New York Street Food

Yesterday I stopped by the Eggstravaganza cart on Park Ave & 52nd St to congratulate Arturo on his Vendy Award nomination.  I remember how happy he was last year when his friend Rosa from El Rey del Sabor was nominated for a Vendy Award, and I know how much this meant to him.

Since I have been to two Vendy Awards events in 2009 and 2010, Arturo asked me a few questions about how certain things worked, and asked my advice on a couple of things.  It felt a little stange giving a Vendy Award Finalist advice, but I guess at this point, I have more Vendy experience than he does.

At Eggstravaganza, Arturo started out making great breakfasts before expanding into lunches.  Yesterday I had a Mexican Wrap ($5), which is in the same family as a breakfast burrito.

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The Vendy Awards have announced this year’s finalists for the Vendy Cup, which takes place this Saturday on Governor’s Island.

In a break from past years, this year’s main category will have 7 vendors vying for the Vendy Cup.  In past years, no more than 5 vendors competed for the Vendy Cup.

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The Vendy Award people seem to come up with a few surprises each year, and one of this year’s was the nomination of Eat Here Now Now Eat Here in the Rookie of the Year category.

If you already knew about them, it might not have been a surprise, but I only heard about them recently in a New York Magazine article on the abundance of great new restaurants on Hudson St in the West Village.  Since I live on Hudson St, I was planning on checking them out soon, even if they weren’t nominated for a Vendy Award.

The cart is owned by Stan Tankuesley, who told me he was previously involved with Tortilla Flats, and one of my all-time favorites, the original Brothers BBQ (when it was on Houston St, before it moved around the corner to Varick St).  I remember the original Brothers BBQ very fondly.  It just wasn’t the same after it moved.

Now Stan has this cart selling breakfast burritos all day, as well as tacos with steak, pork, chicken, fish or shrimp. I also saw a spinach quesadilla on the menu.  Stan told me he was very happy with the cart as opposed to the restaurants he was previously involved in.  He said it was much less stressful.

The cart is under the High Line at 16th St & 10th Ave Mon-Fri from 9am-4pm. On weekends, its on Hudson St at West 12th St from 9am-4pm.

I asked Stan what he recommended, and he said a breakfast burrito ($5), which was perfect for a Sunday around noon.  I also ordered a shrimp taco ($5) just to try it.

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The 2011 Vendy Award Rookie of the Year Finalists were just announced by Grub Street, so let’s get to it.

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Homemade lamb kefta sandwich from Two Pitas In A Pod

The Vendy Awards has added another new category for 2011 besides the Hero’s Award – The Best of NJ.

We’ve had a New Jersey section on New York Street Food for quite some time, because Northern NJ is as much a part of NYC as Queens or Staten Island – and they have great street food vendors!

We must say, the Vendy Awards did their homework.  All the NJ nominees are excellent.  In alphabetical order, the Best of NJ nominees are: (more…)