New York Street Food

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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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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