anyone game the system? While some savvy vendors have started asking their customers to nominate them (something we encourage), we have a Russian software guy who analyzes the data to make sure nobody stuffs the ballot box.

The only people we disqualify are prior Vendy Award winners. Briyani Cart won the People’s Taste Award last year, but did not win the Vendy Cup (Calexico did), so Meru can return. Rolf Babiel from Hallo Berlin won the Vendy in 2005 and is no longer eligible.

The comments you see beside the finalists are real comments that people sent along with their nominations. We have a box on the nominations page for that very purpose.

The Vendy Awards always stir strong feelings in people, which is a sign of how much New Yorkers love their street food. Our goal is to bring recognition and respect to all NYC street vendors. Hope to see you on September 26th!

Seriously, rigged or not, get over it, Zach is one of the judges, I trust his tastes (minus a few things here and there that one of us has liked and the other has not), and trust that Rickshaw won’t win, regardless of whether it’s an honest nomination or a fraudulent one.

NOW CAN WE GET BACK TO THE IMPORTANT MATTER AT HAND – FOOD???