Saturday at Smorgasburg!

I have to thank my fav restaurant buddy for introducing me to her colleague as “my friend with the food blog,” because this new acquaintance then went on to give me the scoop about SMORGASBURG (map!), a cool Brooklyn food fair that happens in Williamsburg every Saturday.

Curious about this weekly event (organized by the same people who set up the Brooklyn Flea markets), DH and I picked a glorious day to visit.

Ok, maybe not so glorious. Where's the sun??

The sky was not nearly as beautiful as in all the press photos, but I wanted to try those fried anchovies I had read about, darn it! So we braved the rain and gloom under a tiny umbrella while making our way east from the L-train stop, and thankfully saw that a good number of other people had also made the same trek for a chance to taste some good Brooklyn yums.

So many places to try! First stop: BON CHOVIE (omg, their website is great. I’ll never think of anchovies the same way ever again. Apparently they are the rock stars of the sea?)

Tiny oily fish are effin' metal, dude.

We weren’t hardcore enough to go for “heads on”, but no matter. They were delicious! That smoked paprika aioli on the side was pretty special too.

And to think, you guys could have been canned and sitting on the shelf of a supermarket somewhere for MONTHS. This is a much better fate for you, fishies, I promise.

After that tasty little appetizer, we were on the prowl again. This time, we wanted something carby, with a little more heft. Ooo, what’s that over there?

Pupusas? PUPUSAS.

A little background. Pupusas are a Salvadoran food – thick tortillas filled with any variety of amazing things. (Long confusing story short: the first time I tried them was in Scotland, homemade by a Taiwanese-American girl who learned about them while visiting Latin America. A truly global treat.) And now here was SOLBER PUPUSAS, dishing them out! We ordered a traditional pork one and a fish one. They came with curtido (pickled cabbage), tomato sauce, sour cream, and jalapenos. Then we also grabbed some juices at the Red Jacket Orchards stand.

Time for a bigger photo:

I really like the colors in this picture.

Ohhhhmyyygodddd. These pupusas were totally gold. The combination of the tortilla, meat/fish, and all the condiments was just the most amazing mouth-happy experience ever. Not only was there a good taste, but the curtido gave each bite an excellent crunch, so the texture was great too. We scarfed it all down like animals, it was glorious.

So now we totally had the hunger. More carbs and meat, please?

Hmmm, that BOCATA stand smells pretty good.

Who can say no to sausage on a roll? One please!

I didn’t get the combo, which would have come with a side of fried shishito peppers, but they let me have one as a sample, and it was very good! (On a later occasion I bought some fresh peppers and tried to make an approximation at home. It’s a great healthy snack/app!) The sandwich itself, though, was also top-notch.

*CHOMP* Mmm, chorizo sausage and manchego cheeeeese...

Now, what about dessert? We need a unique baked good:

A stroopwafel. Perfect!

This bit of cookie-caramelly goodness was courtesy of the nice lady at THE GOOD BATCH stand. I haven’t had a stroopwafel since my visit to Vandaag way back (has it been 10 months already??), and this was a good specimen. I also got some AMAZING iced coffee from GRADY’S COLD BREW to go with it.

I am such a fiend for well-brewed coffee. Tiny bit of milk, no sugar needed. ZERO BITTERNESS. That is what I need. NEED I tell you.

I was tempted to buy some of their concentrate. Enough great coffee to last quite awhile! Maybe next time, though.

These lads know their craft well.

And they gave us our change all in $2 bills! Is that so hipster? I think that's kind of hipster.

In case you were ever wondering what the back of a $2 bill looks like. It's the presentation of the draft of the Declaration of Independence to Congress. NOT the signing. Factoid for the day.

Although I also really wanted to try a popsicle from the PEOPLE’S POPS stand, I was just a little too full and the weather was getting just a little too cold, so we had to pass on it. However, just a couple of weeks later I stopped by the stand at Chelsea Market (another foodstravaganza under one roof) and got my chance to sample their frozen goodies:

Roasted red plum. CHOCK FULL of fresh fruit. I had no regrets.

I would love to go back to Smorgasburg again on a better-weather day and try more selections. There were a lot of other choices that looked appetizing. If you want an opportunity to sample the new wave of artisanal, independent foods that are originating out of Brooklyn nowadays, this is a good chance to graze all in one place.

And after you’re done stuffing your face, you can open up your wallet at the vintage market around the corner!

Williamsburg fattypants

I kept hearing good things about PIES ‘N’ THIGHS (map!) and passed by it last time on the way to Dram, so it was time to try the place out.

Comforted only by thoughts of the delicious food that awaited, one of my fav restaurant buddies and I braved our way through ridiculously cold temperatures while walking from the Bedford Ave subway stop. It was dark and everything was slicked with ice, but when we saw the soft glow of the restaurant we knew all would be well soon enough.

Welcome, weary travelers. What manner of fried deliciousness shall you be having tonight?

Lucky for us, party of 2, there was no wait for a table! Thank goodness, since I was just about to drop after having endured the arctic expedition immediately before. As soon as I sat down and took one quick look around at all the happy people chowing down, I only had one thought on my mind: OMG FRIED CHICKEN. NEED FRIED CHICKEN NOW.

GIMME.

I chose the side of macaroni and cheese with hot sauce, figuring I’d go for the gold since we weren’t pretending to be eating healthy anyway. It seems like such an obvious and simple combo, but I had never thought about how complementary adding hot sauce to this classic comfort food could be. A new and tasty discovery was made that night.

And the chicken. Oh boy, the chicken. How do they cook it to make the meat so moist and tender yet with such crispy skin? There must be chicken wizards in the kitchen or something. The biscuit, soft and fluffy on the inside (and not too buttery/greasy!) rounded out the plate very well and was good for dipping into the mac and cheese.

My friend got the Carolina pulled pork sandwich plus hush puppies, which looked mighty tempting as well. Basically, the whole restaurant was a delicious-smelling den of different tasty meats and gastronomical joy. I kind of wanted to try the whole menu. The best we could do after our very filling main dishes, though, was to share a choice slice of banana cream pie, which did not disappoint.

Pie pie pie pie pie

And did I mention the sweet tea? If you visit, get the sweet tea. Sweet, but not too sweet. The caffeine will keep you up late, but it’s worth drinking if you don’t have to get up early the next morning.

Overall, I have nothing against The Colonel, but the chicken I had at Pies ‘N’ Thighs was definitely something special. Honestly, in all my eagerness, I think I almost ate it too fast to enjoy everything properly. Solution: must go again.