The Vendy Awards are a NYC event that was started a few years ago to
recognize street food in all its variety and glory. This year the
founder supported an event in L.A. because of the growing interest by
foodies. Our street vendors now range from the old classics to new
cuisine whose followers track their whereabouts by Twitter and such
things. Last weekend the six finalists competed and the winner was --
apporpriately for L.A., I think -- a classic taco truck (Nina
Garcia). Her competitors include trucks specializing in: grilled
cheese plain and fancy; bacon-wrapped hotdogs; bbq brisket; another
taco vendor; and Indian food. The link below is to a page that
includes links to other stories about the event and a folksy video of
the six finalists giving spiels about their offerings and why they
should win. -aem
http://streetvendor.org/vendys/la/

aem > wrote:

> The Vendy Awards are a NYC event that was started a few years ago to
> recognize street food in all its variety and glory.

Sometimes it is just as interesting to read negative or mixed reviews of
street food. Here is a well-written one about New York street food by
Peter Grogan, from
<http://www.spectator.co.uk/scoff/5917328/chariots-of-chow.thtml>.

Victor

Chariots of Chow

Peter Grogan

As the grotesque, green-backed Godzilla that is the 25-Dollar Martini
stomps towards the streets of Manhattan ($23.95 at The Algonquin already
smashes its fist through that wall with tippage, but only if you ask for
Hendricks), I've been looking into ways of raising a fighting fund to
take on the beast. Who needs Le Bernardin (apart from me) when you can
save change at the chariots of chow that are New York's food-vending
carts. Some are forces for good, many have something of the night about
them, one sells only cup-cakes and the flavoured few are the recipients
of the "Vendy" awards, dished-out at an annual bun-fight in Queens.

Those happy few often attract the flattery of impostors setting-up cart
across the street in hopes of being mistaken for the echte-cart so it's
important always to join the longest line and then order as loudly as
possible what everybody else is having. I lost my vendy virginity in
full public view on the corner of 46th and 6th with Moshe. It was messy
and I got a lot of his hot sauce down the front of my shirt but on the
whole the experience was one I can whole-heartedly recommend to any
intending visitors to the city of Gotham. It's not necessary to dress
for such a dinner of course although a Sou'wester would be ideal - the
remnants of crispy, just-fried felafel, salad, pitta bread and
additional sesame-sauce could be easily hosed-off post-prandially.

Take also a shooting-stick for the wait at The Jamaican Dutchy (51st and
7th) for the jerkiest of jerk chicken - the service is without jerks of
any kind though and the stick could come in handy if the complete
absence of the manic speed of most Cartesians drives you round the bend.
At a cart-with-no-name at 61st and Madison - not exactly "these mean
streets," I know - they griddle butterflied chicken breasts that need no
more adornment than a smear of tzatziki and a pinch of salt to get you
through the gates of vendy heaven. Other celestial residents include
the Famous Halal Guys (53rd and 6th) and SoHo's Calexico Cart (at
Worcester and Prince).

Sabretts' hot dog carts provide the grey-goo of NY's street-eats scene
and for $2 you can feed yourself ... colourfully. The sarcophagous of
cheapest white "bread" doesn't seem to be made of flour but manages the
job of containing the TV-presenter-orange cadaver. This is itself
adorned with either "regular" onions - according to a local chum,
"traditionally simmered in urine for 20 days" - or the same "in sauce,"
a liquid of an even brighter hue than the "wiener" and which has a
flavour I haven't come across before. Not in food, anyway. Final
annointing with a vinegarry yellow streak completes the guilty picture
and you're good to get down and dirty in the streets.