UPDATE: After this post initially went up we got word that Solber Pupusas and Paty’s Tacos will both be at the event… with more vendors to be announced soon.  Stay tuned!

For those of you didn’t get enough of The Vendy Awards from Chris’s post this morning, we figured we’d end the day with a few more snapshots of all the food and folks what were out on Governors Island Saturday afternoon. We start with the gentlemen of Korilla BBQ celebrating their Rookie of the Year win.

The Street Vendor Project is all about giving a voice to food vendors, so it’s appropriate that the event gave many of them a chance to speak directly to the press and voice their concerns about the recent crackdowns around town. Here, one of the folks from this year’s Vendy Award winner, Solber Pupusas talked with a reporter from the Daily News.

A glittery Miss Softee was seen doing a few interviews as well, while her team handed out ice cream flights.

The Souvlaki GR Truck pulls a crowd wherever they are. I resisted for a while, but the siren song of pork souvlaki was too much for me.

Of course, pretty much everyone had their cameras out to get photos of all the great food on hand.

While club music pumped out of the Korilla truck, the acts on the stage were a bit more varied, including this Country-Reggae band, The CityBiliies.

The Chimichury El Malacon cart learned the hard way that you’ve got to be prepared for the traffic at the Vendys. They ran out of food very early on to much disappointment.

Tamales Guadalupe served up the best tamales I’ve ever tasted. In my life. I’m going to have to make a trip to Bushwick to give them a try immediately.

Hero vendor, Paty’s Tacos had some cowboy hospitality, greeting everyone as they handed out tacos with nopales, lengua and carnitas.

It was wonderful to see so many colorful and interesting outfits from the vendors, including the ladies of Comme Ci Comme Ça.

Mmmm… corn.

I have no idea how the judges managed to get through all that food. I couldn’t eat for 12 hours after it was all over. (And is that last year’s Vendy Cup Winner Freddie peeking over their shoulders?)

And this year’s winner of the Vendy Award: Solber Pupusa!

Another New York City Vendy Awards has come and gone, and this year’s certainly didn’t disappoint. This yearly event provides the Street Vendor Project one of their largest sources of funding, year over year, and allows them to provide free legal advice and support for street vendors across the boroughs. They’re the reason why we can enjoy a dirty water hot dog or an upscale Mexican fusion truck, and they also throw a great party to boot.

This year’s event, held on Governers Island, featured an impressive line-up of street vendors, all of which were invited through a nomination process. In addition to the great line-up of food, there were fantastic live music performances as well as free drinks provided by Brooklyn Brewery, Volvic, Carpe Diem Kombucha, GuS Grown-up Soda, and Lapostolle wines.

But the Vendy’s aren’t just about good food, friends, music and booze – there’s a serious competition at hand. All attendees were allowed to vote for the best Rookie vendor, Best of New Jersey, best Dessert, and best use of Makers Mark bourbon in a dish. The vaunted Vendy cup was decided by an esteemed panel of judges, featuring notable food writers, city council people, and Chefs. And we were on-site to try the incredible spread of food from across New York and New Jersey.

Rookie Finalists

Eddie’s Pizza Truck brought their A-game, serving their classic margherita bar pies. They also mixed things up a bit with a pesto driven pasta salad, sweet potato gnocchi, and a pulled BBQ pork bar pie for their Makers Mark challenge entry.

It seems like falafel was one of the themes of the day, and Taim Mobile didn’t disappoint with halfsies of their classic falafel sandwich as well as their ginger-mint lemonade. Crisp, fresh falafel, flavorful sauces and lovely fluffy pita – it was one of my favorite bites of food of the day.

The folks at Comme Ci Comme Ça win points for best dressed, as their lovely staff worked the crowd, jingled their wrist bangles, and served up tasty bowls of lamb merguez, chicken, or beef over cous cous and vegetables.

In addition to falafel, tacos were a dominant food group, and I enjoyed the pork tacos from Eat Here Now Now Eat Here. In addition to the pork tacos (which were wrapped in an ever-so-crisp single layer tortilla) they also had fish tacos and breakfast burritos on hand for the attendees.

Donny noted earlier this year that Sunrise Grill was worth standing in the rain for. Thankfully, the rain ultimately held off this year, but the jerk chicken and ox tails over rice and beans were winners, rain or shine.

Rookie Award Winner – Korilla BBQ

Since the Rookie award is voted in by the Vendy attendees, it’s no surprise that Korilla BBQ took home the gold in this category as these guys were clearly popular with the crowd. On the heels of their recent stint on Season 2 of the Great Food Truck Race, the line swelled with customers and the Korilla crew worked the crowd, played some pretty great house music (mixed by one of the cooks on staff who moonlights as a DJ) and posed for frequent photo ops with adoring fans. Even without the celebrity component, the food alone could have won the Rookie award for these guys – the galbi on our tacos was ridiculously tender, and the kimchi, tomatoes and sauces made the flavors pop.

Best of New Jersey Finalists

Two Pitas in a Pod served up an impressive sampler platter of crunchy falafel on top of hummus, juicy pulled pork, truffled french fries, and grilled chicken over cous cous.

New Jersey Award Winner – The Taco Truck

The Taco Truck beat out their New Jersey brethren with their sweet, plump elotes (Mexican grilled corn) and fantastic fried fish and pork tacos which they topped with fresh fruit and crunchy onions.

Desserts Finalists

Miss Softee and the Rolling Cones were in fine form, handing out tastings of her signature creations, such as the fried ice cream, dusted with cinnamon.

La Bella Torte, a truck that specializes in “traditional Italian style baked goods with a twist”, handed out bites of their cannoli, olive oil cakes, and banana nutella cakes.

We were also huge fan of the paletas (Mexican ice pops) served with a smile by La Newyorkina. I was particularly wowed by the ever-so-sweet, faintly nutty and effervescent horchata paleta, as well as the white sangria paleta, studded with chunks of fruit. Brian H declared his love for the pineapple paletas which were spiked with a zing of jalapeno.

Desserts Award Winner – Woolys

My first taste of Woolys impossibly fluffy green tea snow ice with mango was one of those “holy sh*t where have you been all my life?” moments. Equally good was their original blend, featuring condensed milk, nibs of brownies, and fresh strawberries. It was so refreshing and tasty, that we ended up returning for seconds, and for thirds throughout the day.  It’s a bummer these guys are all the way Downtown!

Vendy Cup Finalists

Longtime ML favorite, the Eggs Travaganza Cart was on hand, serving hot Mexican wraps and chorizo tortas.

Last year’s winners of the Rookie Award, Souvlaki GR, didn’t disappoint again this year. Their tasty pork and chicken souvlakis, as well as their veggie pitas, bags of Greek fries and horiatiki salad earned them the People’s Choice Award. I suspect the eye candy working the window of the truck probably earned them a few extra votes from the men in attendance.

Tamales Guadalupe may not have won the Vendy Cup, but they won our hearts! Guadalupe Galicia has been serving tamales for 14 years now, and the experience shows in her cooking.  These were probably some of the best tamales we’ve ever tasted. This green tamal with super juicy pork nestled into an incredibly tender, sweet and fragrant bed of masa was served steaming hot and fresh.

Sam’s Falafel, a favorite of our Downtown site, slung huge platters of their super crispy and fresh falafel over crunchy cabbage with sides of tahini, hummus and spicy harissa. If I hadn’t been in such a falafel coma from Taim and Two Pitas in a Pod, we would have finished these in a heartbeat.

The Vendy Cup Winner – Solber Pupusas

Not only did Solber Pupusas and Korilla take home the gold for their respective categories, but they also competed for the longest lines of the day. However in Solber’s case, the line was a result of their dedication to cooking everything to order – and it showed in their hot and fresh Salvadoran corn patties.

With food this good and this fresh, it was really their competition to lose. (It also avenged their Vendy Award loss to Calexico back in 2008!)   I loved the pork pupusa which was draped in a light layer of cheese and sandwiched between fresh corn masa. It was served with a crunchy salad of pickled onions, cabbage, and jalapenos which worked nicely to add texture and a good spike of acid through the dish. We would happily trek out to the Red Hook Ballfields for another taste of these pupusas, and perhaps to pay a visit to the 2009 Vendy Cup winners, the Country Boys/Martinez Taco Truck.

We would also be remiss not to mention Patty’s Taco Truck, the winner of this year’s award for Vendor Heroism. As the face of the growing food truck crackdown, Patty’s was the victim of a backlash against food trucks in the Upper East Side, a sentiment that unfortunately has spread throughout Midtown. However, it’s a wonder why these guys weren’t nominated for the Vendy Cup itself – their tasty and authentic tacos (which came in pork, beef tongue, and cactus flavors) could have easily put them in the running for the big prize.

Although the day was filled with smiles and full bellies, there was a point of sadness when we learned that the Trini Paki Boys cart hadn’t made it to the event. Fatima Khan, the awesome force behind the popular Midtown cart spent Friday night in the hospital with some health issues. We wish Fatima and her family a speedy recovery and a safe return.

And on that note, even though we focus on the food on this website, we should always remember and commend the real people that cook our food on the streets of New York every day, rain or shine. It’s a tough job that taxes one’s health and pays little. We should be thankful that an organization such as the Street Vendor Project is there to look out for these men and women, and any street food loving New Yorker should support such an organization. And there’s not an easier or more delicious way to support them, then by simply attending next year’s Vendy Awards.

Only two days until the Vendy Awards, and longtime fans of the event might have noticed there is one thing missing… videos! Every year the Street Vendor Project releases videos of the finalists and we got our hands on them. After the jump hear Fatima Khan talking about the origin of the Tini Paki Boys Cart, and Arturo Macedo talking about how he turned a normal doughnut cart into a breakfast eggstravaganza!

Want to see the rest of the finalists? Check out the videos for Souvlaki GR, Tamales Guadalupe, Chimichury Malecon, Solber Pupusas, and Sam’s Falafel. And then we’ll see you Saturday on Governor’s Island!

Related:
2011 Vendy Cup Finalists Just Announced
Vendy Award Dessert Finalists Announced
Vendy Award Rookie Finalists Announced

We’re less than a week away from New York’s biggest street food event of the year, and the last piece of the puzzle is finally in place! Vendy Award Dessert finalists, Rookie finalists, and the New Jersey participants were all announced over the past few weeks, and earlier this morning NYT’s City Room blog posted the finalists for the ultimate prize- the 2011 Vendy Cup. And they are…

• The Eggstravaganza Cart – Mexican & American cart on 52nd & Park that specializes in mexican wraps and egg sandwiches.
• Chimichury El Malecon – Inwood vendor that has been selling Dominican hamburgers known as “chimis” for 25 years
• Souvlaki GR – Last year’s Rookie winner, this truck serves up Greek pita sandwiches downtown
• Tamales Guadalupe – Brooklyn tamale vendor
• Trini Paki Boys Halal Food – A Midtown Lunchmainstay, this cart has been parked on 43rd and 6th serving up street meat with an island twist for over 20 years
• Sam’s Falafel – A FiDi lunch legend, this was one of the first carts we covered on the Downtown section of Midtown Lunch
• Solber Pupusas – Now a 2 time Vendy Award finalists, this pupusa truck was nominated back in 2008 when it was known as Soler Dominican

We can’t help but feel especially excited for the Trini Paki Boys Cart, Eggstravaganza, and Sam’s Falafel, but a huge congrats to all the deserving finalists! This is going to be a great year, and a super tough decision for the judges. You’ll be able to read more about all the finalists on the Vendy Awards website, and while General Admission tickets are completely sold out there are a limited number of early admission and VIP tickets available (as well as sponsorship packages, which come with tickets.) The awards take place this Saturday, on Governor’s Island from 12:30-5pm.

The Vendy Cup finalists haven’t been revealed yet (with the exception of Comme Ci Comme Ca spilling the beans), but this morning the New York Daily News announced the nominees for the Vendy Award dessert category, and it includes our very own MISS SOFTEE!!! Also nominated is La Belle Torte cannoli truck, Wooly’s shaved ice truck, the Cupcake Crew Truck, and La NewYorkina Mexican paletas cart. You can read more about each on the nominees on the Vendy Award website. GA Tickets for the September 24th event on Governor’s Island are sold out, but there are early entry tickets and sponsorship packages still available.

Got super excited when I saw this on the Twitter Tracker this morning… thinking that the Vendy Award finalists had been announced. No such luck though! It appears as if the Comme Ci Comme Ca truck jumped the gun a bit on the announcement. The Street Vendor Project makes videos about each of the vendors, so the finalists always find out a bit before we do. If it does turn out to be true, a big hearty congrats to Chef Samir! (I guess nobody said anything to him about keeping it a secret?)

Oh, and if you haven’t bought your tickets yet for the September 24th event at Governor’s Island you might want to get on that. There are less than 40 General Admission tickets left. Scratch that. General Admission tickets are now sold out! But there are still early admission tickets left ($145) and sponsorship packages come with tickets, making sponsoring the Vendys not much more expensive than buying tickets directly (plus you get to support a great cause.)

I know it seems like just yesterday that we were on Governor’s Island watching Freddie the King of Falafel take home the 2010 Vendy Awards Cup, but the website for the 2011 Vendy Awards is already up and running! The event is back on Governor’s Island again, and will take place on Saturday September 24th from 12:30pm to 5pm. A limited number of early bird tickets are on sale now for $80 (plus service charge) and as always all proceeds go to benefit the Street Vendor Project. In recent years the event has become as close to a no-brainer sell-out as you can get in this town, so we’d recommend getting in on this while the getting is good.

But wait there’s more… amazing author (and ML friend) John T. Edge has already been announced as a judge, and the nominations are open. So after you’re done buying your tix, make sure to nominate your favorite street vendor! And as an added bonus, this year will feature for the first time an award for heroism and everybody who buys early bird tickets will be entered into a drawing to be this year’s “Citizen Judge”!

Related:
2010: Freddie The Falafel King of Astoria Sweeps the 2010 Vendy Awards
2009: Diary of a 2009 Vendy Awards Judge
2008: Biryani Cart & Treats Truck Are People’s Choice at The 2008 Vendy Awards!
2007: Dosa Man Wins but Kwik Meal is the People’s Choice at the 2007 Vendy Awards

The third time was a charm for Freddie the Falafel King of Astoria, who took home the Vendy Cup and the People’s Choice Award at the Vendy Awards on Saturday at Governor’s Island.  Freddie left empty handed in 2007 and 2009, but made up for it on Saturday by taking both of the two top awards, a first for any Vendy nominee.  What made this year different than the other two years Freddie was nominated?  Simple… he brought his A-Game, especially for the judges- who were served a plate of food that left no doubt The Falafel King was in it to win it.

The judges’ plates, the dessert and rookie winners, plus tons more Vendy porn is after the jump…

The esteemed panel of judges had a tough job this year, and unlike past years it really seemed as if any of the five finalists could have taken home the coveted Vendy Cup.

There’s obviously a special place in our heart for El Rey del Sabor, who park all three of their carts right here in Midtown.  They served up quesadillas, tamales, empanadas, and enchiladas, topped with salsa verde, crema, and veggies.  Their food was easily the spiciest of the day… but, sadly, the heat wasn’t enough to bring home the gold and give Mexican food a Vendy three-peat (in 2009 the Martinez Country Boys won for their huaraches, and in 2008 the Vendley Bros won with their Calexico Cart.)

Going in I was most excited to try Patacon Pisao, the only one of the five vendors I’ve never visited.  They certainly caught my eye when Dave Cook wrote about them for the New York Times last year (a sandwich that uses fried plantains as bread!?!) and I really thought their unique brand of Venezuelan food had a great chance of winning the top prize.  Their patacon came as advertised, but their arepas and cachapas son muy delicioso tambien. (Did I say that right?)

And their tres leches cake could have competed head to head with any of the dessert nominees!

The Bistro Truck also came with their A game, serving up a taste of their most popular items… the Marrakech Lamb over couscous topped with stewed prunes, super delicious dijon chicken, and a bit of their merguez over french bread.  I was really impressed by how good their plate of food was, and thought they could easily pull off an upset.

Schnitzel & Things had to be pretty confident coming into this year’s Vendys after taking the Rookie prize last year- and nobody would have blamed them for resting on their laurels and serving up the same food.  Instead, they completely upped their game… topping off an already superb veal/chicken schnitzel platter + all the sides with a bite sized version of their hugely popular Schnitzel Burger.  Who’s going to top that!?!

Freddie, that’s who.  Last year all the judges agreed that Freddie’s football shaped falafel is some of the best there is, but his chicken over rice was just ok (leaving the door open for Biriyani Cart and Martinez Country Boys to slip through.)  This year?  No such luck for the competition.  Freddie brought the shawarma and chicken over rice pain, on a plate that looked nothing like the streetmeatpalooza he served last year. And the all star falafel?  It came served as a appetizer, where it had the chance to shine separate from the street meat.

On the rookie side of things we wanted to back the 99 Vegetarian Truck (who began their career here in Midtown) but in the battle of the vegetarian trucks, Cinnamon Snail from Jersey was the clear winner. Their well seasoned Korean BBQ seitan and super tasty ginger island grilled tofu almost made me forget I was eating meatless food. Almost.

A Pou’s taste, the Downtown based dumpling truck, had long lines all day and their homey dumplings were much better than they looked (especially once you topped them with A-Pou’s dumpling sauce and hot sauce).

In contrast to A Pou, Mexicue kept their line moving super fast… a marked improvement on their first week in Midtown when the super popular truck was sporting some monster lines.

I didn’t love their beet taco as much as I thought I would, but their pulled pork and brisket sliders were awesome.

But not awesome enough to beat out The Souvlaki Truck, whose warm pita sandwiches were the talk of the day.

Last Year’s Winner Oleg (from Schnitzel & Things) Presents the Rookie Award

Can you tell which guy on the stage works for the Souvlaki Truck? All the critics who thought this one month old truck didn’t deserve their Rookie nomination were silenced by that juicy pork souvlaki.

Oh, and if you couldn’t tell… that’s a french fry. In the sandwich! So good. Which reminds us… WHY THE HELL HAVEN’T YOU BEEN TO MIDTOWN FOR LUNCH YET!?! We kid the Souvlaki Truck… they’re smart to want to get their act together before attacking the Midtown hordes. (Although they did manage to serve- and win over- 1000 starving Vendy attendees… that counts for something, right? Maybe it’s time.)

One of my favorite parts of the Vendys is that once your done stuffing your face with all that great savory street food, it’s time for dessert!

Dessert Truck returned to the streets this year, just in time to score their second Vendy Award nomination. Their chocolate bread pudding never disappoints. And neither does the Big Gay Ice Cream Truck, who also made their second Vendy Award appearance.

The dragon beard candy cart (which you can find in Chinatown) put on a great show, and their nut filled cocoons of sugar were super fun.

I also really loved Guerrilla Ice Cream, which can be found at various fairs and special events around NYC.

But Kelvin Slush were the rock stars on this day… their truck was completely mobbed for most of the afternoon. Admittedly their popularity was aided by the hot weather (they told me they considered thanking mother nature in their acceptance speech) but I was really surprised at how much I liked this truck.

You get your choice of three different slushes as your base (ginger, citrus or tea), and they’ll let you mix two together if you want. I’m a big fan of the Arnold Palmer, so naturally I went with citrus and tea. Then you get to choose from any number of mix ins, which are mostly fruit. Topped off with a peach mix in, this thing was the bomb. Parking in Midtown is dangerous for anybody serving anything cold (beware the ice cream mafia!) but if these guys parked near my office I’d be there afternoon. Just sayin’.

Finally, NYC got to taste 3 vendors from Philadelphia, and it was announced that next year Philly would be getting it’s own Vendy Awards! (You know Jamie is super excited about this.)

All in all it might have been the best Vendy Awards yet (it certainly was the biggest!) Governor’s Island was a perfect venue, and all the vendors were pretty spectacular. Most importantly though it raised over $100,000 for the Street Vendor Project, a non profit organization that tirelessly fights to protect the vendors who have spent their lives selling delicious food on the streets of New York City! If you went, you can feel really good about contributing to a great cause. If you didn’t… this should make you not want to miss next year!