West Philly’s own GiGi and Big R’s Caribbean Soul Food truck came up big in Philly’s first ever Vendy Awards yesterday, taking home top honors.

A panel of five judges, including Mayor Michael Nutter, voted to award Gigi and Big R’s the Vendy Cup as top truck. The competition featured a cook-off among the eight finalists.

Thomas Bacon, aka Gigi, told the Philadelphia Inquirer:

“It’s been a long hard day, but it’s been a beautiful day. 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.”

You can get a taste of their stuff, which includes pretty damn good soul food platters, at their usual spot at 38th and Spruce. West Philly truck Cucina Zapata, a fixture on the Drexel campus, won the People’s Choice Award after voting by about 500 attendees.

Here’s a video from CBS Philly:

From Linda Lee:

Ziggy is a very friendly indoor-outdoor cat, mostly grey, with white markings, missing from the 4200 block of Osage.  If you have seen him (or can capture him), please contact his owner (sarah.e.lopez [at] gmail.com) and also email me back (lml3 [at] verizon.net). I don’t think he’s wearing a collar.  Possible that he’s been picked up by someone, or may be trapped inside a building/basement, or injured. -LL

If you have been around Philly for a while you have probably seen Suzanne Francis’ work. But even if you have been here only a short spell you have most definitely seen the subject of her work. Francis, who lives in the West Philly neighborhood of Parkside, has a wonderful eye for architecture and landscapes that define Philadelphia and she captures them on handmade prints.

Francis will be at VIX Emporium (5009 Baltimore Ave.) tonight from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. to talk about her work and how she makes it. One of the great things about her stuff is that she makes it affordable, so you can take a piece home tonight as well. Tonight’s event will include light refreshments and Francis will bring along some of her tools to provide folks a glimpse into how she produces such memorable pieces.

If you can’t make it tonight, stop by VIX anytime to check out her stuff.

There is no shortage of food delivery options in West Philly. You got your pizza/cheese steak standards. Manakeesh has made Lebanese fusion a phone call away. Roost will bring a half a rotisserie chicken and biscuits to your front porch. Now the folks behind New Delhi, the classy Indian restaurant near 40th and Chestnut, will bring you two curry platters for lunch complete with samosas for $8 (plus tax and tip).

The operation is called CurryBox and is available at lunchtime on Tuesday through Friday. The service is targeted at University City employees so the delivery area, which covers Drexel, Penn and USP, only extends west to 46th Street.

A different selection of entrees is available daily, though Chicken Tikka Masala (the only meat entree) is available every day and it’s $1 extra.

Here’s how it works: Order before 10 a.m. Tuesday through Friday and choose your delivery time. You can also place an order after 3 p.m. for the following day. Orders are done online. Done.

They plan to expand the service to Center City soon. Check their website for full details and the menu.

Scribe Video Center (4212 Chestnut Street 3rd Floor) presents a special Storyville screening of short films about Arab and Muslim communities in the U.S. tonight at 7 p.m. The films Arab American Road Movie (2005, 14 min), Tales from Arab Detroit (1995, 45 min), I, Too, Sing America and 9-11 Moments (2002) are produced by Detroit-based filmmaker Joan Mandell who will be at the screening in person.

Tickets are $5 for general public, free for Scribe members, Muslim Voices participants and Al Bustan Seeds of Culture staff, students and members.

Mandell will also present a workshop on oral history tomorrow, July 9, at 11 a.m. You can register online here or by calling 215-222-4201. Tickets for this event are $20 for general public, $10 for Scribe members and free for Muslim Voices participants.

To read more about both events click here.
 

Mariposa Food Co-op has moved to a new stage of its expansion project – the new store renovation – which is scheduled to finish in October. One of the benefits of the expansion is that over the next few months Mariposa will be hiring for additional, permanent staff positions. 8-10 new jobs are supposed to open.

The first position is a Member Coordinator, as their membership numbers approach 1,000. Mariposa began accepting applications for this position last week.

Mariposa is looking for a person with great interpersonal skills, someone who will develop and refine methods and practices for their entire member program.

The job will average 30 hours per week, primarily daytime hours with some weekend/evening hours. For the full job description and information on how to apply go here. Deadline for application is July 13, 2011.

For this and future position announcements visit this page.