The Vendys: 2009
Mrs. Robot, who is the best, took me to the Vendys this year.
"An intense cook-off between the best sidewalks chefs in New York City for the Vendy Award trophy and the title of Vendy Award winner."
Hello Earths! Yup, that's what it is. Last year's event was in DUMBO north of the Brooklyn Bridge - great location, but it was a tight space. The year it was at the Queens Museum of Art in Flushing Meadows Corona Park which had the advantage that space was plentiful. Disadvantage was that it was way out in Queens.
We ate...


The Biryani Cart
2:52pmMy favorite last year was the Biryani Cart. These are the guys from Bangledish who are fans of Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton. I mean, right there, that is awesomes.
They do a kati roll which is basically delicious things rolled in chapati bread - basically a flatbread. The bread is awesome and I am not sure what they do to it, but I think I could just eat it by itself. I think they were serving the chicken tikka kati roll. I think there was yogurt involved. Maybe. I don't really take notes about this stuff.
I voted them as my favorite (again) and they won the people's choice award.


Jamaican Dutchy
In the past I have never really loved "jerk" anything - but after having the jerk chicken at the Jamaican Dutchy cart I think I need to reevaluate jerks. The jerk chicken was stupendous. The sauce was dark and rich and savory with a real depth of flavors. Delicious. Unlike any jerk sauce I've had before.
They also served carrot cake.


Country Boys/Martinez Taco Truck
The Country Boys won the judges choice award.
I think they are the first Red Hook Ball Fields vendor to win a Vendy. They did huaraches, quesadillas, and tacos. I had a pork taco and it was tasty, although I wonder if I am becoming jaded about good tacos? Maybe I need to start eating a few bad tacos from time to time to balance things out.
Their crew was very friendly and they seemed to be doing their huarches a bit smaller which is a good idea (otherwise they are huge and you don't need huge portions here). The line here may have been the longest, but it also seemed like the slowest.


Picnick Smoked: Good For You BBQ
This truck was part of the new "Rookie Finalists" group meant to feature the food of vendors who have been opened for less than a year. Like Country Boys, Picnick Smoked had a good sense of portion control and server small pulled pork sandwhiches with cole slaw on them. Delicious to the point that after Mrs. Robot had one bite, she went back to truck to ask them where they were from. Apparently they had spent a good bit of time in NC.



Dessert Trucks
The Vendys: Red Velvet Good stuff this year for dessert.
There was the Cupcake Stop truck that had a fine red-velvet cupcake as well as zillion other flavors including an Elvis cupcake that was peanut butter frosting with bacon on it. The Wafels & Dinges truck that served very tasty waffles with lots of choices for toppings.4:34pm But the longest dessert truck line was for the Big Gay Ice Cream truck that produced some very good soft-serve ice cream that came in a wide array of wacky flavors.



Things we didn't eat.
The Schnitzel and Things truck. These guys park down the street from our apartment sometimes, but seriously... schnitzel? Maybe it's just me, but I have no desire to eat pounded meat. Now, granted, I have never tried their food and am going to make an effort to do so sooner than later, but really... schnitzel?
There was a Taiwanese truck. I think they were stuck in the lonely back corner? I don't even remember seeing them.


We also missed the King of Falafel truck and the Rickshaw Dumpling truck. What were we doing the whole time there?
Oh, right... the bar. The dumpling truck was the drama for this year as the blog-o-sphere was a bit riled up about their being chosen (it also wasn't getting good reviews from people who tried their dumplings).



Final Observations
You can't judge the food by the line. The BBQ has no line whatsoever. The Biryani Cart had a smaller than average line. The Dumpling cart on the other hand had a pretty long line.
Having it in Queens was great because there was a lot of space, but not great because it's way out in Queens and the trains like to run local on the weekend. Honestly, I think they need to move it closer to the city next year, but apparently the Queens Museum is pushing for them to come back.

Some of the vendors need to learn portion control - a few plates were just too much food. The BBQ guys as I mentioned I thought nailed it as far as serving size.


The Vendys: The Rude Mechanical OrchestraThe Rude Mechanical Orchestra performed again this year. The acoustics weren't great (lots of sound absorbing grass) compared to last year (lots of non-sound-absorbing concrete) but it was a good performance. All the cameras came out for them. I enjoyed/become infuriated with the table of sports-themed-shirted twenty-somethings behind us who sat there with this "ewwww gross" look on their face the whole time. Not to diss our neighboring state, but I think they were all from Pennsylvania (a state I think is the dorkiest in the union).


Oh, and jeers to the Queens Museum for closing their doors, and in turn access to the bathrooms, the instant it was all over. It was like, "Thanks for coming! See you next year!" and we turn around and they are locking the doors to the museum.
Museum (and urination) fail.

 






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