Midtown Lunch

With the crispness of impending autumn and the spices of street meat hanging in the air, thousands upon thousands gathered — along with 24 very special food trucks, carts and vendors — to spend their Saturday on Governor’s Island stuffing their faces celebrating the crown affair of the season: The 2012 Vendy Awards. After yet another tumultuous and passionate year on the food streets, the folks at the Street Vendor Project take a day to gather and celebrate the cream of the crop. It is always a delicious affair, and one that ends with awards for the top dogs. To hell with the poetic lead-up, we’re talking about the Vendys. Let’s let the vendors and the food speak for themselves.

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The Vendys are T-minus four days away. We’re already pumped for the Dessert and Vendy Cup categories and today we have the official announcement of the Rookie of the Year nominees. This year one of these will go down in history with previous winners Korilla BBQ and Souvlaki GR. And three of the five nominated vendors are Midtown regulars.

Phil’s Steaks and Okadaman have found a dedicated following in just the last few months with their philly cheesesteaks and Japanese bar food, respectively. Chinese Mirch has taken Chinese-Indian fusion to the street and scored with their Tibetan momos. The final two nominees hang downtown on a regular basis, but maybe we can soon convince them to re-locate to above 32nd Street. Morocho specializes in Peruvian-fusion food like lomo saltado tacos and Latin American burgers, while Cambobian Cuisine Torsu has appeared in the Flatiron and is rather self-explanatory. UPDATE: We just found out that there was one more nominee!  Congrats to Fun Buns, Bian Dang’s new Asian buns cart.  They too will compete for the Rookie prize this weekend.  So I guess that makes 4 of 6 that spend time in Midtown!

If you haven’t yet purchased your tickets, maybe the promise of tastings from these five vendors will seal the deal. Not to mention special events for Early Entry ticket holders featuring the likes of Zach, Blondie, Brownie, and myself. What are you waiting for? Click here now.

We’re still waiting to find out who’s up for the Dessert, Rookie, and the new Market category of the Vendy Awards. But earlier this week, the excitement for the big day increased with the announcement of the six competitors in the Vendy Cup Award. While only one will be the official winner, this competition is really more a celebration of the vendors and their stories, commitment, and delicious food. Every year the nominees get their own official video documentary. This year they’ve all been produced by our friend Liza de Guia from Food Curated. Click below to check out the videos of the two Midtown nominees, Cinnamon Snail and Uncle Gussy’s.

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We’ve seen the line long… but never this long!  Holy wow.

Related:
Vendy Award Finalists Announced- Plus Hang Out Early w/ Zach, Brian H, Blondie & Brownie

The finalists for the 2012 Vendy Awards were announced this morning, and it includes a couple of vendors we’re all familiar with.  As expected Uncle Gussy’s scored their first Vendy Award nomination this year, along with Cinnamon Snail (did you try their fig pancakes this morning?)  Rounding out the list are Piaztlan Authentic Mexican Food (from the Red Hook Ball Fields), Hamza & Madina Halal Food (from Hillside Ave in Queens), Xin Xiang Prosperity Kebabs (from Forsyth St & Division St), and Tortas Nezas (from near Citifield in Queens).

But wait there’s more. Want to go to the Vendys w/ me, Brian Hoffman, Blondie & Brownie? Find out how, after the jump…

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Filming food vendors in midtown this morning. Psyched it’s cloudy out!

— Liza de Guia (@SkeeterNYC) August 14, 2012

If you’ve been following the Vendy Awards as long as we have than you know that every year they film videos to announce all the nominees.  In 2007 the video got posted to YouTube a little bit early, but since then the Vendys have been pretty diligent about keeping the nominees under wraps until the official announcement.  But the videos have to be filmed, and occasionally word will leak out early (sometimes even by the vendors themselves!)  Well we can’t confirm it officially, but it looks like something like that might have happened today in Midtown…

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The clock is ticking on Vendy Award nominations. If you want to see you favorite vendor compete for the title, put in a good word for them! Nominations close Wednesday, July 25th (that’s TOMORROW!), so get a move on it. Last year midtown was well represented across the categories with Eggstravaganza and Trini-Paki Boys both named finalists in the Vendy Cup category, Korilla and Comme Ci Comme Ca Truck getting nods in the Newbie category (which Korilla won). Cinnamon Snail took the Maker’s Mark challenge trophy last year with their creme brulee doughnuts and now that they’re officially vending in New York, they’re hoping for a nod.

Due to unforeseen circumstances Trini-Paki Boys wasn’t able to compete last year, so it would be nice to see them get another chance. What vendors would you like to see get nominations?

To street vendors it’s the most important honor one can receive. To the media, it’s the “Oscars of Street Food”. But to us, it’s just the best damn food event in NYC.  The 2012 Vendy Awards are happening September 15th on Governor’s Island, and tickets are now on sale! They’re $80 if you buy them now, and the price includes all you can eat and drink (beer, wine and more) from over 20 different vendors. And this year they’re adding a brand new Market Vendor category. Plus all proceeds go to benefit the Street Vendor Project, so the ticket is tax deductible. It’s the third year in a row they’ve done it on Governor’s Island, and the past two years have sold out… so you’ll probably want to go on these bad boys early or risk getting shut out. The vendors haven’t been announced yet, but if you want to have a say in who gets to compete nominate your favorite vendor now. Nominations close on July 25th.  And we’ll see you September 15th on Governor’s Island!  UPDATE: The $80 early bird tickets are all sold out!  But there are still general admission tickets for $95.

Related:
Pupusas, Tacos, Souvlaki & Shaved Ice Shine at the 2011 Vendy Awards
Freddie The Falafel King of Astoria Sweeps the 2010 Vendy Awards
Diary of a 2009 Vendy Awards Judge
Biryani Cart & Treats Truck Are People’s Choice at The 2008 Vendy Awards!