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7th Annual Vendy Awards To Name Top NYC, NJ Food Trucks Saturday

By Siobhan Wallace

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- This Saturday, foodies will be converging on Governors Island for the "Oscars of Street Food," better known as the 7th Annual Vendy Awards.

The Vendys, which benefit the Urban Justice Center's Street Vendor Project, is a cooking competition among some of the best street vendors New York and New Jersey have to offer. Winning the prized Vendy Cup can bring fame, and most importantly, new customers come Monday morning.

See Also: NYC's 6 Best Food Trucks | NYC's 6 Best Dessert Trucks

This year the categories expanded to include "Best of New Jersey," alongside the traditional Vendy Cup, Rookie, and Dessert finalists.

This year's finalists are proof that you don't need a PR team, or even a Twitter handle, to be in the running - but it might help if you've been nominated before.

The Vendy Award
The Vendy Award (credit: Siobhan Wallace/blondieandbrownie.com)

The main Vendy Cup finalists include everything from Midtown favorites Eggstravaganza and Trini-Paki Boys, to Brooklyn's Tamales Guadalupe - which is run by a single mother of 5 children. The race is tight, as it also includes second-time finalists Solber Papusa and last year's Rookie of the Year winner, Souvlaki GR.

Of this year's crop of Rookies, the current favorites are Korilla BBQ, fresh off their stint on "The Great Food Truck Race," and the ever-popular Taim Mobile, both of which can have lines at lunch time longer than a half hour.

The newly formed "Best of New Jersey" includes a repeat finalist in the vegan Cinnamon Snail truck, along with Two Pitas in a Pod, and the Taco Truck; all of whom can be found in Hoboken or Jersey City on regular days.

Competition is just as stiff in the Dessert category where there is ice cream from Miss Softee, cannolis from La Belle Torte, Mexican paletas (ice pops) from La Newyorkina, cupcakes from Cupcake Crew, and the latest dessert trend, Taiwanese shaved ice from Woolys.

With such a popular event, tickets are likely to sell out before Saturday, but some Early Entry and VIP tickets can still be had at streetvendor.org.

Siobhan Wallace is the co-founder of BlondieandBrownie.com.

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