Street vendor fun!

Really old school roasted potato vendor - potatos are a great snack actually, especially on a cold winter day. From the NYPL Digital Gallery

I know this is notice way in advance, but this sounds like one of the most fun events of the year - the Second Annual Vendy Awards!

The tickets have gone up, but it's really an improvement over last year's $35 admission fee and having to pay for all your food. This year's $50 price includes an open bar and all you can eat. You can nominate vendors and reserve your spot online.

The Vendy Awards is a fundraising event for the Street Vendor Project, an initiative run by Urban Justice. Come out, eat, drink and be merry!

This makes me think about all the food items I wish were available more often. One improvement I noticed is that the vendor in front of the Union Square movie theaters (south side) has added grilled corn to her repertoire! Why hasn't this caught on with other vendors, especially those with a charcoal grill. Throw on some mayo, cheese, hot pepper and lime and you've got that great corn that everyone crowds Cafe Habana for. She's the only vendor I've noticed downtown with grilled corn.

Another vending item I've missed are morning tamales. I'd so much rather a tamale with my coffee than a boring muffin.

And in Chinatown, there's no reason you couldn't sell roasted chestnuts alongside roasted nuts and Chinese cake balls.

When: Sunday, October 22nd from 6 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
Where: St. Marks Church-in-the-Bowery, Second Avenue and East 10th Street
Price: $50 to be a regular guest, or $100 for a VIP ticket.