July » 2011 » Markets of New York

Weekend Market Picks – July 30-31, 2011 and Brewla Bars Video

We have a new video blog! Watch this interview with Rebecca from Brewla Bars. Brewla Bars are frozen pops made from brewed beverages, like coffee and tea. They have a frozen root beer float bar that I can’t get enough of. You can find them at the Fulton Stall Market every Sunday. And please support their awesome Kickstarter Crowdfunding Project!

For my Market Picks this weekend, I’m thinking about Lower Manhattan. There are some wonderful, established markets that stay enticing and exciting by keeping outstanding sellers and bringing in new ones all the time. An afternoon stroll through all of these markets takes you through Soho, Nolita, the Lower East Side and points in between.

Saturday and Sunday

Ahkun Summer Pop Up Shop: Ahkun is a non-profit organization that connects micro-financed companies to the global marketplace. They are holding a pop-up shop at the Lower East Side Girls Club. Shop for “style with a conscience,” featuring fair trade organizations, independent designers, sustainable brands, and gourmet popsicles!

St. Anthony’s Market: I love strolling through this market on Houston Street because there are always so many interesting vendors there. Plus, it’s wide open, right on the sidewalk, and easy to get to. I bet you’ve walked by it a million times. So this weekend stop, chat and stop!

Nolita Market: The Nolita Market is on Prince Street between Mulberry and Spring Streets. This is another sidewalk market, set against the beautiful backdrop of the brick church wall at the Old St. Patrick’s Cathedral. It’s a nice walk from St. Anthony’s so make sure you hit both!

The Market NYC – Young Designers Market: This is a market you have to visit on a regular – and frequent - basis because there is so much design talent in jewelry, fashion, and accessories. They have two locations every weekend now, the original at 268 Mulberry, just around the corner from the Nolita Market, and the other at 328 14th St. in the Meatpacking District.

Essex Street Market: This indoor market is a haven for foodie explorers. There’s a lot to discover, from the cheeses, the breads, and the fresh fish, to the international foods, the handmade chocolates, and the Italian gourmet food shop. It’s also the home to La Tiendita, the city’s only “girl made and fair trade” social venture business, founded in 1998 by the Lower East Side Girls Club. So visit their facilities for the Ahkun Market, and then stroll over visit their shop, La Tiendita, at the Essex Street Market for some delicious baked goods!

Have a great mid-summer weekend! And don’t forget to tell us about your own Market Haul!

Guest Blogger: Photographer Ed Lefkowicz with Teen Battle Chefs at the Dekalb Market

I am thrilled to welcome Guest Blogger Ed Lefkowicz. Ed is a friend and colleague of mine who is as passionate about all the amazing things happening in New York City as I am. He is a professional photographer specializing in advertising, editorial and publicity shoots. See the portfolio of Ed’s images on his website, www.Lefkowicz.com, and contact him at Ed@Lefkowicz.com for all your photography needs.

Teen Battle Chefs at DeKalb Market

While not exactly obsessed with food, I have been attentive to it since childhood—at least 3 times a day, sometimes more often—so when I saw two teenagers preparing and serving fresh garden produce on the opening day of the new DeKalb Market in downtown Brooklyn on Saturday I had to learn more.

Chima Agwa, from Belmont Preparatory High, and Debbie Avila, a recent grad of Humanities Preparatory Academy, are part of Teen Battle Chefs, a program of Family Cook Productions. Family Cook’s mission is to educate families about nutrition by bringing them together over freshly prepared meals, and to positively affect their health and well-being. Teen Battle Chef brings teens together, teaches them basic culinary and nutritional skills, and then lets them compete as teams to produce meals.

Chima and Debbie were prepping Herbed Summer Squash with Ricotta, the squash and herbs having been grown in the DeKalb Market garden. Erika Brenner, Farm Coordinator for the garden, said that the Brooklyn Grange offers support, seedlings and the like, and that participants from the Teen Battle Chef program help as well. There were two demos, at noon and again at two, and Chima and Debbie simultaneously prepped, explained, and fielded questions. The squash—one of the ball varieties of zucchini—with herbs and ricotta was fresh and delicious, and the chefs were knowledgeable and energetic.

Stop by, taste the samples, and give these young chefs some support. And if you want to get Teen Battle Chefs involved in your event, contact Rebecca Rinehart, Youth Events Coordinator, Family Cook Productions.

Chima Agwa and Debbie avila serve herbed summer squash with ricotta at the DeKalb Market.

Erika Brenner, farm coordinator for the DeKalb Market, in the Family Cooks plot.

Chima Agwa, from Belmont Preparatory, cutting summer squash for a demo at the DeKalb Market.

The Family Cook splot in the vegetable garden at the DeKalb arket.

Photo of the Day – July 27, 2011: The Groovy Baker’s Butter Rum Caramel

Butter Rum Caramel from the Groovy Bakery (photo by James Wesolowski)

Combine caramel with Gosling’s Dark Rum, cream, whole butter, and a pinch of sea salt, and the results are a rich, transporting caramel to drizzle over ice cream or, better yet, lick right off the spoon. That’s what The Groovy Baker is all about.

Groovy’s owner, Chef Lisa, has a traditional pastry education and extensive professional experience. Her company combines her love of food, her passion for exploration, and with a discipline and technique that comes from training and experience.

I recently came across this large jar of caramel (I don’t get to write a phase like that often enough), along with beautiful cupcakes, brownies, and cookies, at the Fulton Stall Market. The Groovy Baker also makes lollipops in flavors like Watermelon Lime, Cherry Cordial, and Grapefruit Rosemary, which was featured in Real Simple Magazine’s 8 Sweet Bridal Shower Treats. Chef Lisa tirelessly sources for local and organic ingredients, as well as recyclable and biodegradable packages.

Visit with The Groovy Baker at the Fulton Stall Market, and check out her Etsy shop, which may be the happiest site on the internet.

Photo of the Day – July 26, 2011: Edward Owl Design and Ornament

Edward Owl Jewelry Designs by Holly Luttrell at the Dekalb Market

Holly Luttrell is the designer behind Edward Owl Design and Ornament. I saw her wide array of jewelry designs and styles, all handmade, and mostly one-of-a-kind this weekend at the Dekalb Market. Holly is an architect by training, and her work reflects the planning and fine construction work of a beautifully designed structure. Her grandfather was a steelworker named Edward, and her grandmother collected owl figurines – hence the name Edward Owl.

Here’s a small world. Several years ago, I was looking for a new home for my Necchi sewing machine that I never used. It’s a tank of a machine, nothing like the plastic ones you get today. I’d won it in an epic battle on eBay, and I wanted it to land in an equally enthusiastic home. Enter Holly, who showed up, recognized the power of the machine, and took it to her studio to use for creating leather jewelry and other designs. Holly and I hit it off, and we stayed in touch via LinkedIn, and more recently Facebook. So it was great to see her and her jewelry designs at the market this weekend!

Check out Edward Owl online and follow her on Facebook!

Lots of Love in New York Today

I realize this posting is a departure from the markets, but it’s something I feel strongly about. Today was the first day for gay couples to legally marry in New York State. We went to City Hall to see how things were going. I’m happy to report that there are hundreds of new, happily married couples today.

As a wise young friend of mine said to his dad, gay marriage is the civil rights battle of our generation. And so to me, today represents a legal and human victory. To show my support for marriage equality, I am posting some of the photos I took today of people I don’t know, but who graciously allowed me to share in their happy day.

And if you’re thinking of getting married, gay or straight, call me. I can help you find the most amazing handmade and custom everything for your special day, from rings to invitations, and even fantastic wedding dresses, not to mention an extremely talented handmade/artisanal planner and one of the hottest, most innovative floral and event designers in the Northeast.

Congratulations to all who tied the knot today! I wish you many more years of happiness together!

Weekend Market Picks – July 23-24, 2011!

The image above is by Naima Rauam, a fine artist known for her images of the old Fulton Fish Market. She keeps this institution alive through her watercolors. You can meet the artist in person every Sunday at the Fulton Stall Market.

Here are this weekend’s Market Picks!

Saturday and Sunday, July 23 and 24

Dekalb Market: This weekend marks the Grand Opening of the new Dekalb Market in Downtown Brooklyn! This market combines artisans, food entrepreneurs, and agriculture, along with music and educational events. It is made from upcycled shipping containers, and I cannot wait to see how it turned out!

Better Than Jam Pop Up on Governor’s Island: Bushwick’s Better Than Jam Coop is running this year’s Etsy artisans coop on Governor’s Island! Take the free ferry to the island, where you’ll find many of the local market artisans’ work in this historical home-turned-handmade-boutique.

Saturday, July 23

Abingdon Square Greenmarket: This farmers market feels neighborly and intimate as it wraps around the lovely park in the West Village. In fact, it actually has 16 farmers and food vendors during the peak season now! Go and enjoy this sweet market for yourself while it’s bursting with the ripest fruits of the season!

Sunday, July 24

Fulton Stall Market: The Fulton Stall Market is just such a great place to hang out in the shade, grab a snack, and have a snack and a chat. The vibe is laid back, and there’s a great variety of things to choose from, including produce, meats, and other staples, as well as frozen pops, coffee, and handmade crafts. They’re right across the street from the New Amsterdam Market, and it’s easy and lovely to stroll through both!

Greenflea: The Greenflea is great on a weekend like this one because there is a lot of shade among the vendor tents, and there are also vendors selling inside the school. So don’t let the heat deter you from visiting one of the best vintage and flea markets in town.

I think we all agree that it’s hot in New York City. So let’s move along and talk about what we’re going to do this weekend, shall we? For starters, we’re putting a bottle of water in the freezer tonight so that it will be frozen for tomorrow. We’ll pull it out in the morning, slather on the sun block, bust out our floppy sun hats, and heading to the markets!

Dekalb Market- Good Things Are Happening in Downtown Brooklyn

I reported on the new Dekalb Market back in March, and I am thrilled to spread the word that the market is opening this Saturday, July 23rd, 2011! I have posted their press release below. Can’t wait to see how it all came together!

DEKALB MARKET—A HUB FOR ARTISANS, EATERIES AND CREATIVE START-UPS

Brooklyn, NY (July, 2011)—Urban Space is excited to announce that Dekalb Market, a new sustainable hub for retail and community, is scheduled to open on Fulton Mall in Downtown Brooklyn on Saturday, July 23.

A collection of shops, an educational farm, an Internet radio station, and food vendors, the market will provide fun and entertainment for people of all ages. A portion of the market’s vendors will be housed in retrofitted shipping containers, alongside an incubator urban farm. Dekalb Market will be located at the intersection of Flatbush and Willoughby in Downtown Brooklyn, close to Fort Greene, DUMBO, Long Island University, Metrotech, the downtown business district and Fulton Street.

“We’re creating a central location in Brooklyn for commerce, art and design, as well as a functioning green space for people in the neighborhood to enjoy,” says Eldon Scott, President of Urban Space.

Urban Space aims to support the growth of Brooklyn’s best creative entrepreneurs by offering them an affordable retail alternative to a traditional storefront—all in a unique and dynamic marketplace setting.

What you’ll find at Dekalb Market:

Dekalb Farm – An educational resource for the public and the urban agricultural community, Dekalb Farm will be a small urban farm operated by local farmers and education partners, including Family Cooks Productions, 3rd Ward, New York City College of Technology, The Brooklyn Grange, Newton Farm Cooperative, Malcolm X Grassroots Movement, and Atom’s Eco. The farm’s produce will be incorporated into on-site cooking demos, food vendors’ recipes, a local university’s culinary arts program and into a community “food security” distribution plan.

BBOX Radio – A community Internet radio station that will be broadcasting live, online and on-site from their container at the Dekalb Market. Radio show submissions are currently being accepted. Visit www.bboxradio.com for more information.

Food – Some of Brooklyn’s best and newest small food purveyors are setting up shop at Dekalb Market. Vendors include Cheeky’s, Cuzin’s Duzin, Joe the Art of Coffee, Maharlika, Mazie’s Bites, Nile Valley Juice & Sandwiches, Pasticcio, Robicelli’s, Sour Puss Pickles, and Tea by Tiffany.

Shops – Unique, popular, locally-owned designers and purveyors, including B66, Brooklyn Rock, Daga Antiques, Hank & JoJo, Harriet’s by Hekima, Honeysuckle & Hearts, kudu-lah, Little Poco, Pratt Design Incubator and Yakblak Specs & Sunnies.

Weekend Market – A unique mix of makers, artisans and producers will also set up at the Dekalb Market’s weekend market, in custom-made market stalls, which will be open on Saturdays and Sundays.

Events – A variety of events featuring local entertainment and community programs will appear throughout the week.

For more information, visit www.dekalbmarket.com.

Photo of the Day – July 19, 2011: Chocolate Pudding Pie from Pie Corps

I know, right?! This chocolate pudding pie from the wonderful bakers at Pie Corps at the New Amsterdam Market was absolutely amazing. It is a free-standing deep pie, filled with rich chocolate pudding, and topped off with a cross-hatch of rosemary caramel on top. It’s about 5 1/2 inches across, which should satisfy at least 2 people, or 1 chocoholic.

Pie Corps creates a wonderful variety of sweet and savory pies in different forms. The hand pies are rectangular and easy to eat without a fork or plate. Pie Corps also make something called a Jar Pie, which is a pie in a jar, for pie on the go I presume. Their savory pies cover the spectrum from Caramelized Onion Goat Cheese and Olive Gallette and Slow-Cooked Pork Carnitas, to Macaroni & Three Cheese Pie with Onion Rings (!). The sweet selection includes S’Mores Pie, Apricot Custard with Basil, Cafe au Lait Pie, and more. Imagine the delicious meal you can have with nothing but pies from Pie Corps.

Pie Corps uses regional ingredients, including flour from New York State, butter from Vermont, and fruits, veggies, dairy and meats from farms throughout New York, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. So you know where your pies are coming from. And you definitely know where they’re going – straight down the pie hole!

You can find these sweet and savory treats at the New Amsterdam Market every Sunday, and Pie Corps also offers catering and wholesale services. So come try them for yourselves at New Amsterdam! Your mouth will thank you, and your diet will just have to get over it.

My Market Haul – And Then Some!

Have you heard of “haul videos”? Usually they are videos created by girls showing us their “haul,” or everything they bought at the mall that weekend. Well, I get just as excited about the things I find at the artisan, farmer, food and flea markets in New York City!

So here is a photo of My Market Haul for this past weekend. It doesn’t include all the delicious things I tasted or gobbled up, but I thought it made a pretty collage. I made it to the markets closest to home on Sunday, namely the Fulton Stall Market and the New Amsterdam Market. Items in this photo are the following market items:

Peaches, Tomatoes and a Maitake Mushroom, Do Re Mi Farms – Perfect!
Balsamic Vinaigrette Basico, SchoolHouse Kitchen – Tangy and tasty!
Cream Soda Syrup, P&H Soda Co. – As a gift for someone very lucky special.
Moses Sleeper Cheese, The Cellars at Jasper Hill – It’s creamy and delicious.
The Queens Guard and Ceylon Teas, Bellocq Tea Atelier – Both blends are remarkable, especially iced.
Eiffel Tower Ring, UrbanRose – I got three of these for my Francophile friends to ensure we all end up in Paris together very soon.

I will be featuring the other amazing things I ate at these markets during the week. What treasures did you find?

Weekend Market Picks for July 16-17, 2011

I am thrilled to feature the wonderful array of products from SchoolHouse Kitchen! I first tried their jams, chutneys, mustards and vinaigrettes at the New Amsterdam Market, and I cannot get over the flavors and the combinations they use. My current favorite is Cherry Blackberry Sage & Clove Spreadable Fruit, which is equally delicious on toast as it is as a marinade for chicken. They just brought out two new vinaigrettes that got rave reviews at the Fancy Food Show in DC last weekend: Poppyseed Vinaigrette Revival and the Coconut Citrus Vinaigrette. Yes, you read it right! They give a percentage of their proceeds to education charities, and all the products are made with high quality, natural ingredients. I have taken their motto to heart: Eat well, eat in moderation, and be adventurous.

And now for this weekend’s Market Picks for everyone who is staying in town this weekend of visiting New York City from far and wide:

Saturday & Sunday

Antiques Garage and the Annex: These two markets are located across 6th Avenue from each other, and it’s worth it to stroll through both locations. The Garage has two floors of diverse vintage and antique items, from books and prints to clothing and ship memborabilia, and everything in between. You know you love digging for treasures, and you should spend some time at the Annex – clothing, jewelry, records, and vintage everything. Manhattan

Essex Street Market: If you haven’t gone shopping at the Essex Street Market, go this weekend. And bring a tote bag! This market opened in 1940 when Mayor LaGuardia got all the street vendors off the street and into new market buildings. Today, you can find cheese, fish, meats, coffee, pastries, bread, handmade chocolates, and much more! Manhattan

Park Slope Flea Market: Have you been walking past this market for years, take the time to go inside and see all the wonderful things there. The Park Slope Flea is a classic flea market, with vintage clothing, homewares, furniture, and even artwork and sweet bonsai trees. Brooklyn

Saturday

Grand Army Plaza Greenmarket: The Grand Army Plaza Market is the largest one in Brooklyn, akin to the Union Square Greenmarket in size and variety of foods sold. But it’s a lot more laid back, with families, joggers from the park, and people strolling with their dogs, all browsing through the produce, bread, fish, and more. GrowNYC has textile recycling and compost collection every weekend too! It’s also a short walk from the Park Slope Flea! Brooklyn

Sunday

Greenflea: The Greenflea is back on the Picks List because it’s just so great. There are some amazing vendors there, including vintage, fleas, jewelry of all kinds, delicious market food, furniture, and this guy (Scott Jordan). Wander around the outdoor market, and then visit the vintage vendors inside the school cafeteria. Manhattan

It’s going to be a wonderful weekend, so head out to the markets and let us know what you bought and what you ate! And don’t forget to pick up something delicious from SchoolHouse Kitchen on Saturday at Smorgasburg and Sunday at the New Amsterdam Market!