Brooklyn Flea’s Smorgasburg must’ve brought out the spring weather when they set up for the first day of the weekend food market. This past Saturday kicked off the Smorgasburg season at the new Saturday location, an empty gravel lot next to the East River State Park in Williamsburg. Due to the move, SmorgasBAR won’t be returning on Satrudays until at least June because since it’s a new location, Brooklyn Flea organizers need to reapply for a their liquor license. Annoying, right?
As New York's bigwig art dealers flock to Miami for Art Basel, it's the perfect week to avoid the snobs and discover some new culture clubs. And while the South Beach crowd might be raving about Andy Warhol's 50 year-old paintings of cats (no seriously, this one will fetch upwards of $30,000), we like to think of our tastes as more three dimensional. Especially this month: whether styrofoam, craft paper, or performance art in boiler rooms, the city's experimental set is offering more than mere sketches. Here's your monthly planner.
Hey, owner. It's me, Marcus. I know I've been dragging you into a lot of vintage clothes shops lately. And yes, I've been marking my territory on Bedford Avenue. And sure, I begged you to buy me the Sonic Youth Album. But if you take me to the Hipster Dog Pageant tonight, I swear I will never ask you for another doggy treat ever again.
The pageant, ignorant human, is the brainchild of Christopher R. Weingarten, who began a tumblr stream of hipsterized doggies in 2010. He began with photos of my friends Terrence and Lola, and eventually began creating portraits of other members of the doggie Hipster community.
"It's my family down here," said Talib Kweli, who made a surprise appearance and was seated beyond the rot-iron gate and hexagonal bar, under the vibrant stain-glassed portraits of naked women in the dark, swanky, dropped-down VIP lounge at Deity in Brooklyn on Friday September 17, where DJ Pete Rock and Q-Tip performed for I Love Chocolate, a hip-hop fueled night dedicated to high-class drinks, a lively crowd, and even more enthusiastic music.
It's no wonder why over 300 people packed into the acclaimed downtown Brooklyn venue, a central spot for neighborhoods like Bed-Stuy, DUMBO, Fort Greene, Boerum Hill, and Cobble Hill. DJ Pete Rock has been a driving force in the New York hip-hop scene since the early 1990s, with heavy collaborations with The Wu-Tang Clan, gaining acclaim with his innovative integration of jazz and funk influences into the gritty, street hip-hop of the day.
Under the Manhattan Bridge in DUMBO on a beautiful Friday evening featured Lucky Rice's Night Market, hosted by David Chang. This night market event is based on popular nighttime markets found throughout Asia - from Taipei to Kuala Lumpur - which feature various cheap street foods and shops. In its first year, they were able to secure 26 different restaurants for the Archway (where the main event was held) and eight alcoholic beverage vendors located in the Loft.
Traditional and non-traditional restaurants highlighted Asian street food in petite-sized portions. All of the vendors in the Archway provided free samples and optional foods people can purchase that ranged anywhere from $1 to $3. Some highlights of the night included: Mantao for American Airlines, who served the Spicy Pork Sandwich, Kuma Inn and Uni Nom's "Adoba and Atchara" Pork Belly, and The Setai's (South Beach, Miami) Crisp Fried Pork Belly with Kimchi and Island Creek Oyster. All of these dishes provided flavorful, fatty - but refreshing - tastes to your palette.
Over the past couple years, New York City has enjoyed and enveloped itself within the revitalization of Asian culture and cuisine. In commemoration of the Asian awakening, LUCKYRICE.com hosts a festival of Asian significance, joined by culinary superstars. An aggregate of culinary heavyweights-Daniel Boulud, Anthony Bourdain, Eric Ripert, David Cheng, Masaharu Morimoto, Jean-Georges Vongerichten, and others-preside over The Lucky Rice Festival, a weekend long celebration of Asian eats.
Hosted by Kelly Choi, the festival's kick-off event comprises an evening filled with Asian-inspired cocktails and snacks, all to benefit City Harvest and the Asian American Federation. Apothéke's Albert Trummer is the mixologist mastermind behind the evening's lip-smacking cocktails. Drinks and snacks are supplied by such watering-holes and culinary establishments as Momofuku, Daniel, Prime Meats, Apothéke, Fatty Crab, wd-50, and many well-known others.