Smorgasburg!

Smorgasburg is held every Saturday in Williamsburg Brooklyn. I have been wanting to go ever since I first heard about it, and this weekend I finally did, and wasn’t disappointed! I picked up my friend Corrine Saturday morning,and off we went. Traffic was light, parking was easy (and free) and the the weather perfect. But you don’t want to hear about the gorgeous views of the east side of Manhattan, the clear blue skies and cool breeze off the East River.

 

But, you want to hear about the food!

We got there shortly after it opened, which was great because though not everyone was ready for business, we had time to walk around and check it all out before the throngs arrived. And also to start making the critical decisions about what we would eat, and what we would forgo.  I’ll start with what we ate, and then get into what I wish I’d had room for. We started with a scallion pancake which was good, but I’ve had better, and I could have used that space in my belly.

Next up was the grilled maple-bacon strip from Landhaus Farms.  A thick slab of pork belly grilled on a flat top and stuck on a stick, then drizzled with maple syrup.  It was fantastic, but one each would have been plenty, and the stick was no help to me, I ended up biting and tearing in a most undignified, and messy manner… My advice is grab handfuls of the wet naps that are offered at almost every venue!

Then we shared brisket sandwich from Mighty Quinn’s.  I got a chance to talk to one of the owners as I was waiting for my sandwich, and here is what she told me;  they have two cuts out, one fatty,one lean, you can request all fatty or all lean, but I deferred to their advice and went for the combo.  Four slices from each cut were piled on a soft roll with sweet BBQ sauce, a vinegar slaw, and fresh made pickle slices- i asked for extra pickles.  The sandwich was great, the meat smoky and unctuous, the sauce sweet, but not overpowering, and sooo good.  Corrine and I split the sandwich—everyone there is happy to cut things in half for sharing.

 

 

And the best thing we ate all day (we agreed) was the white mushroom pizza from Pizza Moto!

When we arrived at their location they had just pulled a red pie from the hot wood fired oven and were sliding in a white pie.  I got a bit bossy, and let Corrine know we’d be waiting for that one!  Many people came by and asked if we were in line, I told them we were waiting for the pie in the oven, but they went ahead and got the red pie, which I’m sure is fabulous, but our wait was rewarded!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The pie was beautiful.  As soon as it came out of the oven they drizzled it with olive oil (though I think it would have been just as delicious without it), and it was cut into six massive slices, one of which they happily split for us.  The tiny mushrooms were incredibly tasty and almost truffle-like (I’m not sure what type of mushrooms they use, and I’m sorry I didn’t ask). The crust was super-thin and crispy from the very hot fire, and there were tiny charred bits, which I love!  I could go on, but instead, if you live anywhere near Brooklyn (and I consider Philadelphia close enough) get some of this pizza, now if possible.  Then tell me about it, because I’d love to hear what you think!  I must add that Blaze, the guy cutting the pizza, and meeting and greeting the public was quite charming and chatty.  I was amazed that even though most vendors were very busy almost every one of them took time to talk about their food, answer questions, and generally engage with customers.

We wanted to but didn’t have room for the pastrami dumplings from the Brooklyn Wok Shop, the gorgeous panini from Sunday Gravy (top photo), or the darling jars of peach cobbler topped with a pecan shortbread biscuit from Pecan Patti.   And that’s just a few of the tempting items we missed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We were shocked at the line for Ramen Noodle Burgers.  In early August this item debuted at Smorgasburg, and has gotten almost as much press as the Cronut!  People start lining up as early as 7:45 (Smorgasburg opens at 11:00) for these things.  We weren’t willing to join the line—another thing I failed to get a picture of… We talked to the folks working there, and things were going pretty slowly.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Corrine took some olive bread home from a bakery whose name I failed to get, and who is not a listed vendor and I grabbed a couple of donuts from Dough that I brought home, and had for dinner—they were very good.  We also had lots of samples, and talked to a lot of people.  As the day wore on, it was getting very crowded, so after we had eaten all we could (and I really wish I could have tried more!) and done about four circuits we headed back to Philly, planning our next trip back.

8/26/2013