I hate people who are not serious about their meals. -- Oscar Wilde

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Smorgasburg: like Brooklyn Flea minus vintage stuff

Om Nomz Hero Note to Self:  Food markets are good because you can walk around while eating, feigning calorie burning.

Entrance to Smorgasburg- small children not included
Brooklyn flea has finally answered my prayers and opened up Smorgasburg. Smorgasburg is the newest market which is just focused on food. No more do I have to venture through weird aisles and booths of vintage old stuff just so I can try some food. The Smorgasbord is located in North Williamsburg right by an amazing view of the river which creates a great atmosphere on a nice Saturday afternoon. The majority of the food vendors that are at Brooklyn Flea are now setting up shop at the Smorgasburg as well as a few new comers. I am determined to eat from all the food vendors eventually but unfortunately I have only one stomach so I missed a few like Sunday Gravy and Landhaus but I will eat their tasty food offerings one way or another. 

Wiener  
 Origin of Hot Dog and more Food after Jump

 The Meat Hook in which I have pervious praised before setup a huge grill there and of course, are grilling up meats. At the Meat Hook I sampled their hot dog as well as their beef brisket. The hot dog is house made and had a great snap and reminded me of a Texas wiener. The brisket was moist and flavorful and had a generous helping of both meat and coleslaw. 
Brisket and slaw
Pupusas griddling
Solber Pupusa was there as well and when I got there at 11, was already busy griddling up fresh pupusas. A pupusa is El Salvadoran corn tortilla/flatbread stuffed with cheese and if you want a choice of meat. They of course were offering up chicharron so I immediately had to get it. The pupusa was crispy on the outside and creamy and filled with soft, melted greasy cheese in the middle with bits of crunchy chicharrons. I would have liked a bit more chicharrons, but it suspect anymore would be a detriment to the structural integrity of the pupusa. It was served with a bit of a salad with pickled jalapenos combating and balancing the greasiness of the pupusa and allowing me to continue eating rather than a food coma. 

Chicharron pupusa
Shorty Tang & Sons set up shop there as well dishing out cold sesame noodles, refreshing on a hot sunny day. The noodles were drenched in a sesame dressing and a bit of heat on the back end. Eating the noodles, it is clear how these noodles gained such popularity and defined Chinatown food in the 1970s. 
Sesame Noodles
Cemita breakdown
My savory tasting ended with a Cemita. I first read about cemita in Saveur when they did their sandwich issue and loving all things that are shoved in-between bread, I had to get one. The Cemita is a hefty sandwich with origins from Mexico and the word is suspiciously similar to the word, “cement” which is fitting, given eating one of these it will sit like cement in your stomach. For those of you looking to get the best deal and bang for your buck, get a cemita. The cemita has the option of either carnitas or a fried chicken cutlet milanesa de res o pollo. I guess to go real authentic, I should have went with the cutlet, but I did not want to end up in a food it is coma, passed out on a bench like a hobo so I went with the carnitas, which was soft, moist and flavorful. The cemita is composed of a quesillo, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, avocados, a black bean spread, papalo, a cilantro like herb, chipotle and mayo. The crusty sesame seed roll was barely able to contain the internals of the cemita but the sandwich held together and it was tasty and glorious. Granted this is the first time I have had a cemita, but I have to start somewhere right? 

Cemita- can be used as a tasty bludgeon
The cemita was the final nail in the coffin…for savory eats and although Dough donuts, crepes, and cupcakes were all present, ice cream was on the mind and there was a few to choose from but I would suggest getting a ice cream sandwich, or stroopwafel sandwich from the folks at The Good Batch. From the Good Batch, I got a ice cream stroopwafel sandwich called the peanut butter chunk that consisted of peanut butter and vanilla ice cream sandwiched in between 2 coco caramel stroopwafels. 
Stroopwafel ice cream sammich
To end it I went with a light treat of the maple cotton candy from Liddabit Sweets which was a good finish to my food eating frenzy.

Maple cotton Candy
 
The Smorgasburg is a fun thing to do on a Saturday afternoon. Although I naively thought I could avoid hipsters here, this is a must go for anyone that is a food nerd. From initial inspection, the majority of food items, except for the lobster rolls are under the 10 dollar mark which will not destroy your wallet. The Smorgasburg reminds me of the Asian night markets, its Asian night market lite. The differences are that there are that the vendors have menus, its during the day, the threat of invasion of personal space and pickpocketing is minimal and no point in which you are thinking, “what kind of meat is this on the stick?”


Smorgasburg
27 North 6th St. (btw. Kent Ave. + East River)

No comments:

Post a Comment