This week don’t miss the Second Friday on Lancaster Avenue, an event that fosters a great sense of community and showcases local talent and businesses in Powelton Village. Here’s what’s happening on the Avenue, from 34th to 45th Street, this Friday, from 5-9 p.m.:

The Community Education Center will be hosting a Summer Garden Series with an Open Mic Night, Poetry reading and performances (3500 Block). Green Line Cafe (3649 Lancaster Ave) will host a few acoustic players and free snacks. The 3800 block will feature music and Art by Emil Baumann and Jazz artist Alfie Pollitt at Art on the Avenue. The Make your Mark building (3861 Lancaster Ave) will be transformed to a small concert venue featuring performances by Drexel students. In addition to art and music, business owners will display their merchandise and food trucks and street vendors will be out on the sidewalk from 5-9 p.m. Please check the flyer below for Block by Block listings or visit the event’s Facebook page.

And the winner of Honest Tom’s venerable taco truck is … Maru Global (Facebook page), the folks who specialize in authentic Japanese street food.

Maru Global’s plans for the truck are still coming together, but it is sure to feature takoyaki – a fried dough ball typically filled with octopus, ginger, onion and other delectables – maybe some curry fries, onigiri or their famous desert balls.

Maru Global won the truck as a result of a contest Honest Tom ran earlier this month asking would-be entrepreneurs to write him and explain why they should get the truck.

The winning of the truck is the latest in a tumultuous string of recent events for Maru Global’s Chef Ryo Igarashi and his wife Nicole Igarashi, who handles the business side of the operation. They had to close their restaurant, Tokio Global, near Headhouse Square in April after Ryo underwent surgery to remove a blood clot from his brain. As he recovered they returned to the kitchen to prepare a whittled down mobile menu for events and festivals around the city.

“Honest Tom” McCusker’s 1970 step van, which he bought with credit card cash advances, will now be a key part of that mobile operation.

Congrats to Maru Global and well done to Honest Tom for paying it forward.

 
We have good news and bad news. Curbside diners from Clark Park to Center City will be sad to hear that Honest Tom is retiring his taco truck. The good news is that an entrepreneur eager to get into the food truck game will get the colorful 1970 Chevy step van, one of the most vaunted food trucks in the city,  free of charge.

“Honest” Tom McCusker, who in December climbed out of the truck and into his new shop on 44th Street, is giving the truck away for a story.

“It runs like an old workhorse but definitely has its quirks,” said McCusker, who says he bought the truck off a man named Derek with credit card cash advances from “multiple credit cards.”

Here’s a post from his Facebook page that spells out the deal:

For those that have inquired or anyone else it may concern:

We have been trying to get the truck back into regular rotation for months now, but with the shop schedule being as demanding as it is we have realized that it is not going to be possible. So we’ve come up with a plan…

As good as the truck has been to us we’ve decided it cannot be burdened with a monetary value. We will be gifting it to a noble up and comer looking to dive into the dark scary world of food trucking. Email honesttoms – at – gmail.com with why you should be the chosen one and we will make a decision on monday the 9th of july,meaning emails must be in that Sunday by midnight.

So get your e-mail to Tom by midnight on July 8.

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:

It’s hard to imagine West Philly without its street vendors. Many of them have become so popular that people from all over the city come to try their food. Now one of them might get some award love in the form of the Vendy, a newly established in Philadelphia award which celebrates the best street vendors in the city.

The awards show will take place next Saturday, July 9, from 3 to 7 p.m. at The Piazza at Schmidt’s in Northern Liberties (1015 N. 2nd Street) and will feature the street food showcase and an intense cook-off between the chefs. One of the judges will be Mayor Michael Nutter (That guy is busy!).

West Philly will be well represented in the event with five out of the eight award nominees based on the left bank. Here they are:

 
For more information about all the nominees and to buy tickets go here.