Slices of Smorgasburg

I love a good portmanteau, as is the case with Smorgasburg:  a fun combination of the smorgasbord, which is a noun referring to a buffet of hot and cold meals, and the trendy neighbourhood of Williamsburg in Brooklyn as well as the primary site of this popular outdoor food market.  According to the official Smorgasburg website, “Smorgasburg is the largest weekly open-air food market in America, attracting 20,000-30,000 people to Brooklyn each weekend to eat from 100 local vendors—Saturdays on the Williamsburg waterfront and Sundays in beautiful Prospect Park.”  At both locations, the culinary options are overwhelming – as are the luscious aromas that fill the air and cause you to salivate in anticipation of what awaits.  I have only tried a handful of vendors (so far) and my interest has been piqued by others.  Here are some of those I have noted or tried:

Big Mozz offers the most amazing mozzarella sticks, fried to perfection and served with a hearty marinara sauce for dipping.  They also sell Fried Cookie DŌ! which is exactly what the same suggests – little balls of sinfully sweet goodness with all kinds of fillings.  Another interesting vendor is Pop Pasta which sells…wait for it…spaghetti donuts.  Before you raise your eyebrows in confusion (and/or horror), it is spaghetti or macaroni and cheese shaped into a donut.  I did not try one myself but it is now on my radar for a future visit. 

I did try the amazing hand-cut gourmet fries (frites) from Home Frite with a tasty buttermilk ranch dip on the side.  The crispy chicken sliders also looked delicious but I thought $6 was a bit steep for a slider.  When it comes to something sweet, I have tried the awesome Ring Dings from Ring Ding Bar, a variation on a classic American sweet treat, with interesting flavours including: Dulce de Leche (caramel is always my first choice), Nutella, Red Velvet, Funfetti, Peanut Butter and Jelly, Pistachio Raspberry, Lemon Crème, and French Toast. 

This past weekend, Red Rock Deli was distributing complimentary (and substantial) samples of their deli style potato chips in three incredible flavours, Lime and Cracked Pepper (my favourite of the three), Red Curry Coconut and Himalayan Pink Salt.  I do love free samples but these were particularly enjoyable.  I did not receive any compensation from Red Rock for promoting these tasty chips by the way.

On Saturday Smorgasburg was also the location of the Brooklyn Flea Record Fair.  Not even the torrential rain could deter eager vinyl collectors from turning out in their numbers in search of a good deal.  And trust me, there were plenty of good deals – and free merchandise such as stickers, magnets and candy (yes, you are probably noticing a pattern by now).  I love my complimentary record bag from Discogs – it came in handy because I ended up needing a bag to carry my great finds, including Belinda Carlisle, Bananarama, Sonny & Cher and Bruce Springsteen.  There was certainly a wide variety of genres and artists so no one needed to go home empty handed. 

 

I found the description of Smorgasburg on one of the information boards at the market to be a most accurate one: “…these one-day food festivals are where food entrepreneurs, world travelers and locals of all ages come together to sample the infinite diversity of New York City’s culinary culture”.  I cannot wait to continue sampling this diversity.