Archive for 'Videos'

Video Break: Street Vendors Continue to Work to Lift the Permit Caps

We’ve been through this before on this site, but it bears repeating. Mobile food vendors in this city face a major hardship because the city has set a cap on the number of permits available. This, of course, has created a black market and forced many hard working food entrepreneurs to pay upwards of $25,000 to find a permit or in many cases, not operate at all. This is why we sadly lost The Cinnamon Snail earlier this year.

Last week there was a rally at City Hall, organized by Street Vendor Project, to push for a bill that would eliminate this cap. Our friends over at One Minute Meals documented the situation and the event in their newest video “You Can’t Feed City Hall.” Check out the video by clicking this link. As advertised, it’s just one minute but packed with important information.

1 Minute Meal: “You Can’t Feed City Hall” from James Boo on Vimeo.

The Vendy Awards Kept the Threatening Weather At Bay

All those attending the 11th annual Vendy Awards this past weekend were praying for good weather. The forecasters told us our prayers would be ignored and threatened thunderstorms all day. Miraculously, street food won out and the day ended up being full of food, celebration, and pleasant weather.

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Video Break: Vendy Award Nominee Old Traditional Polish Cuisine

If you didn’t get your tickets for the Vendy Awards tomorrow, you’re out of luck. As we told you, tickets would sell out and they did earlier this week.

No fear, you can still sample the food from all the Rookie of the Year nominees since they all have at least one regular rotation day in Midtown. We’ve been posting videos on all the nominees, so check out the droolworthy souvlaki from Lil Zeus Lunch Box, pork belly buns and popcorn chicken from Kaya NYC, southeast Asian tacos from Coney Shack, and tomato poached egg sandwiches and platters from The Shuka Truck. And if you want to see videos on the other categories, click here.

Today, we’re showcasing the final nominee. Old Traditional Polish Cuisine serves just what it’s name says. Giant grilled kielbasa are incredibly smoky and crisp and make a filling, hearty meal when paired with pierogies stuffed with meat, cheese, or potato. Follow them on Twitter to find out when they’ll be in Midtown next.

Click the link below to check out the video. If you’ll be at the Vendys, get ready for some serious eating and if not, don’t forget to buy your Vendy tickets early next year!

Old Traditional Polish Cuisine

Video Break: Vendy Award Nominee The Shuka Truck

The Vendy Awards get closer every week. Do you have your tickets to the big event on September 12? It will definitely sell out (as it always does), but you can still purchase them by clicking here. It’s an amazing afternoon with food from over 25 different vendors.

We’ve been showcasing videos on all the Rookie of the Year nominees. Regardless of who wins, it will be a coup for Midtown since all five nominees find their way to this neighborhood. The other videos already posted include Taiwanese buns from Kaya NYC, overstuffed tacos from Coney Shack, and Greek street food from Lil Zeus Lunch Box.

The next nominee is The Shuka Truck, who serves large sandwiches and platters of shakshuka. This Israeli dish is basically eggs poached in tomato sauce and spices. Shuka Truck also offers varieties like a vegetable-forward green and an earthy creamy white shakshuka. They usually park in Midtown three times a week, but check their Twitter feed for exact locations.

Click the link below to check out the video and stay tuned for one more video next week on the final Rookie of the Year nominee as we count down to the 11th annual Vendy Awards.

The Shuka Truck

Video Break: Vendy Award Nominee Kaya NYC

There are just over two more weeks until the Vendy Awards and my stomach is growling louder every day. To appease my belly, I’ve been making a series of videos on all the nominees and showcasing the Rookie of the Year videos here over the last few weeks (all of them miraculously park in Midtown).

We’ve seen souvlaki from Lil Zeus Lunch Box and southeast Asian tacos from Coney Shack. Today, we’re focusing on the newest nominee to arrive in Midtown, Kaya NYC. They’ve been setting up in Dumbo and Tribeca for the past few months, but only recently set their sights on bringing their popcorn chicken and gua bao (Taiwanese steamed pork buns) to 50th and 6th Avenue. You can check their location on Twitter.

Yvo has a review coming soon on their food, but in the meantime, drool over the video by clicking the link below. And don’t forget to get your tickets to the Vendy Awards here before they sell out.

Kaya NYC

More Vendy Nominees Announced (Plus Lil Zeus Lunch Box Video)

All the Vendy Award nominees are now in. Yesterday, the Street Vendor Project announced the nominees for Vendy Cup (FiDi’s Biryani House, the burger truck Hard Times Sundaes, Cantonese steamed rice noodle cart Guandong Cheong Fun, Astoria’s Souvlaki Lady, and last year’s Rookie of the Year winner Snowday).

They also announced an exciting new category which is Best Street Drink. You’ll be able to try drinks as diverse as coconut smoothies, unqiue lemonades, morir soñando, and champurrado (a hot Mexican chocolate drink).

As for the previous announced categories, we are fortunate to have many Midtown vendors represented, so over the next few weeks we’ll be showcasing them in video form. And no doubt, the videos will make you eager to attend the big event on September 12. Tickets are still on sale here.

To start with, check out this mouthwatering video on Rookie of the Year nominee Lil Zeus Lunch Box, who parks on 50th and 6th Avenue every day and grills up some mighty tasty gyros and souvlaki.

Lil Zeus Lunch Box Video>>

Video Break: Searching For The Best Egg Dishes in Midtown

When I was little, all the other kids got to load up their Easter baskets with colorful treasures, while I was stuck saying prayers over the seder plate. So this year, I go on my very first East egg hunt. Clay captured the entire thing on video as I searched for as many eggs as possible around Midtown.

Watch the hunt after the jump….

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Video Break: Looking for Valentine’s Day Love at La Maison du Chocolat

We’re all looking for a little love, so for Valentine’s Day this year, I thought I’d impress a lucky girl with some luxurious hot chocolate at fancy Rockefeller Center shop La Maison du Chocolat. After taking out a personal ad looking for a date, I was excited that I got a response. The love (and chocolate) fest is all captured on video after the jump. Unfortunately, it didn’t go exactly according to plan…

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Video Break: A Jewish Christmas at Café China

Every year, while my goyish friends are at church and rocking around the Christmas tree, I don my chopsticks to explore some serious Chinese food. This year, I decided to visit Café China to taste their refined renditions of classic Szechuan dishes, like mapo tofu and tea-smoked duck. And at the restaurant, I run into a familiar face who is also grubbing on some noodles in celebration of the big holiday. See who it is after the jump…

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Video Break: Celebrating Thanksgivukkah at Ess-a-Bagel

You have to be living under a rock (Plymouth?) if you haven’t heard that this year Thanksgiving and the first day of Hanukkah fall on the same day. While people are at home cooking potentially awful dishes like Manischewitz-brined turkey and cranberry latkes, I decided to head over to Ess-a-Bagel to see if I could put together a hybrid holiday meal. Too bad we have to wait another 80,000 years to officially celebrate Thanksgivukkah again. But it’ll be here before you know it. Check out the video after the jump.

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