It was a gorgeous day and the food was glorious at the 3rd Annual Vendy Awards, held this year in Tompkins Square Park in NYC. I didn’t just sample food from the finalists’ carts — I ate a hearty plate from each and every one (except from Kwik Meal, because it is farily close to my office and I get the excellent chicken and rice plate from there regularly).
The five finalists this year were The Dosa Man (Washington Square South and Sullivan), Kwik Meal (45th St. and Sixth Ave.), Veronica’s Kitchen (Front St. and Pine St.), The King of Falafel & Shawarma (30th St. and Broadway in Astoria), and Super Taco (96th St. and Broadway). They were all winners in my book, but Thiru Kumar — "The Dosa Man," after being nominated as a finalist for the third time in three years, deservedly took the top prize.
Here are some pictures taken during the event:
Juhu and Nage eat super tacos from Super Taco.
Veronica Julien working her wonderful kitchen. That’s fried chicken being fried the way it’s supposed to be — in cast-iron — so, so good.
Sean Basinski, director of the Street Vendors Project and founder of The Vendy Awards, works the crowd.
The delectable plate from The Dosa Man. Everything served up was top notch — Indian food at its finest.
This is the delicious plate from The King of Falafel & Shawarma. The chicken was wonderful, and the falafel was out of this world — seriously some of the best falafel I have ever had.
The incredibly tasty plate from Veronica’s Kitchen. Rice, greens and amazing fried chicken.
Chris and Sean at the table.
Clearly I am a very happy customer.
To further annoy my wife for "doing that thing" with my eyes while posing for pictures, I am posting this picture below.
Fares Zeideia from The King of Falafel & Shawarma takes third place.
Mohammed Rahman of Kwik Meal takes 2nd place, and also wins the People’s Choice award.
More pictures from the Vendys can be found here.
