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A Look at the Inaugural Los Angeles Vendy Awards

The first Los Angeles Vendy Awards were held at MacArthur Park on Saturday. With the well-noted catering truck trend still going full throttle in Los Angeles, the event, which started in New York City six years ago, migrated west to honor both the new kids on the scene and the old-school vendors alike. The judges—including Evan Klieman (host of Good Food on KCRW) and Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo of (of Animal)—certainly had a hard task in front of them. How does one decide if a short rib grilled cheese sandwich is better or worse than a bacon wrapped hot-dog? I mean, really! How? Photos and results from the Vendys, after the jump.

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9 Comments | Posted by Rachael Narins, May 17, 2010 at 5:00 PM
Tagged: BigMista's BBQ, California, Hot Dog Kings, India Jones Chow Truck, Los Angles, Nina's Foods, street food, taco trucks, Tacos el Galuzo, The Grilled Cheese Truck, Vendy Awards, Vendys

2010 Los Angeles Vendys Finalists Announced

Congrats to all six vendor finalists for this year's (and the first ever) Los Angeles Vendy Awards: India Jones Chow Truck, Hot Dog Kings, Big Mista's BBQ, Nina's Food, Grilled Cheese Truck, and Tacos el Galuzo. Read more about each of the them here. And if you can make it to MacArthur Park for the event on Saturday, May 15, buy your ticket already! It's $50 but tax-deductible and you'll be full for days (OK, at least until the next day). We'll have somebody covering the event, so get ready for a recap later.

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Post a Comment | Posted by Erin Zimmer, May 5, 2010 at 1:40 PM
Tagged: food trucks, Los Angeles, street food, Vendy Awards, Vendys

Win Tickets to the Los Angeles Vendy Awards

For the first year the Vendy Awards, the Oscars of street food, are coming to Los Angeles, and we have a pair of tickets to give away to one lucky person. For the past five years, the Vendys have been one of our favorite food events in New York. A whole day of street food noshing, all while raising money for the Street Vendor Project, the movement to protect vendors' rights—talk about a glorious way to spend a day. Enter to win two tickets to the event on Saturday, May 15, at MacArthur Park here.

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46 Comments | Posted by Erin Zimmer, April 28, 2010 at 10:00 AM
Tagged: contests, Los Angeles, street food, Vendy Awards, Vendys

The Vendy Awards Are Going to Los Angeles

What have been nicknamed the Academy Awards of New York City street food, the Vendy Awards will for the first time hold a Los Angeles edition this year on May 15 at MacArthur Park. This is a big day for curbside cuisine lovers!

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Post a Comment | Posted by Erin Zimmer, March 26, 2010 at 11:30 AM
Tagged: food trucks, Los Angeles, street food, Vendys

The Issues of Street Vending Today

"The first rule of Vendor Fight Club is you don't talk about Vendor Fight Club." Freddy the "King of Falafel" in Queens. [Photograph: Erin Zimmer] What's it like becoming a street vendor? "You get fat and develop arthritis," said Freddy Zeidaies, aka "the King of Falafel," who's built a little kingdom of street meat-loving fans in Queens for almost a decade. Last night, he sat in the audience as a panel of five people (who care and know a lot about street food) debated the future of sidewalk cuisine at the Astor Center in Manhattan. Does it have to be from a cart or truck? Any old contraption? Is the recent boom a direct outcome of a nosediving economy?...

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6 Comments | Posted by Erin Zimmer, September 21, 2009 at 7:30 PM
Tagged: Astor Center, Sean Basinksy, street food, the economy, Treats Truck, Vendys, Zach Brooks