The winner of the annual juried review of street-side vendors in the Library Mall area was unveiled at Tuesday's meeting of the Vending Oversight Committee.
Kakilima, named for the authentic ""five-legged"" food carts common in Indonesia, came out on top this year, moving up from a previous ranking of tenth. Athens Gyros, Johnson Brothers Coffee, Curt's Gourmet Popcorn and El Burrito Loco came in second through fifth, respectively.
Twenty-seven reviewers sampled dishes from over 38 of the city's food vendors, rating each cart out of 100 possible points on taste, quality, appearance and originality. Points were deducted for health-code violations, and up to seven points were granted on the basis of seniority.
""Athens Gyros had a brilliant debut, getting second without any seniority points at all,"" Madison street vending coordinator Warren Hansen said.
The highest-ranked vendors are formally granted priority locations around the campus and downtown area. Coveted spots generally include the areas around Library Mall and Capitol Square.
Also discussed at the meeting was a new proposition for establishing assigned sites for late-night vendors on Broom and Johnson Streets to replace the current first-come-first-served system. According to Hansen, an increased volume of cart owners has been migrating toward the area and causing issues with parking and traffic.
The Sabores Latinos and Afrikana food vendors have already expressed interest in late-night vending in this area, and other spots would be allocated based on seniority.
""There are now up to six large carts licensed and two small ones,"" Hansen said. ""There are still more sites than there are carts.""
Madison police officers have voiced concerns about late-night vending in the area, citing issues such as noise disturbances, unauthorized furniture setups, unacceptable cart appearance and vendors operating without licenses. There has also been discussion of a total ban on large-cart vending on Broom Street, similar to the restrictions on Frances and Langdon Streets.
""Broom Street has turned into another Frances Street, with vendors almost coming to fisticuffs and physically fighting over locations,"" Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, said. ""The police were very concerned about it.""
