We stopped by East River State Park on Saturday to check out the new home of Smorgasburg, which, if you've ever been to a Phish show, bears a remarkable resemblance to "Shakedown Street," but for foodiots. The bazaar was packed when we arrived around noon, with insanely long lines for Taiwanese street food from BaoHaus and Mighty Quinn's BBQ, which is "familiar and still unlike any barbeque you have ever had." We didn't wait around to find out, and instead sought instant refreshment from Kombucha Brooklyn, which was pouring two varieties of cool kombucha on tap.
Both flavors of kombucha that we sampled—jasmine and lemon drop—were immensely refreshing and acted as a fast-acting hangover remedy. At Smorgasburg, you can buy them by the cup for $2 or get yourself a growler full. Thus hydrated, we clawed through the ravenous throngs to the Brooklyn Wok Shop, which is kicking out a flavorful Crab Rangoon, which tastes like the Atlantic Ocean made flesh and comes with an excellent chili hot sauce for dipping. We followed this up with a sample of vegan Alchemy "ice cream," served by two friendly guys in robes straight out of Central Casting. It may not have been as "mystical" as promised, but it makes a persuasive case for dairy-free dessert.
Be sure to sample (and consider buying) the Coconut Cashew Butter from Three Nuts, a new addition to this year's Smorgasburg. The Long Island company specializes in small-batch nut butters, and other tasty varieties include Salted Caramel Peanut Butter and Mocha Almond Butter. After taking advantage of those samples, we hit up Gothamist favorite Bon Chovie for some delicious fried anchovies (don't forget to squirt lemon on top), followed by remarkably fresh spring rolls from Best Summer.
The eating didn't stop there—what's great about Smorgasburg is that there are copious free samples that let you try before you buy and taste a wide variety of wares. What's challenging is the crowd, but the new location at East River State Park is surrounded by plenty of open park space, so if you start to feel overwhelmed it's easy to escape the artisanal mob scene and sit on the grass with a refreshing beverage. No beer yet, but the organizers expect to have a liquor license locked down within a month or so.
Click through on the photos for more recommendations—not seen here, but also worth sampling: the fancy potent condiments from Ish Horseradish; the hand-strained yogurt made by The White Moustache; and the imaginative nachos from El Gato Nacho, made with homemade pickled peppers, hand-fried tortillas, and Mexican-sourced cheeses. And here's the full list of vendors if you want to do some further research.
Smorgasburg is found at East River State Park on Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at East River State Park (at North 7th Street in Wiliamsburg) and on Sundays from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Tobacco Warehouse (30 Water Street in DUMBO).
