When the information about the Super (Duper) Market being put on by Paper Magazine this weekend in Chelsea Market (in the space that was formerly Frank’s Restaurant) came up on my Twitter feed on Wednesday, I knew that I was going to carve out time to drop by to visit this pop-up venue. Just look at this list of participating local (as well as a handful West Coast) food vendors. Yesterday, I was able to get a preview of this well-curated, diverse collection of culinary and artistic folks.
Anarchy in A Jar with Magpies Bakeshop tarts
If you peer into my fridge, you’ll find at least one if not several flavors of Anarchy in A Jar‘s fantastic fruit spreads on the shelves. The Blackberry Lavender, which was on the display table yesterday, is a seasonal favorite of mine, bursting with plump, ripe berries bathed in a light, floral perfume. If you’d like to consume something sweet on the spot, pick up one of Magpies Bakery‘s tarts, filled with these spreads.
Highlighting some of the wonderful work that they do and the crops that they bring to life working on their rooftop plot, the folks at Brooklyn Grange had some of their truly local honey available at this market.
Casey of The Brooklyn Salsa Company
I’ve been a big fan of The Brooklyn Salsa Company and their creative, flavorful products. These are wonderful as stand-alone dips, but I enjoy them more as a base from which to make tasty dishes. Their brand new Mole is no exception. Popping the jar open and inhaling the complex aromas, I dipped my finger into it to see what incredible combination these guys had developed. My tongue picked up a touch of heat, a mild sweetness, ribbons of smoke, layers of velvety cacao, and sharp coffee notes. They use chocolate from NuNu and coffee from Brooklyn Roasting Company.
To keep you hydrated during your walk-around of all the vendor tables, why not pick up one of Brooklyn Soda Works‘ refreshing beverages. The Apple-Ginger is crisp and cool and is a reminder that fall will soon be around. My eye was also on the Sour Cherry & Thai Basil, for a more seasonal pairing.
The list of menu selections that Brucie posted for this market made me very sad that they were already closed by the time I got to their table. This means I need to add their restaurant (which I see has some rave reviews) on my to-try list for the next time I’m in their part of Brooklyn.
My stand-by macaroon when I drop by to see Danny Macaroons is his unparalleled Sea Salt Caramel one; however, I also enjoy seeing what new thing he’s come up with each time I see him at the market. You can see his intense Brooklyn Brewery’s Black Chocolate Stout concoction and his ooey-gooey S’mores macaroon on the table yesterday.
When I first saw Empire Mayonnaise at one of the local food markets, I wasn’t quite sure about it. I’m not particularly a mayonnaise lover, actually, I really don’t like it at all, so I just have not been able to get the appeal of multiple, flavored versions of this condiment. Still, as a supporter of local food entrepreneurs, I have to applaud them as they have made the jump from market stall to brick-and-mortar location.
Allison Kave of First Prize Pies
What is there not to like about pie, really? Allison Kave’s pies in particular are indulgent, worthy sweet treats. I first had her S’mores Pie at Pie Party Live last year. There was barely a crumb of it left by the end of the gathering. Yesterday, I convinced a fellow attendee to taste a sample of it. “Oh, boy, we’re in trouble now!” he said. “Uh huh,” I agreed. She’s selling pies by the slice as well at this event. Try her Strawberry-Basil one, too, which brings together Italian sweet-tart influences (balsamic vinegar, lemon) with this fleeting summer fruit.
Gefilte fish is one of those food items that entered my vocabulary only when I moved up here and would see it as grey-ish blobs swimming in some liquid or other behind a deli case. The folks at Gefilteria have been determined to rescue it from that watery fate. Sourcing sustainable fish (salmon, pike), they make loaves of gefilte fish and then dress it up with delicious, flavorful condiments of their own making like Russell Beets and Horseradish with Spicy Carrots. I would just buy a jar of the latter to dress up any dull dish in my house, with its sweetness and nasal-tingling freshness.
Also, be sure to check out their Black & White Cookie Sticks, which solve the age-old dilemma of how to get a bit of the white topping with the black one in each bite. You will also really want to savor the cookie part, too, with its delicate crumb.
When you duck inside the market this weekend to escape the heat, you should stop by this table to pick up an Imperial Woodpecker Sno-Ball. Just looking at the list of flavors makes me want to head over there and pick up one for some sweet relief from this humidity.
Jessica and Sabrina of The Jam Stand
Yesterday, I sampled a new flavor from the ladies behind The Jam Stand, makers of fantastic-tasting fruit spreads. Tea-rrific Strawberry, features sweet, ripe local berries and dark, enchanting Pu-erh tea from China. This combination pulls out another dimension to the strawberries’ personality, making each bite rich and luscious with a hint of smoke and exotic lands. There’s definitely room on my refrigerator shelves for this jam.
Last year, at the New Amsterdam Market’s Ice Cream Sunday, I had my first bite of KingLeche Creams. I’m always interested to see how local food vendors grow and develop with their products, so I was eager to see what the owner would be bringing to this market. He wasn’t there yesterday so I’ll need to wait until the next time we cross paths to see what new flavors he’s created.
Kings County Jerky‘s grass-fed jerky is galaxies away from those plastic-wrapped tubes of stuff that you might have bought as a kid. This tastes like well-crafted, lovingly-seasoned strips of steak, without needing a knife and fork to eat it. Pack some up for a picnic, bring it along for a road trip, or even keep a stash in your desk for those mid-afternoon blues.
Fany Gerson of La Newyorkina
For a light, refreshing, burst of flavor, stop by La Newyorkina‘s stand at the market. Fany has whipped up mini versions of her incredibly popular Mexican paletas (or ice pops) for this event. For this weekend, she’s serving up Grapefruit, Strawberry, Coconut, Mango-Chili, Hibiscus, Pineapple-Jalapeno, Cucumber-Lime, and a refreshingly-mouth-puckering Pink Limeade (in the photo above).
One of the cookbooks I’m really looking forward to this fall is the one by Jen and Liz of Liddabit Sweets. After having bought lots of bags of their popcorn, stacks of candy bars, piles of caramels, and a few lollipops for my nieces and nephews, I am interested in finding out the secrets as to how they make butter, sugar, chocolate, and other simple ingredients into their terrific-tasting treats. In the meantime, I’ll just need to stock up on their sweets.
This is the first public viewing of Mile End‘s bagels, soon to take their place on every must-eat food list in town. The exterior had a nice crust studded generously with sesame seeds while the interior was light and pillowy. There was just the right proportion of outside to inside, which will hopefully appease those who have bagel places scoop out the insides of their bagels before they are filled. They also brought along an array of toppings, including a spicy horseradish, smoked mackerel, and a delicious salt code with tobiko. This weekend, they’ll be adding lox as an option to have with these other toppings to push the taste envelope even further. I might just have to find an excuse to drop by to eat another bagel or to stock up on them to have at home.
The flavored syrups from Morris Kitchen are rich and intense, lending themselves very well to cocktails, sodas, and just as drizzles over desserts. Their Ginger one is probably still my favorite of their products. They do some amazing seasonal flavors as well, including their Boiled Apple Cider Syrup, which appears in the fall.
If you look in my freezer, you’ll usually find a bag of the small rye bread rounds from this producer. These nutty, hearty breads are the perfect platform for sliced meats, butter and jam (see above at Anarchy in a Jar), or any other food items you might want to use to make a sandwich or snacktime nibble.
Fashion designer Norma Kamali also produces a line of olive oils that are available to try and to purchase at this market. The aesthetics of the packaging with the gorgeous, robust color of the oils (Provence, Tuscany, and La Mancha in that order in the photo) is reason enough to want to pick some of this up for your kitchen, but the real pleasure lies in tasting these oils. The light Italian one is perfect as an every day oil while the dark, peppery Spanish variety would be an amazing last touch to a dish. I picked up a sample of the French oil with its grassy, sunny notes to try out on some summer salads.
The golden cookies at the bottom of this photo hide their seductive, dark kick. Created using two different types of Stumptown Coffee plus burnt sugar pieces, this is a cookie that makes you say, “wow,” as one of the S’more Bakery folks did when he tried it. The top cookie is a Black Caraway, Dark Chocolate, Smoked Sea Salt one, which I need to make sure to track down again at their retail location.
The brother-sister duo behind Pipcorn are bringing a new breed of small-kerneled popcorn to our snack tables. With flavors like White Truffle, Kettle, Sea Salt, Crabby, and Rosemary, this treat becomes sophisticated enough to put out at your summertime cocktail party, too.
It was interesting to see a few local eateries that are also forging new pathways in New York’s culinary landscape represented at this event. I haven’t yet made it to Red Rooster in Harlem, but it is another place on my list of restaurants to try.
I’m not sure that you can ever be too old to enjoy that sensation of biting into a crisp graham cracker, through a slightly melted bar of chocolate and into an oozing, gooey marshmallow. S’more Bakery has captured this summer camp and sleepover weekend treat in a variety of flavor combinations.
Summertime at the beach always meant bringing back home a bucket of chewy, sweet, multi-hued salt water taffy. My mom even used to make the real thing from time to time, having us kids stretch out the sugar until it was in smooth ribbons. Salty Road has recreated these treats, cutting out those artificial colors and flavors. Chomping down on a piece brings back all those summer memories, with a kick of salt on the palate that might make you think you are by the ocean once again.
Unfortunately, I made it to this table after it had already shut up shop for the day. That gives me an incentive to track these folks down at one of the markets where they have built up an avid fan base for their cold sesame noodles.
If you can pickle it, they probably have done so at Sour Puss Pickles, with jars of carrots, cauliflower, garlic scapes, and, of course cucumbers on display at their table. I was told, too, that they are also going to be offering Shrubs (vinegar-based drinks) for this market.
When I first saw these bottles of flavored soy milk from Soy Hound, I thought that this was really innovative. These are perfect to have on hand as a quick refreshment and are easily portable, unlike bulky cartons. With several flavors to choose from like Thai Tea, Green Tea, Ginger, and Vanilla these are delicious as a beverage on their own or to blend into other drinks.
Could Ethiopian food finally be taking hold in New York City? Will Injera become the new cupcake? The answer to that last question is “probably not,” but I would really like to see a positive answer to the first query, as I said to Hiyaw Gebreyohannes, owner of Taste of Ethiopia. For years, I’ve opined (and been supported by many) that Washington, DC has better examples of this cuisine than we do here. It would be nice to see that change, especially with how healthy and flavorful these dishes are.
Another great maker of confectionery, Whimsy & Spice was also at this market, with packages of cookies, marshmallows, and biscotti for sale. These are really nice to have on hand to enjoy with an afternoon cup of tea or to serve to guests as a light dessert after a delicious meal.
Tables at Super (Duper) Market
The Super (Duper) Market is open for a couple of more days until it disappears forever. This is a wonderful selection of food vendors from New York and the West Coast along with a smattering of craft folks thrown in as well. Many of these people also sell at local markets around the city on other weekends, too, so if you can’t support them at this event, there will be other opportunities to check out their products while the outdoor markets are still in season.
Buon appetito!
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