Smorgasburg Brooklyn Flea Food Market 2012

Crowds checking out the food tents at Smogasburg market in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

The next time you're making plans with friends to meet for brunch, here's an alternative suggestion to the usual 45-minute-wait to eat the same old eggs benedict/French toast: Smorgasburg Brooklyn, the huge, all-food-all-the-time market in Williamsburg, which launched its 2012 season last Saturday in its usual spot right by the water (and, incidentally, by the East River Ferry slip), and will continue to wow the crowds every Saturday into the fall. 

Fried anchovies Jersey style Smogasburg's Bon Chovie.

A spin-off of the deservedly popular Brooklyn Flea Market (which, by the way, also opened last weekend, in Fort Greene on Saturday and Williamsburg, same spot as Smorgasburg, on Sunday), Smorgasburg Williamsburg is just like the Brooklyn Flea in that it offers a carefully curated selection of first-rate, locally-produced goods, except that every one of the more than 50 vendors here sells food. No antique lamps. No crocheted typewriter cozies. No witty retro t-shirts. Just food. Sweet and/or savory, to bring home or eat right there, stuff-your-gut meals or snacky delights, Smorgasburg Williamsburg has whatever you and your crew are craving. 

Shoppers buying hot dogs at Meat Hook at Smorgasburg Brooklyn food fair.

Perfectly textured Macaroons drizzled with salted caramel at Danny Macaroon at Smogasburg food fair.

Seriously, just look at a tiny sampling of what was being served opening day at Smorgasburg Brooklyn: fried anchovies, "Jersey style" (head and tails still on, adding extra crunch and flavor) from the incomparable Bon Chovie; perfectly textured Macaroons (the coconut-mound kind, not the fancy French kind) drizzled with salted caramel (among half a dozen other choices) at Danny Macaroon; sweet-and-smoky barbecued ribs from the Mighty Quinn (the insanely sought-after brisket was already sold out by the time we got there); doughnuts at Dough, bangers at the Meat Hook, hand-torched s'mores (in three flavors!) at S'Mores Bakery, papusas, burgers, ice cream, popsicles…. on and on.  

Jars of citrusy horseradish for sale by Ish at Smogasburg food fair.

Making meaty sauce at Sunday Gravy Smorgasburg Brooklyn food fair.

And Smorgasburg has plenty of "grocery" booths too, almost all of which happily give out tastes of their wares. Our favorites included the citrusy horseradish at Ish, the meaty sauce at Sunday Gravy, the chocolate balsamic vinegar (really! it was delicious!) at D'Vine and Olive, and the pie crust sample at the superb First Prize Pies. So much to choose from, and many vendors rotate in and out throughout the summer, so each Saturday at Smorgasburg Brooklyn offers something different. Really, the only downside to Smorgasburg dining is the lack of picnic tables on site. There are a couple, but if you want to sit and eat, you have to go to the lot next door, or grab a bench or a bit of wall near the ferry slip. Neither option, of course, is even remotely terrible (the Manhattan skyline view is lovely, and it's usually nice and breezy), but still. 

New Yorkers enjoying food choices at Smogasburg fair in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

Smorgasburg Brooklyn Flea Food Market 2012 details 

Smorgasburg Brooklyn is located on the East River Waterfront between North 6th and North 7th Streets (just a few blocks from the Bedford Avenue L train station, or right next to East River Ferry slip), and is open every Saturday, rain or shine, from 11:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m., from now through probably mid-November. For more information and look at each coming weekend's vendor line-up, please see the Brooklyn Flea website, here.  

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