The 2011 Vendys

If I had to recap this weekend’s Vendy Awards in just one word it would be: EPIC. Saturday’s gathering of 21 carts and trucks representing the best in street food in New York (and NJ!) was a day filled with more good food than you can imagine. As much as the Vendys is "the Oscars of street food," being there in the center of all that deliciousness was a tangible reminder of the simple truth: if you love what you do, it shows...

Korilla’s line started when the early bird ticket holders hit the gates and didn’t slow ‘til the votes were being tallied. Little B enjoyed his first taste of daeji bulgogi and bulgogi tacos as well as Killa Sauce. His reaction? MOAHR! That’s my boy. Note to the Korilla boys, you need to make those “I Korilla NY” t-shirts in baby sizes!

Our second stop was Solber Pupusas where we narrowly missed their massive line. They put out a real spread (tamales, pupusas, and sweet maduros).

Little B loved the falafal from Taim...

...and he was a fan of Sunrise Grill as well...

...especially their curried goat.I was impressed by the little taste of fruitcake--it's co-owner Tara Graham's mom's secret recipe. Fruitcake doesn't have the best of reps here in the States, but I assure you this one would inspire hoarding (as opposed to regifting).

Little B is a huge Souvlaki GR fan, so naturally we hit them up for pork pitas.

We loved their Loukaniko Platter, perfectly charred homemade Greek sausage with fries.

And their Horiatiki, a traditional Greek salad (no lettuce here!) was intensely refreshing.

To cap it off they had a wandering bouzouki player. Impressive. Very impressive.

While I tried to pass on dishes that I've already tried, there was no way that I could say no to Eggstravaganza's Mexican Grilled Cheese (chorizo and bacon FTW).

Comme Ci Comme Ça dished out Chef Samir’s fluffy couscous with tender chicken, beef or veggies and topped with an array of delicious sauces--I can’t resist the spicy mint sauce. Chef Samir’s mom came all the way from Morocco to see her son compete!

Sam’s Falafel prepared generous combo plates with freshly fried falafel balls, smoky baba ganoush, fried eggplant, salad and plenty of tahini dressing.

Last year I fell in love with the vegan donuts from The Cinnamon Snail. This year they didn’t disappoint, returning with a Vanilla Bourbon Crème Brulee Donut, their entry in the Maker’s Mark Challenge (spoiler, alert: they won!).

They also made a terrific roasted red pepper and bean tart and a seitan wrap. Word is they’re getting a permit for the city so they’ll be crossing the river with those awesome donuts soonish. We’ll keep you posted.

Blondie couldn't get enough of Tamales Guadalupes. If you want a real, authentic, addictive tamale you have to seek her out in Brooklyn on Knickerbocker & DeKalb Avenues.

Chef Fany Gershon's paletas from the La Newyorkina Cart were a must. I had the roasted plum and regretted not making it back in time for seconds.

Blondie was very pleased with her pick: Cajeta with Pecans.

Miss Softee spread sprinkles and lots of glitter.

While we loved her creative cone flights (hello, who would say no to multiple ice cream cones?!), her entry in the Maker's Mark Challenge was to die for: crumb cake with a bourbon glaze, topped with vanilla soft serve, drizzled with bourbon dulce de leche and capped with bourbon soaked raisins. Wowsa. Another dessert I'm sad I didn't get seconds of.

Speaking of desserts that I could use a lot more of...Woolys Ice, oh Woolys Ice. Your Green Man (green tea ice, mango, mochi and sweetened condensed milk) rocked my world.

Eat Here Now Now Eat Here had little egg burrito "sushi bites" which proved to the perfect size for sampling.

Just when I thought I couldn't eat another morsel I was waylaid by a tiny Maple Bacon cupcake from the Cupcake Crew. So small. So tasty. I liked how there was candied bacon both on top and inside.

Silly me, I didn't read the Vendys flier so I had no idea that Gayle King was one of the judges. So naturally I freaked out when I randomly found myself behind her. (OMG. Gayle King! My childhood newscaster! Love her!)

Host Sunny Anderson got the festivities under way.

Drum roll please...

Woolys for Dessert!

The Taco Truck won for NJ

Korilla took the crown for the Rookies!

Souvlaki GR was the People's Choice!

The King of Falafel was on hand to pass the Vendy Cup to...

Two-time Vendy Finalist, Solber Pupusas!

Special thanks to the Street Vendor Project team at the Urban Justice Center, the volunteers and of course the vendor finalists, many of whom enlisted family and friends to serve up great food. Each and EVERY participating cart and truck put their heart into making fantastic food and ensuring a great day for everyone. Marking my calendar now for Vendys 2012

Shake Shack Has Fruit?!

With everything going on at Madison Square Eats the past few days, I wasn't so shocked to learn that the line at Shake Shack was nearly nonexistent. Well, you can go to one of the other locations, and if you have the chance to eat outside, wouldn't you want it to be Roberta's? So when a couple of friends and I were hanging out last night and hunger started to hit us, we didn't get something the market of course. We headed over to the Shack.

Where much to my surprise they had something listed as "Seasonal Fruit"?! What the what? Apparently they have started this as a topping for the custards. Yesterday's was Peach Compote, and lover of peaches that I am, I bit. Vanilla custard topped with some peach compote and shortbread cookies. I don't know if this whole thing was worth $6.25-I'm leaning towards the negative side of that-but it was surely delicious. I did want some more peach compote on top, and I was sort of tricked into buying a double scoop. This is definitely a hold-out dessert for times when it's your *FAVORITE* fruit topping.

Eating Out at Madison Square Eats

For the next three weeks, I'm going to be spending a fair amount of time at Madison Square Eats manning the Robicelli's stand. So of course I'll be getting a lot of meals there as well! I've already tried a few things that really stand out, and should definitely be tried before it's all over on October 21st.

The first thing I tried this season was "The Rapture" at Roberta's. At $11, it was hard for me to justify this in my mind, but one bite and I was convinced this was worth it! It was topped with caramelized onions and kale in addition to the mozzarella. Roberta's, always for the win.

Another big hit with me was the Moroccan Meatball Sandwich from Almond. Lamb meatballs are perfectly made, they're not over-spiced or dry, smothered with a sweet red sauce, and then everything's topped with a generous amount of cheese. The green sauce added a nice spicy kick to everything. Since it was were all of the spice was coming from, you didn't have to worry about your mouth being on fire.

And for dessert, you should check out Macaron Parlour's HOMEMADE peach poptarts. Not too sweet, a delicious peach filling, and flaky crust. Two seconds in the toaster, and it's everything you wish we'd had when we were kids.

Travels with Brownie: Arepas con Huevo

It's been close to three years since I visited my Lawman's family in Colombia, but I still think fondly of the Arepas con Huevo that we had our first morning in Bogotá. The direct translation (corncake with egg) fails to convey the intense deliciousness that this breakfast treat packs...

Arepas can be found in Colombia, Venezuela, and Panama and regional variations abound. On a basic level it's a flat, round, pancake of sorts made from cornmeal or flour. Some arepas are thick and sort of poufy while others are thin and crunchy. They can be grilled, baked, boiled, or fried. You can put a topping like meat or cheese on top or split them in the middle and stuff them like a sandwich.

The arepa con huevo is a twice fried dish from the Carribean coastal region. Made from a special ground cornmeal called masarepa it's first fried and then split, filled with beef and a raw egg, sealed up and refried until golden brown. Lawman's aunt's housekeeper, Faudie, gets up before dawn to grind the cornmeal to make the arepas con huevo that you see here from scratch. The perfectly crisp exterior cradles a runny egg and tender shredded beef. While one arepa with more than satisfy you it's hard not to indulge in seconds and thirds. Faudie is just that good a cook. I've been to a number of the Colombian restaurants in the city both in Queens and Brooklyn and I have yet to find one that serves arepas con huevo. I'm counting down until my next visit to Colombia, but in the meantime anyone know where I might be able to get a fix?

Debate Red Velvet Cake!

We here at Blondie & Brownie are a little obsessed with red velvet, for two very different reasons. Brownie, because she loves red velvet; me, because I don't understand the *massive* appeal of it. It's cocoa cake with food dye. Granted it's usually pretty, but it's because of food dye that may or may not contribute to developing cancer. And I don't want cancer. Our friend Nichelle Stephens of Cupcakes Take the Cake also sees this conflict and has decided to hold a RED VELVET CAKE DEBATE!!!!

Yes, next Friday, you can sit in on a panel with some of New York's choicest dessert folks—Nicole Taylor, Allison Robicelli, and Shari Ledgister—as they debate red velvet cake: it's pros, it's cons, and it's grey areas. Of course, there will be red velvet cake to be had. Best part is tickets are only $5. Yes, $5. If you're a dessert person and want to know what the experts think (and have a chance to meet them live and in person), you should definitely stop by. Plus, you'll probably get all the cake you can eat.

Paletas, Paletas, Paletas!

As a kid I preferred orange popsicles to all others. Instead of pacing myself and taking a lime one everything now and then, I always rushed through all the orange ones immediately and then slowly slogged through the rest until my mom bought a new box and the whole cycle started all over again. Alas, as an adult, my sweet tooth has somewhat dulled and those bright orange popsicles no longer tempt me like they once did. I'll take a pass on colored sugar water with "natural fruit flavors," but if you show me paleta made of real fruit--bonus points for extra interesting flavors like green mango--you have my attention...

I was thrilled to finally try La Newyorkina's lauded paletas at the Vendy's last week. In flavors like Mango - chile, cajeta with pecans (above), tamarind, fresh coconut, horchata, and pineapple-jalapeno. This pops were bursting with flavor and the mini ones came in just the right size for a small treat (or to try several flavors at once).

The treats from La Newyorkina very much reminded me of the amazing paletas I tried while visiting Lawman's family in Colombia. These ice pops also came in that perfect mini size and besides green mango (served with a teeny tiny salt packet!), there were plenty of exotic fruit flavors to try like lulo, guanábana (soursop), mora (blackberry), cherimoya among others.

One of the highlights of the trip was discovering Helados San Jeronimo, an ice cream company that makes tiny paletas and ice cream bars just the right size for a sweet cap to a big meal. Their ice cream was incredibly creamy and smooth. The arequipe (a Colombian equivalent to dulce de leche) and coco were my hands down favorites. Alas, as far as I can tell, Helados San Jeronimo doesn't seem to have distribution here in the States. Sigh. I suppose I'll have to book at return trip to Colombia for more research and in the meantime get myself some more paletas from La Newyorkina stat! I hear Fany Gershon makess a mean toasted coconut paleta...

There's a Bazaar at Night in Brooklyn

One of the bigger events this summer was the opening of the Dekalb Market in downtown Brooklyn. Made from recycled shipping containers, it allowed more small businesses to enter into the market in a fostering environment, including the wonderful Robicelli's. Well, I've visited a couple of times now, and I can say it's definitely worth visiting especially this Sunday night during Brooklyn Night Bazaar!

Sunday night, the party will add about 50 vendors to the mix already there, so it's a definite must on your foodie weekend schedule. But there are some highlights if you feel like stopping by before then. One of which is Cheeky's Sandwiches. I started craving Cheeky's while working on Real Cheap Eats. Time and time again, I saw the picture of their chicken sandwich, and salivated over it into the wee hours of the morning. You'd best be sure that I made a bee-line for their container as soon as I could. The fried chicken sandwich is not to be missed: moist, tender chicken sandwiched between buttery and crumbly biscuit halves with a nice slaw adding texture, color, and a vinegary kick. Delicious.

Another winner is Cuzin's Duzin Doughnuts (which is also currently at Madison Square Eats.) Mini doughnuts made fresh on a little doughnut flume. You can get a half dozen of fried, lightly sugared goodness for $2. It's worth it.

And of course, there's a little place called Robicelli's. They make cupcakes, brownies, and whoopie pies, plus they carry marshmallows from Kitty Lee Thomas Sweets.