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Sunset Park Taco Truck Crowned NYC's Best Mobile Food Vendor
By
Nell Casey
Published Sep 19, 2016
Modified Sep 19, 2016
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Clay Williams / Gothamist
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By
Nell Casey
Published Sep 19, 2016
Modified Sep 19, 2016
Share
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The 12th annual Vendy Awards unfolded on Governor's Island once again on a spectacularly beautiful Saturday afternoon this past weekend. The fete, which crowns winners in a variety of categories related to mobile food vending, is both a competition and a fundraiser for the Street Vendor Project, which supports all types of vendors operating on city streets and sidewalks. As has become routine, the bees also enjoyed the day's bounty.
Winners were crowned in seven different categories this year, including a brand new vegan category, awards for the People's Choice and the coveted Vendy Cup.
This year, the trophy went to Tacos el Rancho, a Mexican street cart serving home-style Oaxacan food out of Sunset Park. Felix Soriano served tacos and an excellent vegetarian cheese quesadilla, which won over the day's judges. People's Choice went to Cachapas On Wheels for their Venezuela fare, particularly the yoyo sandwiches that use mashed plantains in lieu of bread.
There were two winners in the vegan category. The People's Choice went to Monk's Meats, purveyors of vegan barbecue who scored big with their trio of sliders. The judges, however, were moved by the vegan Indian food out of Yuvaraaj Thakkar's Mysttik Masaala truck. It was indeed quite awesome. Even though they weren't required to do so, many of the competitors in the non-vegan category were also offering their own meat-free options to award visitors.
Rookie of the Year went to pop-up operation Mr. Bing, serving savory Chinese crepes in both meat and vegetarian varieties. Big Mozz's mozzarella sticks were good enough to earn them the Best Market Vendor distinction, while the ice cream sandwiches from The Good Batch won in the Best Dessert Vendor category.
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