Street Food

A new breed of food truck is giving the ubiquitous cheesesteak a run for its money as the city's preferred curbside delight. The inaugural Philadelphia Vendy awards, a culinary showdown among eight of the city's elite mobile food vendors held Saturday in Northern Liberties, sought to identify and reward the leaders of that breed. And nary a steak was in sight. "It's been a long hard day, but it's been a beautiful day," Thomas Bacon, also known as Gigi, of Gigi and Big R Caribbean/American Soul Food, the crowned victor of the event, said as he clutched a gleaming trophy cup. "The Vendy Cup is a trophy that I can drink cool beer out of - after standing over a deep fryer, frying chicken, cooking cabbage and greens, and serving the customers.

Just when some restaurant and business owners in the lower Chestnut Street area thought they were safe from another of James Tayoun's thrice-annual street food festivals, Mayor Goode upset the applecart. Goode's approval of a two-day fair that would close Chestnut Street between Front and 2nd over the Memorial Day weekend inspired the merchants to go into Common Pleas Court yesterday in an effort to stop it. The plaintiffs, members of the Old City Business Association, have asked for a preliminary injunction against the fair.

This was fun? Roped-off sidewalks. Barricaded side streets. Police by the dozens at critical intersections backed up by an invasion-level force of squad cars, police buses, vans and horses. Meanwhile, most of the revelers didn't look too happy Tuesday night as they were herded away from potential South Street trouble spots by stern cops yelling "Gotta move!" Shuffling along quietly in their wool knit caps and giant jeans, the kids looked as passive as Taliban captives being delivered to Guantanamo Bay. But don't take these as complaints.

Federal prosecutors will not retry T. Milton Street Sr. on two tax charges on which the jury deadlocked in his recent fraud and tax-evasion trial. The motion to dismiss was filed yesterday in federal court by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams. Williams said there was no practical reason to retry the two undecided counts - which accused Street of assisting in filing false federal income tax returns in 2000 and 2001 - because the impact of a conviction on his sentence would be absorbed by three other tax counts on which the jury convicted him Feb. 22. The jury found Street, 68, of Moorestown, older brother of former Philadelphia Mayor John F. Street, guilty of three counts of failing to file tax returns in 2002, 2003 and 2004 - a period when prosecutors say Street earned more than $2 million as a consultant to businesses vying for city contracts.

Mexico has the tastiest food carts and stands on the planet. Tacos, burritos, flautas and most of the other well-known Mexican dishes are actually street food south of the border. "In Mexico City, it's fast food," says Alfredo Aguilar, chef and owner of Las Cazuelas, 426 W. Girard Ave. (215-351-9144). On nearly every corner of the world's largest city is a stand selling tacos y tortas. "You normally get them for lunch. " In the United States, tacos are becoming as common as pizza.

In summing up her case to the jury, Assistant District Attorney Colleen Marsini said that at times she had felt as if she were in the Twilight Zone. There she was, in Delaware County Court, prosecuting a man accused of stealing three cans of salmon - and arguing about how he concealed them and the color of the labels. "You know what - this seems like a total waste of time," Marsini told the jurors Wednesday. Nonetheless, she cautioned, "What this represents is quite large.

A spray-painting binge in Upper Darby has resulted in charges being brought against two 18-year-old Philadelphia men. Police arrested Jon Gold, of the 5600 block of Rising Sun Avenue, and Mark Donohue, of the 4500 block of Ormond Street. They said the men spray-painted graffiti on buildings in the 69th Street business district at 1:55 a.m. Sunday. Officer Anthony Tonzola observed the two men spraying paint on a delivery truck in the 300 block of South 69th Street, Detective Pasquale DiMario said.

Champagne and hors d'oeuvres are in order from 5-8 p.m. Friday as Weavers Way Co-op ( weaversway.coop ) holds an open house to celebrate the co-op's new wellness and pet supply store, Weavers Way Across the Way, at 608-610 Carpenter Lane. It's across from Weavers Way's Mt. Airy store, currently undergoing renovations. Street food enthusiasts have narrowed the field a bit, but there are still difficult choices to be made as 12 food-truck vendors compete in the Philadelphia Vendys, 3-7 p.m. Saturday?

Here is an excerpt from Craig LaBan's online chat:       Reader: Do you know where I can get a good okonomiyaki here in the city? C.L.: Four places come to mind for this hearty homestyle Japanese seafood crepe that gets streaked with multi-colored sauces (sweet dark Bulldog; spicy mayo) and shaved bonito flakes: the lunch counter at Midori Mart, the charming Japanese grocery in Narberth; Oh Yoko!, the personable sushi bar on Route 70 in Cherry Hill (where they make their own soy)

After dispensing with a few last-minute provisioning questions - where to source the "sky-facing peppers" that heat up Hong Kong's street food; how to get a customized slip tucked into the fortune cookies - the restaurant called Kong opened with a bang last week, strings of firecrackers dancing on the sidewalk on Second Street at Fairmount Avenue. It is said to be an interpretation of the dai pai dongs , open-air food stalls once ubiquitous (now few and far between) on the crowded outdoor shopping streets of Hong Kong.