Piatzlan food truck, took home the Vendy Cup last year

BROOKLYN – The 9th Annual Street Vendor Feasting and Judging Contest will move from Governor’s Island to Sunset Park this year.

The event will be held on Saturday, Sept. 7 at Industry City. A Red Hook-based business took home the Vendy Cup last year; the authentic Mexican food truck Piatzlan was dubbed the best food truck in the city for 2012.

The Vendy Awards are organized by The Street Vendor Project, a group that works for food vendor rights.

http://hudsonvalley.news12.com/news/tri-state/vendy-awards-to-be-held-in-brooklyn-sept-7-1.5274087?firstfree=yes

ROSIER, LINDA, NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
The Vendy finalist awards at the Tobacco Factory on New Docks street in Dumbo.- Visitors taste food from the 5 finalists.- Mohammed Rahman serves from his cart ” Kwik Meal” with the Brooklyn Bridge in the background. The competition, which benefits the Street Vendor Project at the Urban Justice Center, is moving back to Brooklyn this year, organizers said.

It’s the Oscars of street food, and it’s moving to Sunset Park.

The Vendy Awards — the street-cart competition in which short-order cuisine kings are pitted against each other in a cook-off royale — will set up shop in Industry City in September.

Last year’s event drew 2,000 foodies to Governor’s Island, and organizers said they decided to bring the foodfest to Brooklyn in hopes of whetting even more healthy appetites.

“We want to find a place that had a culture of street food and also bring [eaters] to a place they never would have been before,” said Vendy managing director Helena Tubis.

“There’s a rich culture of street food in Sunset Park and the ethnic community that lives there. It’s part of our excitement.”

Early bird tickets for the all-you-can-eat food festival that’s returning to Brooklyn for the first time since 2008 will cost $85.

Regular tickets are going for $95.

Early entry tickets — which get you in the door and also let you cut the lines — are going for $145.

The food cart cook-off has become so popular that cities like Los Angeles, Philadelphia, New Orleans, Boston and Chicago are all sporting their own version of the tasting war.

The event serves as a benefit for the Street Vendor Project at the Urban Justice Center, which provides advocacy and legal services to more than 1,500 vendor members, according to its website.

Officials are accepting nominations for participants in the food fight. Visit http://streetvendor.org/vendys/nominations.

Meanwhile, past street cart operators said the invitation is an honor.

“We get a lot of people coming to Red Hook looking for us. It’s a good feeling,” said Perla Perez, part-owner of the family-run Piatzlan Authentic Mexican food truck — last year’s Vendy Cup winner out of Red Hook.

Perez — a Park Slope native who serves pork, beef and goat tacos — said bringing the food truck award show to the neighborhood makes perfect sense.

“You have Mexican, Peruvian, Colombian, Dominican food — it’s so diverse in Sunset Park,” said Perez.

Adam Sobel who runs the Cinnamon Snail food truck, has been slinging organic vegan food and pastries at the Vendy Awards for the last three years and hopes to get a spot and win the cup this year.

“It would just be really great recognition for vegan food in general,” Sobel said. “It’s an event that draws real street food enthusiasts and that’s predominantly people who like eating meat.

“If we win this, it would mean that vegan street food is just as wonderful and exciting as traditional street food.”

To buy tickets visit http://nycvendys2013.eventbrite.com/#

mmorales@nydailynews.com

Twitter.com/NYDNMarkMorales

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/brooklyn/vendy-awards-wheeling-sunset-park-article-1.1344900

Everybody loves a great street party from the lil rug rats to the old farts. Thanks goodness for this because the American Cancer Society is hosting one and trying to raise some moolah for their great cause.

June 15th marks the first annual Relay For Life Williamsburg/Greenpoint in Brooklyn, New York www.relayforlife.org/williamsburgandgreenpointny.  At this event the American Cancer Society will raise money for research and awareness while having a party. There will be DJ’s and live bands, raffles, silent auctions, some arts n crafts, a midnight movie and continuous laps around the area. These laps represent the struggle that cancer patients go through all day and all night. The event begins at 10am on the 15th and ends at 8am the next day.

Luckily for ACS, they have a beautiful huge location at CitiStorage on N. 11th Street & Kent Ave. The grounds are right off the East River overlooking Manhattan with lots of private street space, picnic tables and just enough grass to make a Brooklynite smile really big.

They are expecting a great turn out with all the media that they have received so far. If you are interested in supporting this great event, and making some of your own moolah, sign your food truck up by contacting Eric Wilson at eric.wilson@cancer.org.

http://www.relayforlife.org/index

Cynthia Hosein made her dreams come true last year, investing around $70,000 in a food truck, a truck that police say was stolen.

“I put everything into that truck, it was bought with my credit cards, I borrowed money,” said Hosein. “I wasn’t sure if it was a prank or it was real.”

Cynthia says on Saturday night, her truck was in the parking lot behind her family’s restaurant on Church Avenue in Brooklyn. The next day she came to work and realized her truck was gone.

“How I’m going to pay my bills, I have car payments, I have rent, I have other bills to pay, what am I going to do?” Hosein said.

For decades, Cynthia’s parents have owned Nio’s Trinidadian Roti Shop in East Flatbush. They serve all kinds of Caribbean dishes, including curry goat, chicken, and Kurma, a crunchy sweet snack. Cynthia makes a living by selling this food to New Yorkers on the go.

“I came here everyday, I actually purchased the food from the restaurant,” Hosein said.

Her mother Zorine worries the crime will never be solved.

“It’s really sad, it was just parked up there, and someone came up and stole the truck and drive away,” Hosein said.

Cynthia served up her family’s fare five days a week in the Financial District and also East Flatbush. Regular customers say they can’t believe this has happened.

“That’s sad, that’s real sad, I’m gonna miss it,” said one customer.

“Usually I go for a walk, I grab one of the curry slice, stew chicken and rice and peas, and I’m not going to get that anymore, it’s going to remove the flavor that I enjoy at lunch,” said another customer.

Cynthia’s hope now is that someone out there has information on the theft and that they call police.

Anyone with information on the case should contact the Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS, or text CRIMES and then enter TIP577, or visit www.nypdcrimestoppers.com.

http://brooklyn.ny1.com/content/top_stories/181200/brooklyn-food-truck-owner-says-thief-made-off-with-wheels

Domo Truck (Tien Mao/Gothamist)

The new DUMBO food truck lot we told you about last week debuts today. Bian Dang owner Thomas Yang emailed this morning to let us know about the soft launch and Domo Taco has already set up shop in the dainty space.

The fusion taco truck will be joined by Hibachi Heaven and Fishing Shrimp for the inaugural encampment. We also have word that Bian Dang will be vending on Wednesday; follow @dumbolot on Twitter for updates about which trucks will be participating. This is going to be dangerous!

http://gothamist.com/2013/04/22/dumbo_food_truck_lot_opening_today.php

(credit: NYSF)

We first heard about the Mamu Thai Noodle Truck during their Kickstarter campaign over the winter. Siwat, the owner and chef, was trying to raise the final $11,000 needed to get the truck on the street. Luckily, he succeeded.

Mamu has been serving lunch and dinner in Brooklyn over the past couple of weeks, plus lunch once in Manhattan. Unfortunately, our schedules just didn’t match until yesterday, their second time in Manhattan.

The menu is small for now, but they expect to be adding items as operations get smoother. There are 4 people working in the truck, so waits are minimal, except for the amount of time it takes to cook a dish.

As we always do our first time at a new truck, we asked what they recommended. Siwat suggested the pad siew, which we got with shrimp for $9. You can also get it with tofu for $7 or chicken for $8.

(credit: NYSF)

Siwat got the bug to cook and serve noodles after visiting family in Bangkok, where they own 3 noodle shops. He is using family recipes handed down over generations on the truck. It doesn’t get more authentic than that!

For the uninitiated, pad siew is a stir-fried dish made with flat rice noodles. The name translates as “fried with soy sauce”. (Thank you Wikipedia.)

The noodles were slippery, but not overcooked or mushy, and there were a lot of them. We ended up pretty full by the end of lunch.

(credit: NYSF)

The noodles were cooked in a light, sweet sauce which was almost like a glaze.

There were about 1/2 dozen shrimp, which were all plump and juicy. In Thai noodle dishes, as in most of Southeast Asia, the protein is a smaller part of the overall dish than in Western cooking. Noodles are the main attraction here.

In addition to noodles and protein, there were scrambled eggs and Chinese broccoli. We love eggs in almost anything, but what really got our attention was the Chinese broccoli. We’re not usually big vegetable eaters, but the Chinese broccoli was sliced into thin pieces length-wise, and still had a really nice crunch. The juxtaposition of the crisp Chinese broccoli and the soft, slippery noodles was very enjoyable

(credit: NYSF)

On the drink menu, Mamu had cans of mangosteen and lychee fruit drinks for $3. We got the mangosteen juice drink, which struck us as a cross between grape and apple juice. It was non-carbonated and a little too sweet.

Just as we got our change, we noticed a vat of Thai iced tea next to the register. Noticing our interest, they offered a sample taste. Yum! That’s what we’re getting next time.

The Mamu Thai Noodle Truck has been out regularly for a few weeks now. Their intention is to start hitting different neighborhoods once the kinks are worked out, but they seemed pretty kink-free when we were there. Maybe they will do lunch in Manhattan and dinner in Brooklyn. That seems like a good solution.

You can follow the Mamu Thai Noodle Truck on twitter here, facebook here, or on our Mobile Munchies twitter feed.

(credit: NYSF)

http://newyorkstreetfood.com/41277/nysf-first-look-pad-siew-from-the-mamu-thai-noodle-truck/

Kimchi Taco Truck at Grand Army Plaza (David Weber)

You’ll have plenty of food options if you’re checking out the cherry blossoms at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden this weekend: the first Food Truck Rally of the season begins Sunday. The annual gathering of mobile food vendors has parked itself at Grand Army Plaza on the first Sunday of each month for the past few years and this year they’ll also populate the plaza the third Sunday of each month.

From 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. you can buy treats from fifteen trucks, including, Phil’s Steaks, Big D’s Grub Truck, andVan Leeuwen Ice Cream. Two of our favorites—Kimchi Taco Truck and Morris Grilled Cheese—are also attending, but our food truck of dreams continues to elude us.

http://gothamist.com/2013/04/04/first_food_truck_rally_takes_over_g.php

This photo, taken at Smorgasburg (Williamsburg) last summer, shows MiMi and CoCo frying their popular Teriyaki Balls, a Japanese street food. MiMi and CoCo will be back at Smorgasburg this year. Eagle photo by Mary Frost

Whether or not it feels like spring, the Brooklyn Flea and Smorgasburg will be back in action this weekend, featuring hundreds of local vendors. Visitors can enjoy a variety of different fresh food options and can shop for antiques, jewelry, furniture, and vintage clothing. Referred to by

The New York Times as “One of the great urban experiences in New York,” the Brooklyn Flea was founded in April of 2008 and has become one of Brooklyn’s most popular attractions.

Lasting through Thanksgiving, the Brooklyn Flea is set up on Saturdays in Fort Greene and on Sundays in Williamsburg. Smorgasburg, the all-food market offering delicious selections from 75-100 food vendors, is set up on Saturdays in Williamsburg and on Sundays in DUMBO.

The Fort Greene Flea (which will return Saturday, April 6), is located at 176 Lafayette Ave. (btw. Clermont + Vanderbilt Ave.) and will be open on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., rain or shine.

The Williamsburg Flea (which will return Sunday, April 7), is located at East River State Park (at N. 7 St.) and will be open on Sundays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., rain or shine.

Smorgasburg Williamsburg (which will return on Saturday, April 6), is located at East River State Park (at N. 7 St.) and will be open on Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., rain or shine.

Smorgasburg DUMBO (which will return on Sunday, April 7, 2013), is located at Tobacco Warehouse (30 Water St.) and will be open on Sundays from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., rain or shine.

http://www.brooklyneagle.com/articles/brooklyn-flea-and-smorgasburg-return-weekend-2013-04-05-171100

Last year’s Great Googa Mooga Festival was a disaster of epic proportions. People waited on line online for hours, only to end up with no tickets. When the event finally came, there were crazy lines with masses of people waiting hours for any food or drink.

The event organizers severely underestimated demand, but they are experienced at putting on large festivals, and made some improvements from Saturday to Sunday. We gave away a pair of tickets to NYSF Reader Melissa Rodriguez, who wrote a nice Guest Post about the event here. She seemed to have a good time.

Now the time has come to apply for tickets to the 2nd Great Googa Mooga. Hopefully it will be better than the 1st, or it could well be Googa Mooga Goodbye!

People’s Pops from 2012 GGM (credit: Melissa Rodriguez)

There will be tons of 85 food vendors, 75 brews, 100 wines and 20 musical acts. See below for the food lineup.

Tickets are FREE for general admission. VIP tickets are already sold out.

Starting Monday, April 1st at noon, you can register to receive one or two free tickets to either Saturday or Sunday. You will need to choose which day you’d like to attend when you register. Registration will close on Wednesday April 3rd at 11:59PM ET. Tickets will be awarded at random and recipients will be notified by email on or before April 10th.

Spreading out the ticket requests over 3 days and awarding them at random instead of first-come, first-served is a good idea. That should cut down the aggravation factor.

Good luck!

http://newyorkstreetfood.com/40851/enter-the-drawing-for-free-googa-mooga-tix-monday/

IRINA GONZALEZ
Mmmmm…cheesy.

Do you know the only thing better than a classic macaroni and cheese dish that everyone loves? Buying that mac ‘n cheese in order to raise money for the victims of Hurricane Sandy. That’s what is currently happening thanks to the Stouffer’s Mac ‘N Cheese Truck going around New York City from today until Thursday, February 14th–the day of love to send a “big hug to New York.”

I was lucky enough to attend the new food truck’s kick-off event, where Stouffer’s representatives served up free macaroni and cheese (traditional, chili mac and BBQ mac) to Gerritsen Beach, Brooklyn, residents that were affected by the October disaster.

After trying the three different kids of macaroni and cheese (YUM!), I sat down with Master of Spice chef Lior Lev Sercarz (he created the chili mac while fellow chef “Grill Girl” Elizabeth Karmel is the one behind the BBQ mac) to talk about the launch of the food truck and why Stouffer’s is so dedicated to bringing delicious, cheap food to New Yorkers all for a good cause.

“They thought it would be fun to see how they could give their product a little twist,” he says of the much-loved Stouffer’s mac and cheese. Finding out that they actually make their own pasta and use 100 percent cheddar cheese, Chef Sercarz explained how “we came up with five toppings to show that you can have the plain, classic one but if you want to change it once in a while, you can do it.”

Stouffer’s and Nestle, the parent company, are donating all of the proceeds from the sales of the $4 mac and cheese which is currently driving around New York City and opening its doors from about 11 a.m. until 3 p.m. Other than Chef Sercarz’s and Chef Karmel’s mac and cheese, Stouffer’s also invited six celebrity chefs to join in a friendly competition where they serve up their own take on macaroni and cheese–and the winner will have a $25,000 donation to the Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City in support of hurricane relief efforts.

Besides serving up the really delicious macaroni and cheese (the chili mac was my personal favorite), Chef Sercarz hopes that they will be able to raise as much money as possible and also interact with people to hear their own favorite versions of Stouffer’s mac and cheese.

If you’re interested in some yummy for-a-good-cause $4 macaroni and cheese, check out one of these locations:

• 1/28 Monday: 40th & 5th/Bryant Park
• 1/29 Tuesday (Celebrity Chef Seamus Mullen): 26th bw 7 & 8 (Chelsea Television Studios)
• 1/30 Wednesday: 23rd & Park (Madison Square Park)
• 1/31 Thursday (Celebrity Chef Amanda Freitag): 48th & 3rd
• 2/1 Friday: Hudson & King St (Tribeca)
• 2/4 Monday: 14 & Irving (Union Square)
• 2/5 Tuesday (Celebrity Chef Lee Ann Wong): 4 World Financial Center, North End Ave @ Vescey St
• 2/6 Wednesday: 57 & 8th (Hearst Building*)
• 2/7: Thursday (Celebrity Chef Marc Murphy): 46 & Vanderbilt (Grand Central area)
• 2/8 Friday: Hanover Square
• 2/11 Monday (Celebrity Chef Chris Santos): Varick & Vandam (SoHo)
• 2/12 Tuesday: Water & Wall -OR- Broad
• 2/13 Wednesday: 46 & 6th
• 2/14 Thursday (Celebrity Chef Sarah Simmons): 48th & 3rd

You can also follow along with the Stouffer’s Mac ‘N Cheese Truck on Facebook, Twitter and #stouffersmobilemac. Enjoy it today and, trust me, you’ll be feeling good on many levels.

http://www.metro.us/newyork/life/article/1160928–stouffer-s-mac-n-cheese-truck-delicious-food-for-a-hurricane-sandy-relief