The Seamy Underbelly of Food Cart Addiction

When food cart demand turns deadly....

Noel Gibbons, his brother, and a friend were waiting in line for delicious cart-food satisfaction at a midtown halal cart when suddenly, Ziad Tayeh accused them of having cut him in line.

They ignored him, collected their food, and drove off, only to discover that Tayeh was following them in his own car. After following them two streetlights, declining to pass when the pull over to let him by, Tayeh jumped from his vehicle, stabbed Noel Gibbons in the back, and, returning to his vehicle, sped away!

Next time you crave cart food, dear reader, be mindful not only of the delicious food in front of you, but also the knife-wielding psycopath behind!

The Dosa Man

All of the food was vegetarian and it was all spectacular. He clearly took the challenge seriously and had almost a three course cart sized meal for us. Each serving came with a small sample of his homemade lentil soup, a side order of hummus, a dosa (crepe style batter, pictured above, with a spicy veggie filling)and , a samosa (a sweet tasting pre-made pastry also with veggies). He also supplied us with a spicy garlic ginger sauce, and a tangy mint chutney.
We were all very impressed by his hospitality, professionalism, and presentation of his food. It felt like were the judges on Iron Chef. :) In the end the Dosa Man came in as the runner up at the Vendy's, but we all thought his food was first rate!
-The IHeartCarts Team

THE 2006 VENDY AWARDS!!!!!

Yes that's right ladies and gentlemen last Sunday October 22nd was the second annual Vendy Awards!! (organized by the Street Vendor Project: http://www.streetvendor.org) This spectacular event took street vendors from around the great city of New York and put them into one central location to determine the best street cart in all the land. And of course you trusty IHeartCarts Team was there to cover the event.

Over 36 carts made the 2006 nominee list but only four were chosen as finalists in this Iron Chef style competition. The event took place in the courtyard of St. Mark's Church in the Bowery on Tenth street and Second ave. There were several hundred patrons on hand to sample from the four finalists as well as a panel of nine judges to determine the winner. The IHeartCarts Team was only able to sample from three of these carts due to an incredable demand at one cart that had to close early. We will be posting our reviews of the carts we were able to sample and more about the event throughout the week. (There's a lot of pictures and news to report!!!)

As alwasy please share your thoughts about the Vendy's or the finalists!!!

-The IHeartCarts Team