The competition is heating up as sidewalk chefs from all across the city vie to win one of five different categories at the 11th annual Vendy Awards, and several Queens vendors will be looking to take home top honors.
Over 25 vendors will be showcasing their foods and drinks on Saturday, Sept. 12, from 12:30 to 5 p.m. at Governor’s Island during New York City’s premier street food competition.
The categories the vendors will be competing in at the Vendy Awards are the Vendy Cup/People’s Choice, which is the grand prize; the Rookie of the Year, the best of 2015 new food carts and trucks; Best of Market, which is the best from all the markets around the city; Best of Dessert, the best sweet tastes from the city’s street vendors; and a new category for this year, Best of Street Drinks – celebrating everyone’s favorite drink vendor.
Competing in the Vendy Cup category is Elpida Vasiliadis with her Souvlaki Lady’s Greek food cart. For a quarter of a century, the Souvlaki Lady has served hungry customers on the corner of 33rd Street and Ditmars Boulevard in Astoria. Residents of Queens and beyond can’t stop coming back for an authentic taste of Greece.
Fighting to be this year’s Street Drinks champion is Astoria’s Tea and Milk. Tea and Milk was started by a three longtime friends who wanted to create the perfect bubble tea.
Their ingredients are all natural and the drinks do not contain any powdered teas or concentrates. Tea and Milk eventually expanded into a variety of teas and serve over 15 different tea beverages including roasted oolong, hibiscus flower peach and taro milk tea.
The Best Market Vendor category features Karl’s Balls and Burmese Bites.
Karl’s Balls, a new school takoyaki stand, has been making quite a stir since its recent debut at the Queens International Night Market and LIC Flea.
After being featured in a food film documentary about takoyaki called “Tako NY,” Karl’s Balls has taken pride in putting their unique spin on this internationally known dish.
Burmese Bites has been drawing crowds for their Burmese food at Queens International Night Market and other markets around the city. Burmese Bites is known for their palatas — a hand-stretched thin pancake — as well as Shwe Taung Kaukswe, which is a noodle salad, vegetable fritters and shaved ice.
To purchase tickets to be a part of this delicious event, visit the Vendy Awards website.
