New York Street Food

Solber Pupusas from the 2011 Vendy Awards (credit: NYSF)

The Street Vendor Project has come up with a new and innovative Vendy experience besides the Vendy Awards.  Last week in partnership with the New Amsterdam Market, they unveiled “International Meats Local”, New York’s first sustainable street meat event.

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Wooly's Ice wins Best Dessert

The Best Dessert category at the 2011 Vendy Awards was another very strong one, which could have been won by any of the finalists and I wouldn’t have blinked an eye.

In the end, Wooly’s Ice, a fairly new stand in Chinatown inspired by Hawaiian and Taiwanese shaved ice stands, got the nod from the crowd.  It didn’t hurt that it was a warm and very humid day, but Wooly’s certainly deserved the honor.  I have no idea what the guy in the green suit was about, but he added a touch of surrealism to their stand!

People loved their delicious shaved ice with brownies, strawberries and leche sauce, which was made from a combination of condensed milk, evaporated milk and a touch of sea salt.  They also fielded a strong entry in the Maker’s Mark bourbon challenge, with a sauce using Maker’s Mark over their signature shaved ice.

Wooly's Ice with Maker's Mark sauce

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Korilla wins Rookie of the Year

The 2011 Vendy Awards on Saturday was a great day, with delicious food served by over 20 different vendors.  The Rookie of the Year category was one of the strongest categories, with every nominee being a strong contender to take the title.

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Rafael Soler reacts to winning the 2011 Vendy Cup

As we mentioned yesterday, Solber Pupusas won the 2011 Vendy Cup on Saturday, in their second bite at the apple.  Rafael was also a Vendy Cup Finalist in 2008 under the name Soler Dominican.

Check out the amazing plate of food below: a pupusa (middle left), sweet plantains (top) and a tamale (lower right) covered by homemade pickled onions, jalapenos and cabbage, topped with their special sauce and crema.  The pupusa had your choice of chicken or pork yesterday, and their regular menu has even more choices of fillings.  You have to cut down the options to serve this many people, but that didn’t seem to hinder Solber Pupusas.

There were plenty of other tasty and interesting dishes in the Vendy Cup category, including the People’s Choice Winner, Souvlaki GR.  Click through for details of what the other finalists served.

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For the second time in three years, a vendor from the Red Hook Ballfields is bringing the Vendy Cup back to Brooklyn.

Rafael Soler and Reina Bermudez-Soler, who were Vendy Cup finalists in 2008 under the name Soler Dominican, brought home the award as the best street vendor in New York City for Solber Pupusas, the Salvadoran specialty of handmade corn masa patties stuffed with various meats, cheeses and vegetables.

The Solers put together beautiful plates for the judges which included pupusas, sweet plantains, tamales, pickled onions & cabbage, jalapenos and their special sauces.

Solber Pupusas Vendy Cup winning plate

The 2011 Vendy Awards, which was the 7th version of the event, had more categories and more attendees (1,700) than any past Vendy Awards event.  There’s a lot to cover, so let’s get busy.

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