Street Food: Smorgasburg Part II

Saturday morning, get out of bed and head straight to Smorgasburg, the quest to sample everything continues. It’s a hard life. 

This round begins at Bon Chovie, where the motto is “Swim Fast, Fry Young.” 

I get my order of flash fried anchovies “Jersey Style,” meaning heads on; I call these Man-Chovies. The slightly bitter fish are served with paprika aioli and accompanied by citrus pickled string beans. Taking a bite, closing your eyes and feeling the cool, somewhat briny-smelling headwinds of the East River, tastes like breakfast on the Italian Riviera. It’s an intense way to start the day.

 

Seeking some sweet relief, we head to Dough for one of their hefty donuts.

The donut is about as good as they come, definitely doughy but surprisingly light. There’s just the right amount of sugar topping, sweet but not cloying. A few toasted coconut chips add a note of sophistication to a typically modest confection (missing bite care of impatient girlfriend).  

Street Food: Smorgasburg

Hoping to eat my way through all the various offerings at the Brooklyn Flea’s Smorgasburg this summer, I’m off to a strong start with a Cheese & Chorizo Pupusa from Solber Pupusas. The “Red Hook Platter,” a Salvadoran dish involving two cheese pupusas with pickled slaw, jalapenos, and crema, served with chorizo and caramelized onions hits every note…crunchy, spicy, cold, hot, cheesy, salty, sweet.

Another day it was a Pork Cemita from Cemita’s, here’s a breakdown of the how the sandwich is constructed:

As you can see, it’s quite a well constructed sandwich; Speaking from experience, one is definitely enough to share. Also known as a Mexican Dagwood, the behemoth is literally layered with flavor, but the slow cooked, tender pork steals the show.