Anticipation has reached a fever pitch for next Saturday's Fifth Annual Vendy Awards, the Oscars/Golden Globes/MTV Music Award/Olympics of street food, and now organizers have sprayed lighter fluid on the flames of our excitement by announcing the finalists in a completely new category: Rookie Vendor of the Year. The four contenders are NYC Cravings (Taiwanese), Schnitzel & Things (Austrian), Picnick Smoked ("Good for You BBQ"), and fabulous frontrunner Big Gay Ice Cream Truck (self-explanatory). But Big Gay is also nominated for the best dessert truck category, so voters could surprise the food world by honoring truck owner Doug Quint (right) in that category, like that time Kate Winslet won for The Reader, not for her devastating work in the superior Revolutionary Road. The nominees were selected by elite members of the food blog mafia, and the awards, which serve as a fundraiser for the Street Vendor Project, will be held on the 26th at the Queens Museum of Art. The tax-deductible tickets, which are almost sold out, get you food from the vendors and an open bar. Here's a look back at last year's Vendy's, which was a big win for Calexico. more ›

Fellow vendors and loyal customers are rallying to the defense of Antonios Dragonas, the 50-year-old pushcart food vendor who may soon be put out of business. For the past 25 years, Vendy runner-up Antonios Dragonas, has been serving his famous lamb shish kebab from the corner of Madison Avenue and East 62nd Street, but now the Department of Health is refusing to renew his license and permit. more ›