"2010 vendy awards" news and stories

This past Saturday on Governors Island in New York City, the Vendy Awards took place, which is basically the equivalent of the Oscars for food trucks. Over 15 food trucks from New York and Philadelphia (more on that below) lined the grassy park, serving everything from schnitzel to slushies, tacos to bread pudding.

The Vendy Awards were created to help raise money for the Street Vendor Project of the Urban Justice League, a non-profit organization that provides vendors with legal representation and advocacy. If you were lucky enough to get in early, a tax-deductible $85 ticket bought you all-you-can-eat access to food from each of the finalists' carts and the opportunity to vote for the People's Choice Award, the Dessert Vendor of the Year and the Rookie Vendor of the Year.

This years judges included a prestigious panel of media and chef personalities: Leslie Koch, Molly O'Neill, Aaron Sanchez, Stephen Starr and Tanya Wenman Steel.

While the James Beard Awards may be the Oscars of the food world, the Vendy Awards are a bit closer to the people -- think Daytime Emmys. It's not just a glorious, all-you-can-eat showdown of NYC street food's finest, it's a marker for where fast food is going, for what parts of haute cuisine will translate to everyday food, or at least, for what the public prefers to eat on the go, which we tend to cover -- and taste test -- a whole helluva lot here at Slashfood.

This Saturday the 25th, we'll be live-tweeting from the event on Governors Island (follow us @slashfood for all the bite-by-bite details). Then, we're bringing back the results (with interviews, photos, video and all) on Monday. But first, meet the last, perhaps most exciting category of finalists -- the rookies -- and check back here for previously announced finalists in the general and dessert categories. This last group is all brand new -- before this week, only serious street grub scavengers even knew they existed.

Last month, we gave you the skinny on the 6th Annual Vendy Awards, a day for New York City's best food trucks to go head-to-head in an all-you-can-eat throwdown. Well, the big moment is upon us -- taking place September 25th on Governor's Island -- and soon, we'll have a winner of the coveted Vendy Cup.

Back in August, only five 2010 finalists were announced -- El Rey Del Sabor, King of Falafel & Shwarma, Schnitzel and Things, Bistro Truck, Patacon Pisao (check back here for the bios on those) -- and today, we bring you the just-announced finalists in the dessert category! Admittedly, our favorite.

Big Gay Ice Cream Truck
Previous finalists in both Dessert and Rookie categories last year, Bryan Petroff and Douglas Quint serve top-notch soft-serve that never ceases to surprise us. Their eccentric toppings range from wasabi dust to cocoa nibs, curried coconut to Trix cereal. Stop by their colorful truck at the corner of Broadway and 17th Street in Manhattan weekdays from around 2-9 pm, and follow them @biggayicecream on Twitter.

Dessert Truck
Jerome Chang's sweet-stocked truck is also a Dessert finalist from 2008. The decadent offerings (chocolate bread pudding, molten cake, brioche doughnut holes) are so good, he landed a permanent brick-and-mortar spot at 6 Clinton St., called DessertTruck Works. But you can still find the truck at the corner of St. Marks and 3rd Avenue Tuesdays through Sundays from 6-11 pm, and follow them @desserttruck on Twitter.

New York City has hundreds of street food carts and trucks, but only five were selected Monday as finalists for the sixth annual Vendy Awards, which will take place September 25th on Governors Island. Proceeds from ticket sales will go to the Street Vendor Project of the Urban Justice League, a non-profit that provides vendors with legal representation and advocacy. One tax deductible $85 ticket buys you all-you-can-eat access to food from each of the finalists' carts and the opportunity to vote for the People's Choice Award, the Dessert Vendor of the Year and the Rookie Vendor of the Year. But the finalists, competing for nothing more than the heralded Vendy Cup and a chance at increased post-event success, are the real draw.

After the jump, vitals on each finalist so you can start scouting the competition ...