Food redeems flea in Brooklyn
I was looking down the barrel of yet another totally blown afternoon at a second-hand in Brooklyn, this time at the Brooklyn Flea. Apparently hipsters in this borough are made not born, because their rejects certainly aren’t worth the elbow deep rummaging in BO and stale cigarette smoke. I will reserve my thrifty shopping to up-or-out of state.
Granted, flea markets these days are mostly for sport. The sea of junk serves to increase the worth of the one find in the entire lot. Hopefully you’re schooled in the worth of yesteryear’s trinkets so when you do find it bartering works in your favor. I seem to forget every five or so years that flea markets in New York are disappointing and revisit one. This time for some antique presentation plates. No dice. I did, however, find myself a fancy little swatch of plaid fabric for $15 to fashion over leggings when it’s cold out. Score.
To my further disappointment the Brooklyn flea was in the class of interspersing antiques with new products tailoring to the same audience. These items are usually gimmicky jewelry, poorly fashioned clothing, and stand after stand of almost-interesting-enough-to-wear t-shirts.
Just as the mood was turning from mellow to sour we headed toward the back of the lot and landed upon the highly coveted Red Hook quesadilla with a line to prove its worth. Walking passed the food stands was reinvigorating, and dissipated some of my anger towards flea markets. Leaving the quesadillas to the fiends, we headed next “door” to the bakery and snagged a delectable savory scone [objects in photo are larger than they appear].
Down the middle aisle we sampled raw cacao, bits of pickle, and some fresh goat cheese. All from Brooklyn-based companies, and all with owners present toting their wares. SERIOUS SCORE. Food in Brooklyn is above and beyond, no doubt. Brooklyn-based companies have a sense of pride never found on the island, and along with it a standard for quality that can only come with homegrown, smaller shops. You will find these hidden gems in Manhattan for sure, but in Brooklyn it goes without saying, as it should.
Bob McClure of McClure’s Pickles was there giving a little taste of the garlic and dill. This family-owned business is based out of Detroit but has a station in Brooklyn, which Bob runs. IMO, McClure is the best pickle in New York City. Yes, I said it. Watch out Gus. Watch out Jewish delis all over. McClure rules. Their pickles are fresh, they have an excellent spice blend, and a homemade recipe (yea grandma McClure!) but with Brooklyn’s passion, quality, and inventive style. And Detroit’s… well, home of the family, of course! [So sorries, I ate the pickles before I could photograph them.] You can, however, purchase them at Murray’s. Bob hinted at a whole grain mustard to come. Oooooo cheese and McClure. Match made in heaven.
Daniel Sklaar’s Fine & Raw chocolate was, you guess, fine and raw. The cacao beans had an incredibly rich and smooth flavor with none of the bitterness I find commonly with raw chocolate. As a raw product, the chocolate can not be heated above 118, but since chocolate’s finishing can happen at 110, Daniel is still able to give it a smooth finale. Daniel buys from growers down in South America, but he processes the beans himself. The goal here is to preserve the phytonutrients and antioxidants in chocolate that would otherwise be “killed off” when the beans are roasted. The chocolate is also free of all additives, including sugar. Kudos for producing and marketing chocolate with a healthy slant.
The winner for best packaging at the flea were the Mast Brothers. Their chocolate is wrapped first in gold foil and finished with a unique craft paper from Italy. The Mast brothers like their paper so much that Michael even admitted dreaming up new bars to cover them in a new pattern. I especially enjoyed their obsession with combining Fleur de Sel and chocolate (I have one of my own). Their 80% is the darkest bar I’ve found to include salt. Chocolate bars with salt tend to walk off the shelf and straight into my mouth. No joke. This one did just that.
These sandwiches were about as fresh as they come.
Don’t you just want to sit on this bike and cruise around the block?
An interesting “display” for a flower shop.
While I am not a fan of recommending a single aspect of a larger experience, when it comes to food I am willing to allow it. The flea is open until Dec 21st. If you live in New York, take advantage of some of the last days of good weather and go meet some of Brooklyn’s best kept foodies. It’s worth the $2 subway ride. I promise not to laugh at you if you stand in the quesadilla line.
I was just at the Brooklyn Flea and had almost the exact same thoughts. Whatever to the junk, give me some pickles! In fact, I’m re-using my McClure’s pickle juice to make a new batch right now. I packed the jar (sans pickles, those were gone in a day) in my luggage and brought it back to San Francisco even.
April 9th, 2009 at 3:47 pmDid you try the Fine + Raw bar made with lucuma?