Measuring 3K m2, the new market is 3x the size as the old one, with space for 2 full service restaurants, 39 market vendors, a state-of-the-art demonstration kitchen, mezzanine level public seating, event office spaces and a sub-cellar vendor storage space. Inside the market, shoppers will find 14 new vendors and 25 vendors from the original market. Returning vendors like Saxelby Cheesemongers and Essex Farms will be joined by newcomers such as Samesa, a contemporary Middle Eastern takeaway counter; Riverdel, a vegan specialty shop that crafts their very own in-house cheeses, and Chinatown Ice Cream Factory; a family run business from Chinatown now operated by the second generation. For some new vendors coming into the market, it will be their first brick and mortar location. The unique mix of vendors will offer affordable daily provisions, prepared and specialty foods. The new space allows existing vendors to expand their current offerings with more room to stock a diverse array of goods and install food preparation equipment provided by the NYCEDC.
Tag: food
What to eat at Smorgasburg
Smorgasburg is back for the 2019 outdoor market season, and this year there are 21 mouth-watering new vendors among the staggering 100 food stalls. So, if Smorgasburg has made you feel overwhelmed in the past, you’re gonna need to steel yourself for a mini panic attack this time around. Take deep breaths and find solace in the aromas of cuisines from across the world.
Violet
East Village restaurant Violet does a good job at representing the grilled pizza of Rhode Island — although some pies may be a little too similar to the ones found at Al Forno, the restaurant from which chef Matt Hyland (Emily, Emmy Squared) pulls inspiration
Rice Cakes Fundido
At Haenyeo, a new corner restaurant in Park Slope, the menu description “saucy and spicy rice cake fundido” is intriguing, but it cannot entirely prepare a diner for the dish that will arrive: a deeply flavored bowl of ingredients topped with a bubbling sheath of cheese. Somehow, this shared appetizer manages to be Korean, Mexican, Spanish, Swiss, and maybe even a little Japanese, all at once.
Chongqing Lao Zao
The oil in the broth is important, but so is the oil they serve as a dipping sauce for this style of hot pot. Our group of 6 all found the sesame-based blend that you are supposed to dip in after the broth to be too thick and not of value. They will bring the ingredients for this to the table and serve everyone their own dish automatically, but do note that a $1.95/person charge will show up on the bill. Maybe get 2 made for the table so you can try it and then go from there.
In addition to this sauce presentation, there is an enjoyable theatre to everything they do. It is all very organized. Multi-tiered trays show up beside your table to hold all the small plates of each order before it gets put in the hot pot. They will watch over the progress and move dishes up for you and remove used ones. I found the service excellent. Are you not really a hot pot person? Have you been underwhelmed with it to this point in your life? I think this is the right place to try and see if you can have your mind changed.
KC Gourmet Empanadas
Now a chef has decided to open up a small restaurant in the far reaches of Alphabet City, a surprising place outside of the Brooklyn parts that normally cater to Panamanians. Possibly to compensate for this, they do offer standard NY deli favorites like egg sandwiches for breakfast. Beyond this, the tiny place has a very large menu, proving it is not the size of the kitchen but how you use it.
It is unclear whether the operation is a family affair, but it certainly has the feel of one. The chef and proprietor of the place has what could be her granddaughters run the register and interact with customers, sending orders and instruction back to her in Spanish. She has a presence back there that makes you feel like the food will be good before it comes out.
Where to Eat in Flushing
The Chinatown you now see is buttressed by Korean and Indian communities, and now constitutes one of the city’s most active commercial centers, linked to the rest of the city by the Long Island Railroad and the 7 subway line. The streets are bustling with shoppers seeking out dumpling shops, bakeries, sprawling fish and vegetable stands, beauty shops, apothecaries, and restaurants. And walking down Main Street from the terminus of the 7 train is as close to being in Beijing or Taipei as one is likely to get in New York City.
- Little Sheep Mongolian Hot Pot
- DaXi
- Szechwan Absolute
- Asian Jewels
- Miss Li Henan Cuisine
Changing restaurant culture
The community of people I surrounded myself with ate and drank like Vikings. It worked well in my 20s. It worked well in my 30s. It started to unravel when I was 40. I couldn’t shut it off. All of a sudden, there was no bottle of wine good enough for me. I’m drinking, like, literally the finest wines of the world. Foie gras is not exciting. Truffles are meh. I don’t want lobster; I had it yesterday. What am I looking for, eating and drinking like this every day?
Peak Pasta
To test out new shapes, chefs only need a few ingredients: flour, eggs, water, and an internet connection. “I think the advent of YouTube is when everything changed. You can just look up different shapes. Before then, you had to actually head to Italy to see the shapes, find the book, or work with someone who had actually worked there.”
Xiao chi
Stretching from 40th to 65th Streets on 8th Avenue in Sunset Park, Brooklyn’s Chinatown is one of the best neighborhoods in New York to experience 2 unique styles of Chinese cuisine–Fujianese xiao chi and Cantonese dim sum. Because of these demographics, Brooklyn’s Chinatown has become a culinary destination for Southern Chinese cuisine, especially Fujianese xiao chi 小吃 (Little Snacks). Essentially, this covers anything that falls outside the Chinese definition of a full meal, in which rice is accompanied by several dishes of meat and vegetables. Comparable to Spanish tapas, xiao chi are small servings of dishes, most often noodles, dumplings and pastries meant to be eaten as snacks or a light lunch. This culinary category exists in every region of China. Cantonese dim sum, with its small servings of different dishes, is a type of xiao chi, although it’s considered more formal and often served in large restaurants with seafood-focused banquet dinners. Here are 5 restaurants in Sunset Park to sample this cuisine. Since the prices are affordable and the serving sizes are similar to tapas, try as many dishes and places as possible for the true xiao chi experience.
- Lin Mini Café
- Uncle Wang
- San Qiang
- Hong Kong Dim Sum
- Park Asia
Gregor J. Rothfuss 