New York City’s biggest and still best outdoor market Smorgasburg returns on March 31 and April 1 with 14 new vendors.
More than a place to grab a bite in the sun, Smorgasburg has become the place to find the city’s next food trend, from the ramen burger to Hong Kong’s waffle ice cream cones, the spaghetti doughnut and ube ice cream. Basically, it’s your ticket to Instagram fame and bragging rights that, when the businesses do open a brick-and-mortar location, you can say you knew them first.
The outdoor market’s eighth season kicks off Saturday, March 31 in Williamsburg’s East River State Park, then continues on Sunday, April 1 at Prospect Park’s Breeze Hill.
Of the 100 or so vendors at each market, over a dozen are new this year. Early standouts include a spinoff of Cobble Hill’s Boutros restaurant serving Lebanese-style shawarma tacos, a hand-held Italian cheese pie from Frico Italia and Japanese shaved ice from Bonsai Kakigori.
Two vendors from Smorgasburg’s Los Angeles outpost (the market also popped up in Osaka, Japan in 2017), which has been open since 2016, are expanding to Brooklyn, with cold-brewed teas and grilled lobsters.
Here’s the full list of new vendors and what to expect:
504 HN Market — Traditional Honduran baleadas: fresh flour tortillas topped with refried beans and Honduran cheese and cream, plus various toppings like avocado, eggs and chorizo
Big Mozz x DO — Deep-fried cookie dough from two market veterans
Bonsai Kakigori — Japanese shaved ice made in a vintage machine (so Brooklyn) in flavors like Strawberries & Cream and Matcha Persimmon, plus housemade syrups and toppings
Boutros — Spinning off from their Atlantic Avenue restaurant, Boutros will sell Lebanese-style pork shawarma tacos and bulgur fried rice (Williamsburg only)
Bread & Monkey — Jack Greenleaf, a 14-year-old high school freshman, brings a banana bread stand to the market in plain and chocolate chip flavors. He’s also working on a grilled french toast version (Williamsburg only)
Btarts — Canada’s favorite dessert, the butter tart, flies south
Dashi Fried Chicken – Korean fried chicken fried to order and served with housemade dipping sauces
Frico Italia — A traditional Italian “pie” made with potatoes and three Italian cheeses, pan fried for a crispy crust and a creamy interior
Himalayan Horizon — Nepal native Kunsang Lama teams up with longtime Smorg vendor Momo’s Dressing to serve the Himalayas’ beloved street food known as shabaley: circular fried dough pockets filled with buffalo, beef or potatoes (Williamsburg only)
King St. Kitchen — Baked goods from a former pastry chef at Eleven Madison Park like a peanut butter + chocolate fudge brownie, golden oat cookies and a gluten-free olive oil + citrus bundt
Lobsterdamus — Direct from Smorgasburg Los Angeles, Lobsterdamus mesquite grills whole lobsters, topping them with garlic butter, lemon and parsley and served over noodles, plus lobster truffle fries and lobster nachos
PopdUp — Also from Smorg LA, PopdUp makes cold brew teas from leaves sourced from Taiwan and steeped for 24 to 48 hours
Ya Ya Noodz — Szechuan rice noodles made from a machine imported from China, steamed and rolled with fillings like shrimp, pork and butternut squash.
Yoshimoto Fish Company — The donburi bowls at Yoshimoto come straight from a fish market in Kobe, Japan. Each bowl is served with sushi rice and an assortment of seasonal imported fish like fatty tuna, salmon, herring roe, sea urchin, red snapper, squid, octopus and more (Williamsburg only)
