Text size:

Vegan food cart vendor wins prize, finally

3:52 PM EDT, September 30, 2007

NEW YORK (AP) _ For Thiru "The Dosa Man" Kumar, the third time is the charm.

Kumar, who runs NY Dosa, a vegan food cart at Washington Square Park South and Sullivan Street, won the third annual Vendy Award, which is bestowed upon the city's top street chef vendor. Kumar, who had competed unsuccessfully in the two previous Vendy Awards, finally won for his specialty Pondicherry dosas, a type of filled crepe. He accepted the large silver Vendy cup on Saturday night.

Kumar beat out four other finalists: Veronica Julien from Veronica's Kitchen at Front Street and Pine Streets; Muhammed Rahman from Kwik Meal at 46th Street and Avenue of the Americas; the 10-member crew at Super Taco at 96th Street and Broadway; and Farez "Freddy" Zeideia of The King of Falafel and Shawarma at 30th Street and Broadway in Astoria, Queens.

The public whittled several hundred entrants down to the five finalists. A panel that included former Food Network host Sara Moulton then selected this year's winner.

Traditional culinary professionals have The James Beard Foundation Awards; New York City's thousands of street vendors have The Vendy Awards, an intense cook-off that was held this year over five hours in Tompkins Square Park in the East Village.

The festival-like event also serves to show gratitude to the vendors, who provide hurried New Yorkers, commuters and tourists with everything from morning coffee to meals. And not least, the awards are a fundraiser for the Street Vendor Project, a membership-based nonprofit organization that advocates for vendors' rights. About 650 of the city's estimated 10,000 vendors belong to the project, which is part of the Urban Justice Center, a nonprofit advocacy group.

A People's Choice Award also was awarded. It went to Rahman, of Kwik Meal.

Kumar, who has run his cart at the same location for about six years, said he learned how to cook in his native Sri Lanka, where his family owned a restaurant.

___

Information from: The New York Times, http://www.nytimes.com