43 Almost a ‘Flea’ sweep at the Vendy Awards BY HEATHER CHIN Thousands ate their way through Industry City on Saturday, September 7 for the 9th Annual NYC Vendy Awards—the Oscars of the food vendor world—which was held this year in Brooklyn for the very first time. The big winner of the day was Brooklyn/ Red Hook’s El Olomega and owners Janet and Marcos Lainez, whose traditional, homemade pupusas took home the Vendy Cup—keeping it in the Red Hook Food Vendor family after Piaztlan Authentic Mexican Food won it last year. Luke’s Lobster’s classic Maine-style lobster rolls and lobster-and-cheese sandwiches won over the crowd, garnering them the People’s Taste Award. Best Dessert went to Elmhurst-based Itizy Ice Cream Truck and their delicious homemade Best Dessert went to Elmhurst-based Itizy Ice Cream Truck and their delicious homemade concoctions in refreshingly creative, yet simple flavors. At the 9th Annual NYC Vendy Awards, Luke’s Lobster’s classic Maine-style lobster rolls and lobster-andcheese sandwiches won the People’s Taste Award. Best Market Vendor went to Khao Man Gai NY for their exhaustively researched and carefully prepared authentic Thai chicken-and-rice dish. concoctions in refreshingly creative, yet simple flavors such as Blueberry Mojito, Mint Stracciatella and Coffee Brownie—all of which goes to promote founders Kenneth Chen and Ann Yu’s social mission of feeding those in need through supporting Scoop For Meals. Best Market Vendor went to Queensbased Khao Man Gai NY for their exhaustively researched and carefully prepared authentic Thai chicken-and-rice dish that owners Eric and Emorn Henshaw said is their way of sharing their favorite dish with New Yorkers. Best of New Jersey went to local/organicfocused Home By The Range, which also won the Messy But Tasty Award. Rookie of the Year went to Midtownbased Nuchas, whose Argentinian-style savory and sweet empanadas and homemade sauces impressed eaters and judges alike. Judges included Clarkson Potter editor-at-large Francis Lam, Brooklyn Brewery brewmaster Garrett Oliver, Food Network Star (Season 8) Justin Warner, meat guru Pat LaFrieda and Every Day with Rachael Ray editor-in-chief Lauren Purcell. If you haven’t already hit up the kitchens of these Vendy Award winners, don’t worry: several winners—as well as many of the finalists—can be found on weekends through October at the LIC Flea & Food. Luke’s Lobster, Itizy Ice Cream and Khao Man Gai are all popular vendors, as are other Queens stalwarts Cholita Cuencana, Pop It Baby and King Souvlaki. “LIC Flea has been an amazing experience and we are lucky enough to be a part of it,” enthused Khao Man Gai’s Eric Henshaw. PopItBaby’s Jackie Walsh agreed, noting that the market has enabled her to “get our brand out to sweet people every weekend.” LIC FLEA&FOOD lic flea POP IT BABY www.PopItBaby.com/ @PopItBaby Jackie Walsh and Christophere Twele had both worked in advertising and marketing for their entire careers, and knew they could come up with a cool idea and do something on their own. Soon thereafter, they launched Pop It Baby on the first day of summer, a local food truck that sells specially-flavored popsicles. Instead of the traditional flavors found everywhere else, Pop It Baby offers unique flavors such as hibiscus lime, mojito, sangria, iced coffee, and their best-selling watermelon-mint. And though they will be at the LIC Flea every Saturday until the market ends, towards the end of October they will be switching from popsicles to popcorn, so the time to get your Pop It Baby popsicles is now! LITTLE WRINKLES www.littlewrinkles.com When Stephanie Venetsky and Jose Alba founded Little Wrinkles about a year ago, they were determined to provide their customers with the freshest dried fruit they could possibly offer. To that end, they have been working with local farmers to bring New Yorkers the best raisins, apricots, peaches, blueberries, and more, and will be sharing them with LIC Flea-goers this year. Little Wrinkles will be at the LIC Flea & Food Market every Sunday until the market ends, with the occasional Saturday. All of their fruits are hand-selected every week, and they also provide delivery through their website. OCONOMI 5-25 46th Avenue, LIC myoconomi.com Kazuko Nagao and Hideki Kato are selling oconomiyaki, a Japanese vegetable pancake, at LIC Flea. Nagao was introduced to the Flea by her friend Metin Mangut, a partner of Food Cellar, a market in Long Island City. Though Nagao is part of a Japanese PR marketing company, she has participated as a food vendor before. Their featured dish at the LIC Flea is oconomiyaki, a pancake that is traditionally made with cabbage, scallions, ginger, eggs and flour. In Japanese, the first part of the word, “oconomi” means “whatever you like,” so customers are able to add virtually whatever vegetable they’d like to their pancake. The pancakes are served with a variety of different sauces, including white sauce, yogurt cilantro, chipotle mayo and spicy ketchup. In addition to the food selection, yuzunade, Japanese lemonade, will be available. Nagao has teamed up with some of the farmers who also participate in the Flea and uses their vegetables to prepare her dishes. “We are excited to be able to introduce a healthy vegetable dish and be able to share Japanese food culture with an American audience,” Nagao said. “I like the little community of vendors. We are there every week so we’ve all become friends.” Pop It Baby was also at the event.
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