Spring arrived in the Flatiron this weekend with the return of Urbanspace's Mad. Sq. Eats market, located in the plaza just west of Madison Square Park. The annual month-long event, now in its eighth year, saw huge crowds on Saturday's opening day, thanks both to the lovely weather and the excellent lineup of some 28 different vendors.
Many market favorites have returned for 2016, including Roberta's, Macaron Parlour, Red Hook Lobster Pound, Mayhem and Stout, MeltKraft, Cannibal, Hong Kong Street Cart, and Melt. Among the notable newcomers to this season's Mad. Sq. Eats are Beatrice Burger, a spinoff of the super-sceney Beatrice Inn and led by Chef Angie Mar. There are three varieties on the menu here, the best of which (called "Animal") features a beautiful dry-aged short-rib patty, creamy cambozola cheese, and a nice smokey sauce. Also new and also good are the Poke Nachos at Gotham Poke, the chicken sandwich at Asia Dog's Hawaiian-inspired Ono Hut, and the deep-fried, bacon-wrapped avocado "fritters" at Masa.
But the most popular booth of the day, with about a 20-minute wait by mid-afternoon, seemed to be Mad. Sq. Eats newbie Ice & Vice, the outstanding Lower East Side ice cream parlor. And rightly so: Ice & Vice makes the best ice cream in NYC right now, and they're offering two exclusive flavors at Mad. Sq. Eats—Detention, with malted vanilla, Fruity Pebble dust, and Mexican chocolate brownies; and a Root Beer one—as well as an astonishing Foodbaby Sundae, with Concord Grape ice cream, "donut soil", whipped cream, rainbow sprinkles, and a thick raspberry coulis. Also at the Ice & Vice booth are terrific Squish Marshmallows, available in a half dozen flavors and which you eat either with your ice cream or just separately on a stick.
The Urbanspace Mad. Sq. Eats is located at the plaza between 24th and 25th Streets, where Fifth Avenue and Broadway intersect, and is open daily from 11:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. through May 27.
