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Vendy Winners - What'd you think?
Posted: 9:31 pm, September 26th, 2009 in Miscellaneous
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35 Comments
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I was there!
The Country Boys/Martinez Truck totally deserved the win. They were one of the few vendors who made food to order, which = delicious, fresh, hot, food. The level of quality was unparalleled by the other vendors.
As much as I love the Jamaican Dutchy cart, they were outmatched in this case. On the plus side, Biryani cart and the King of Falafel, both put up valiant efforts. Rickshaw was terrible - both the baby food like edamame dumpling, and the truly repugnant chicken & basil dumpling.
At the end, the carts that deserved the win, got the win.
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Same thing year after bloody year.
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What, Rickshaw didn't take the gold? SHOCKING!
Seriously, I hope they fix their f'd up nomination system so an abomination like this doesn't recur. I seriously would have attended this year if that Rickshaw BS didn't piss me off so much.
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Oh, and also got to meet Zach and hang out w/the Serious Eats crew. Very nice people all around!
(And Zach doesn't bite, and Harry is even cuter in person)
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I was sad I missed out on the Country Boys cart. I only had about 2 hrs to eat, and the line just killed it for me. But, I've had other RH Vendors and had a feeling these guys were good. Definitely enjoyed Biryani, Falafel, Picnick. I liked Schnitzel the day I had them from the cart (cod) but yesterday, the not-hot pork schnitzel was so-so for me. As for desserts, I was about 5 people back in line for ice cream when Doug and the crew had to shut down. But, I prefer the topping combinations from BGICT over wafels or cupcakes, so that was a bummer.
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i waited in line for 45 minutes, placed my order for one pork taco and the lady had one chicken huarache. it took like 2 minutes for the order to come out. dare I say, best taco i've ever had. and I've had my fair share living in sunset park.
all of you hippos who went for the sampler at country boys, shame on you for holding up the line. there's no way you could have finished all of that food. :(
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I was happy for Country Boys even if I didn't vote for them. I love La Raza, and the speech was cute. They were deserving. The carnitas were not carnitas, however, nor otherwise good.
I almost had an "Imma let you finish" moment for both fan fav and rookie. Meru was off his game with the kati rolls that day, and the ice cold biryani they served isn't even what have at the cart. I think people must have been voting on what they've had in Midtown, not at the event. I thought Freddy was robbed. He gave huge portions (though not needed), he was the only one with truly great service, and his fresh falafel was the single best bite I had of the day. Too bad his chicken was only so so.I thought Cravings killed Schnitzel truck for rookie. The emperor has no clothes/schnitzel no breading.
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steveroller, what part of it wasn't carnitas? soft and tender meat laced with crispy bits from the 2nd frying. and a good amount of heat too.
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i thought it was great how the falafel guys brought belly dancers to drum up votes.
i liked the schnitzel better than cravings for only one reason. i got a piping hot, just came out from the truck schnitzel and got an end of the batch cold pork chop and drumstick from the cravings truck.
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Deanlo, maybe I got a bad batch, but I got chewy red (?) pork. I like spicy but I don't usually associate carnitas with heat. I think it should ideally look something like this.
http://www.bunrab.com/dailyfeed/dailyfeed_images_jan-07/df07_01-03_carnitas.jpg
Or even this: http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_s0c-2Iti0DY/SQnkts1KaOI/AAAAAAAABYo/OhQVjoSjRyg/s400/Pork+Carnitas.JPG
I've liked some of their other meats though.
Rinda, I'd agree that the freshness of the food went into my opinion of a lot of the dishes too.
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I was shocked that Country Boys won the judges vote but the real vote is the People's Choice award which rightfully so was Biryani Cart. It's a tough day to get a real feel for the vendors as there are 600+ people they have to please. Everyone is talking about how the Country Boys made everything to order and that is why they won but they ony won the judges award which I believe was food that was delivered to a specific area. I thought the Schnitzel was very good, Falafel King was okay...not a fan of the pickels in the sandwich. Jamaican Dutchy was not great, too much rice and beans. Rickshaw was good ,I liked the edemame dumplings....waiting for the arrows! Didn't like the fatty pulled pork from Picnick at all, either did a friend. The desserts were all good.
Great event, will bring more friends next year. Great venus as well.
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dude, really sexy picture of carnitas from bunrab. that's exactly what I got from them, except theirs were a bit crispier than how this picture looks. and redder from whatever hot sauce they used. the 2nd picture looks too... boiled. that meat needs to be seared pronto.
as for the heat, it's all a matter of taste, really. not all dishes have established, standardized recipes. i respect your viewpoint though, as I too have preconceived notions about how certain foods HAVE to be.
summer rolls without the peanut sauce is blasphemy to me but it's actually pretty common in Vietnam to eat them with the same sauce you get with your porkchop over rice. hope that analogy is relevant to your experiences. :P
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All the winners were deserving, although not all the finalists deserved to be there. While Country Boys, Biryani Cart, Wafels and Dinges and Schnitzel & Things were deserving of their wins, I thought Picknick Smoked was also on that level.
Had a great time, though. Loved the alternative marching band, although I forgot their name. Anyone remember?
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SVP should do a better job of tracking down off-the-beaten-path vendors. The nominations should not have to do with how high profile, hipster or "fresh" your truck is. As much as Rickshaw's nomination was a joke, some of the others are questionable as well.
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the nominees were voted for by the public. blame us for being all fresh, hipster, and on the path.
technically, they would have all been rather nameless if it weren't for this site, 53rd and 6th, RHBF, etc. so it's a good thing people actually have a *preference* now for street food.
i think we're making significant headway here.
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"the nominees were voted for by the public. blame us for being all fresh, hipster, and on the path."
You say that like it's a good thing...
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I feel like, yes, some were popularity nominations in terms of the newer, hipster stuff, but you have a Red Hook vendor (who WON) and someone from Astoria there. There's definitely headway on finding things that aren't quite as mainstream/easily found on Bway/42nd or something.
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Maybe I'm just feeling overprotective of our Midtown-family favorites. And I understand that it's the "Vendys" and not the "StreetFoodys", but is anyone else uncomfortable that the winner was a weekends-only entrant from some far-away park? I'm sure their food is very good, but it just doesn't feel right.
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Proby- nah I feel ok. The SVP covers all 5 boroughs and its not just food vendors. Now if they were from NJ than that would be a different story!
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Not that there's anything wrong with New Jersey...
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LOL ;)
ps- Im from nj
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Me too!
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I'm sorry, but for anyone who thinks Rickshaw makes tasty/edible dumplings, please go see a doctor to have you head and taste buds examined.
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Clearly all you rickshaw haters just don't get it. Now excuse me while I don my A&F hoodie tee-shirt and tune you all out by listening to music on my iPhone.
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@Proby - As a judge, my opinion is clearly biased- because I'm part of the reason the Martinez Country Boys Truck won (although I did give the same perfect to Biriyani Cart as well)... but I have to disagree with you. In fact, I think the Red Hook ballfields are not just the personification of exactly what the Vendy Awards is all about, but also a perfect representation of what great street food should be.
The "Red Hook ballfield vendors" started over 15 years ago as a group of people from Central and South America serving their homemade food, off of tables next to soccer fields in Red Hook, to soccer players when they were done playing, and families who had come to watch. (That's why it's a weekend thing.) And at its essence is what street food has always been about: immigrants selling cheap food to other immigrants. No compromise. No dumbing it down for a larger audience. Good, honest food- made from recipes that have probably been passed down for generations. Not fusion food. Not food designed by a chef, but made by workerbees for far less money. No marketing. No gimmicks. Real food, sold on the street (technically illegally until last year) because you can't really afford to sell it anywhere else for that cheap.
I just pray that Midtown vendors don't suffer the same fate... once the city realized how popular the vendors were, they threatened to take over the space and offer it to the highest bidder. Luckily the public outcry was so severe, they relented... and only forced the vendors to all buy "city approved" trucks and carts (even though there had never been a single complaint of food poisoning or "dirty" food filed in 15 years.)
Anyway, that's it. They were completely deserving, and I think represent exactly what the best New York street food is all about.
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While I'm saddened to see that Rickshaw did poorly, I'm not terribly surprised. I still will vouch for their "bento box" specials at their main location, as the meal was delish and cheap for a NYC dinner (~$10). I wish they sold those meals on the truck...
...or do they??
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If anyone has not had the chance to visit the Big Gay Ice Cream Truck, I encourage you to run and get some while you have the chance! It closes for the season next Friday (they are having a party though) and is not operating today. I had the frozen hot chocolate creation last night. The hot choco was AMAZING and Doug (and his partner at the truck) is adorable and so nice.
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@RockCenter - no bento boxes at Rickshaw unless they've changed the menu lately. I've been a number of times and never saw them.
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@Cosilicious Yes, BGICT rules. Need to get some of the hot chocolate asap. That was the ONE thing I really wanted to try at the Vendys and I was like 10th person back when he had to shut down for the awards ceremony. Good to know my inclination (that sounds GOOD) was correct.
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@ncsuemme - tomorrow he will have Thanksgiving sundaes!!!! According to his site: "The Gobbler- Our Thanksgiving Sundae. Vanilla ice cream, pumpkin butter, crushed graham crackers, and whipped cream"
I am now addicted to the frozen hot chocolate (hot chocolate + hot men = bliss!) but only one more week to get it ...
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@cosi, since i missed out on saturday, i went to the truck on monday and got a monday sundae. (yum!) so i must refrain from more ice cream this week, particularly sundaes. but i want to try the gobbler, as i <3 pumpkin pie.
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"monday sundae"!!!! what! this guy is nothing if not inventive! I also love pumpkin pie, now if only he'd toss a few candy corns on top.
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had the gobbler during the vendy's. rec'd. although by the time i got around to their cart i couldn't finish more than half of it...
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i can sympathize with that, ncsuemme. it IS rather difficult to get a good representation of the *best* street food nyc has to offer. trouble is, no one really knows about the other carts so naturally they can't vote for them.
we should have one of those borderline-sketchy corn grillers from Sunset Park at the Vendy's. with their mayo, cotija, chili salt. THAT stuff is awesome. or those mini hotcake vendors from chinatown. or the honey roasted peanuts that smell really good but don't ever taste as good as they smell...
is svp ready to start a new category? Snack/Nosh/Specialists. Do it
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Late comment, 'cause I finally finished my video and wanted to share it. Personally, I voted for exactly the People's Choice winners. Which I took to mean that I'm not completely insane. They were all great (well, maybe not that edamame paste dumpling.. WTH?) but for whatever reason, I just didn't find my huarache to be the transcendent experience the pro judges seem to have had. I look forward to next year.
And now, shamelessly: http://masto.blip.tv/file/2677551/
Whether or not you were there today, what does everyone think?
Rookie Award Winner: Schnitzel & Things
Dessert Award Winner: Wafels & Dinges
People's Choice Award Winner: Biryani Cart
Vendy's Cup Winner: The Martinez Country Boys Truck
Oh, and for reference, these were the nominees (for the few (?) ML readers not in the loop):
Rookies: Big Gay Ice Cream Truck, NYC Cravings, Picnick, Schnitzel
Dessert: BGICT, Cupcake Stop, W&D
Entrees: Biryani, Country Boys, Falafel King, Jamaican Dutchy, Rickshaw Cart
(Oh sorry I didn't find you and say hi, Zach. I wanted to, but er, the job of a Vendy volunteer never really stops, hah.)