After 1 full night's of rest, we were ready to go at 9 a.m for our adventures in New York. Dawn, Andre an me headed out of our apartment to search for a T-Mobile shop, but ended up in Times Square again. This time, it was for a visit to the tourism center. It was a pleasant surprise that even the visitor center is worth a visit even if you DO NOT have any queries for them. They have some decent broadway exhibits, a dedicated Dick Clark (the guy who hosted the New Year's Countdown) exhibit and the Ball thats dropped every year.
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| A section of the Wishing Wall dedicated to Dick Clark |
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| Dropping the Ball in NYC |
After getting the information we wanted, we headed to our first destination: Smorgasburg Food Market, Brooklyn. It was a 1/2 an hour subway ride (it took us awhile to figure out the system, figuring that it will be a whole lot of trouble once you get to the wrong side of the platform) to the Food Market and we reached a little earlier than the opening hours. So we decided to shop around the nearby flea market.
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| Artists & Fleas |
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| A peak at their interior |
The Artist & Flea market actually has quite pretty and unique stuff but the price of each item is really un-flea market-ish. A ring can go up to 30 - 50 USD and they don't look willingly to bargain. So unless you have the cash and ready to splash, this market isn't the best place to shop for your stuff.
At 11 a.m promptly, we stepped into the Smorgasburg Food Market and begin to find ways to fill our famished stomachs. As most of them are still setting up stall, we settled for the stall with the train-like out-door stove which easily caught our eyes. We ordered the beef brisket and the meat was fantastic! If I were to go back, I'll definitely go for round 2. The small ones was really puny so we went for the large ones instead ($9).
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| Choo-Choo Train |
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| Hard at Work |
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| Beautiful Beef Brisket |
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| They sell Ribs too |
It didn't take us long to find our next dish. Just nearby, we were intrigued by the mozzarella cheese making display and decided to get the mozzarella plate once the show was done. Verdict: The huge slabs of mozzarella is a good fit for all. The cheese wasn't so "cheesy" that it puts non-cheese lover off but not so bland that it taste like nothing. The cheese is freshly made and it shows in the taste. It goes perfectly with the bread, tomato and the vegetables that comes with it. Nice :)
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| The Mozz Shop |
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| The Candid Chef |
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| The Mozz Plate |
Next up was the Lobster Roll ($16). I must admit, it wasn't the wisest of choice. I could have gotten a better and nicer deal anywhere else and the staff wasn't the friendliest. Still, I was tempted by the prospect and jumped straight into ordering it.
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| Lobster Roll |
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| Sharing the Roll |
On a side note, there was a celebrity filming his food documentary while we were in the market. He looks really familiar (I'm very sure I have watched his show) but I just can't put my finger to what his name is. Maybe someone can help me out here by posting his name in the comment section.
Back to the food. Another popular dish going around is the Fried Anchovies($7). We picked the Jersey-styled anchovies (with the head on) and had a go at it. Basically its Fried Breaded Shishamo (Japanese Pregnant Fish) without the eggs. Not the best fried fish (it was a little to salty and overcooked) but still a good to-try.
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| Jersey Style - Head On |
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| Fried Anchovies |
Last but not least, I had the Porchetta. It was pretty decent, with nice slices of boneless pork meat and rare chuck of crispy port fats put together with a less-than-average bread. Decent dish but I would recommend you try something else.
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| Porchetta |
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| The Porchetta |
That would be last dish for the day as my stomach called for a time-out. Here are some of the other highlights which I would like to try the next time I'm here.
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| Large Doughnuts |
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| Lovely Drip Coffee |
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| Award Winning Bacon Cupcakes |
That marks the end of our first flea market tour and headed to the nearby Fort Greene Flea Market. This flea market is your typical flea market - they basically sell all kinds of crap. From dolls to furniture and clothes to accessories. they have it all. It was really interesting as to what actually could be sold. One of which was what I called "Crap on Ring", which was basically anything junk (e.g Keyboard keys or legos) put on top of the ring. I'm surprised people actually buy that. The overall price is still pretty high for a flea market, there are actually some pretty decent deals around. You just have to be patient and take your time to search the entire place.
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| Fort Greene Flea Market |
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| This place was actually built around a track and field |
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| Cool Old Furniture Up for Grabs |
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| Rocking Chair, Anyone? |
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| Nostalgia in a Box |
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| Star Wars |
Besides selling used products, there is also quite a selection of food. Since most of the stalls can also be found in Smorgasburg and our stomach can't really take more food, we decided to give the food a miss.
All in all, I would recommend these two flea markets for anyone that is in New York over the weekend. For foodie-lovers, you HAVE to go to the Smorgasburg Food Market. There are a lot more varieties than the ones that I have posted here, including Ethiopian food, Columbian food and Vietnamese food. You may not get the most authentic experience, but its a good place to try and learn more about these cuisines before moving on the dedicated restaurants. The quality is pretty decent, the price is a little pricey (given the portions) but the still worth it overall.
For the non-foodie fans, I would recommend just the Fort Greene Flea Market. There is still a healthy number of choices in this Flea Market of which most are repeated from Smorgasburg. Even if you don't intend to buy anything, it will still be interesting to see what is on sale there, especially when the stall changes from time to time.
Smorgasburg Food Market
East River Waterfront (Btw North 6 & 7 St.)
Brooklyn, New York
Take Subway L line to Bedford Ave.
Saturday 11 am - 6 pm
Fort Greene Flea Market
176 Lafayette Ave (btw Clermont & Vanderbilt Av)
Brooklyn, New York
Take Subway C Line to Lafayette Ave
Saturday & Sunday 10 am - 5 pm
Website: http://www.brooklynflea.com/
For more photos: http://on.fb.me/KxQHST
Thats all for now, stay tuned for Part 2 of New York Flea Day...
