The Vendy Awards are here!

Wait, what are they exactly? Glad you asked.

The Vendy’s are awards given to the best of the best for street food vendors. They are a cook off between the top New York City food vendors. Nominees from all over NY come together and compete, giving support for the Street Vendor Project. And this year, our very own Souvlaki Lady is up there with the best.

Credit: Nancy A Ruhling Via Huffington Post

Elpida, as reported by the Huffington post, has been the Souvlaki Lady for 25 years. Her Souvlaki recipe is the same one used by her mother when she was a girl, in the family restaurant.

Elpida moved to Astoria from Greece with husband George, where she put her talents as a cook to the sidewalk, and never looked back.

Today, The Souvlaki Lady has a bigger cart, and the menu has gone from Souvlaki, to Pitas, Hamburgers, salads and hot dogs. All of which she’s taking with her to the Vendy’s.

The competition has a range of categories:

• Vendy Cup / People’s Choice – Grand prize!
• Rookie of the Year – The best of new food carts and trucks
• Best of Market – The best from all the markets around the city
• Best of Dessert – The best sweet tastes from NYC
• Best of Street Drinks – a new category just for 2015 celebrating everyone’s favorite drink vendor!

With Astoria’s Souvlaki Lady nominated for the Vendy Cup, her competition are some of New York’s finest; Biryani House of Liberty Street Broadway, Snowday Food Truck, Hard Times Sundaes and Guandong Cheong Fun.

The 11th Annual Vendy Awards this year will be held on Saturday September 12th, from 12:30pm – 5:00pm at Governors Island according to the Vendy Website. 

Click the red link for ticket information and come on down to the Vendy’s and support the Souvlaki Lady as she takes it out!

 The Souvlaki Lady is on 33rd Street at Ditmars Boulevard.