Markets to Miss Liberty
Day four - Saturday morning. In Williamsburg, Saturday means market mayhem! Conveniently, the mother of all markets: 'Smorgasburg', was located just below our balcony. So we watched the bustling stallholders set up their hive from the comfort of our hammock…
As soon as it looked like most stalls were standing, we hopped across the road to discover what smorgasbord of delicacies Williamsburg had to offer! Back in NZ I lived five minutes away from the very popular 'Matakana Farmers Market' while N generally spent her weekend mornings at the French market 'La Cigale' back in the city. Hence we are well-versed at market etiquette. It is crucial that one doesn't buy the next best thing! First, one must do a thorough scout of the vicinity…
Hmmm yes that's worth stopping and staring at…but resist temptation to buy for the moment!
'Dough'…that's the amazing doughnut producer that was recommended to us by our Brazilian hosts! Apparently these typically sell out, but one really shouldn't start with dessert…
After we'd done our scout, we went for round two: the selection. I had read about these amazing tacos on another blog, and could think of nothing better to start the day with than a pair of juicy, fresh tacos! Get in my belly! One was with fish ceviche and the other with potato.
This was the eating process…
The tacos were a great little starter to wake up the tastebuds, now I was ready for my main. During the "scout round" we had discovered a stall proclaiming to sell the "only fresh Tempeh in New York". Quite frankly I didn't know what Tempeh was, but with a taste-test I discovered it was surprisingly delicious. Barry's Tempeh offers Tempeh burgers and salads. I still had my eye on dessert so figured a salad might be the better choice. We plonked ourselves on the grass, ready to tuck in.
It certainly looked good!
Well apparently Barry must've been feeling the spring-love since the Tempeh was ridiculously over salted. I'm a salty-person, but each chunk of Tempeh essentially had a salt-crust! It was so disappointing since the taster had been so good! Ah well at least I got a good dose of greens.
And I still had my salted caramel, chocolate doughnut to look forward to! Thankfully this didn't taste salted at all (or maybe I just couldn't tell anymore?!), it was just the perfect doughnutty consistency. Most of the chocolate ended up on my face, naturally. Fortunately no photographic evidence remains of this.
We sat for a while longer and took in the flurry of people filling up the market. But not just people - fairy princesses too! :)
Before it got too chaotic…
...we moved onto the next market, just around the corner: 'Artists & Fleas'.
I had fallen in love with this print in "our" apartment:
Thankfully our hosts had bought it at the Artists & Fleas, so I too could nab myself a couple! One features the silhouette of a woman crossing a SoHo street, the other is of the Brooklyn Bridge and Chrysler Building. The best thing about this souvenir? The prints are on NYC cycle maps, so you don't have to worry about crinkling them because they just fold up!
I loved examining all the knick-knacks strewn from floor to ceiling! But we still had a lot more of NYC to see, including paying a visit to Miss Liberty!
The best part about the visit? It's free! Well that's if you're not fussed about not wandering around at her feet, and happy to appreciate her from a distance. Then all you gotta do is jump on the Staten Island ferry.
At the same moment…we got on the ferry, we realised we had got on the wrong side! Oops. In case you actually want to see Miss Liberty, get on the right side of the ferry!
As soon as we'd reached Staten Island, we jumped right on the next ferry going back to Manhattan. The sun decided to leave just as abruptly and once again we were totally underdressed!
So we headed home for a refresh and a couple more layers before setting out into a brooding dusk.
We marched to dinner as raindrops began to pitter-patter. Our destination: 'Five Leaves'. This cafe/bar/restaurant was Heath Ledger's brainchild before his passing. Here's the full story, in a nutshell: Williamsburg was his fave hangout, and so him and two mates decided to set up this eatery featuring American-Australian cuisine. I had spotted truffle fries on the menu, which was basically the reason we had to go there!
The narrow, triangular space was packed, but we braved a table for two outside below the awning which was perfectly adequate.
N started with the House Made Ricotta - with figs, fresh thyme, honeycomb, maldon sea salt & served with fruit-nut bread.
While I opted for the perfectly charred, Seared Octopus - w/ grilled fennel-pine nut relish, fava beans & vin cotto. Delish!
For mains, N continued with the Quinoa & Crunchy Veggie Salad - w/ nashi pear, preserved lemon & shaved sheep’s cheese…
…and I went for the seafood extravaganza: Steamed Mussels - w/ saffron-coconut sauce, chilies, scallions & grilled sourdough accompanied by the truffle fries! Okay, I admit that is not an ideal combo - mussels and fries - but I had to try them. And while we're being honest, they were amazing, but my eyes also may have been a bit to greedy for my stomach…
Although I did polish off almost everything! Since it was a Saturday night, we still missioned out on the town, but apparently mixing alcohol and eating piles of seafood does not become me, as the following morning my face was already slightly swollen, from what would break out into a full blown allergic reaction on our final night.
But more about that experience next time!
Yours truly,
Fräulein SoulFood x
As soon as it looked like most stalls were standing, we hopped across the road to discover what smorgasbord of delicacies Williamsburg had to offer! Back in NZ I lived five minutes away from the very popular 'Matakana Farmers Market' while N generally spent her weekend mornings at the French market 'La Cigale' back in the city. Hence we are well-versed at market etiquette. It is crucial that one doesn't buy the next best thing! First, one must do a thorough scout of the vicinity…
Hmmm yes that's worth stopping and staring at…but resist temptation to buy for the moment!
'Dough'…that's the amazing doughnut producer that was recommended to us by our Brazilian hosts! Apparently these typically sell out, but one really shouldn't start with dessert…
After we'd done our scout, we went for round two: the selection. I had read about these amazing tacos on another blog, and could think of nothing better to start the day with than a pair of juicy, fresh tacos! Get in my belly! One was with fish ceviche and the other with potato.
This was the eating process…
 |
| Mhhhh…The exact moment of soulfood-appreciation. |
It certainly looked good!
Well apparently Barry must've been feeling the spring-love since the Tempeh was ridiculously over salted. I'm a salty-person, but each chunk of Tempeh essentially had a salt-crust! It was so disappointing since the taster had been so good! Ah well at least I got a good dose of greens.
And I still had my salted caramel, chocolate doughnut to look forward to! Thankfully this didn't taste salted at all (or maybe I just couldn't tell anymore?!), it was just the perfect doughnutty consistency. Most of the chocolate ended up on my face, naturally. Fortunately no photographic evidence remains of this.
 |
| …nomnomnom. |
Before it got too chaotic…
 |
| Apparently something was worth queuing for! |
 |
| Packed to the brim. |
...we moved onto the next market, just around the corner: 'Artists & Fleas'.
I had fallen in love with this print in "our" apartment:
 |
| The kitchen bench is just a reflection! ;) |
 |
| That's the print guy! |
I loved examining all the knick-knacks strewn from floor to ceiling! But we still had a lot more of NYC to see, including paying a visit to Miss Liberty!
The best part about the visit? It's free! Well that's if you're not fussed about not wandering around at her feet, and happy to appreciate her from a distance. Then all you gotta do is jump on the Staten Island ferry.
At the same moment…we got on the ferry, we realised we had got on the wrong side! Oops. In case you actually want to see Miss Liberty, get on the right side of the ferry!
As soon as we'd reached Staten Island, we jumped right on the next ferry going back to Manhattan. The sun decided to leave just as abruptly and once again we were totally underdressed!
So we headed home for a refresh and a couple more layers before setting out into a brooding dusk.
We marched to dinner as raindrops began to pitter-patter. Our destination: 'Five Leaves'. This cafe/bar/restaurant was Heath Ledger's brainchild before his passing. Here's the full story, in a nutshell: Williamsburg was his fave hangout, and so him and two mates decided to set up this eatery featuring American-Australian cuisine. I had spotted truffle fries on the menu, which was basically the reason we had to go there!
The narrow, triangular space was packed, but we braved a table for two outside below the awning which was perfectly adequate.
N started with the House Made Ricotta - with figs, fresh thyme, honeycomb, maldon sea salt & served with fruit-nut bread.
While I opted for the perfectly charred, Seared Octopus - w/ grilled fennel-pine nut relish, fava beans & vin cotto. Delish!
For mains, N continued with the Quinoa & Crunchy Veggie Salad - w/ nashi pear, preserved lemon & shaved sheep’s cheese…
…and I went for the seafood extravaganza: Steamed Mussels - w/ saffron-coconut sauce, chilies, scallions & grilled sourdough accompanied by the truffle fries! Okay, I admit that is not an ideal combo - mussels and fries - but I had to try them. And while we're being honest, they were amazing, but my eyes also may have been a bit to greedy for my stomach…
Although I did polish off almost everything! Since it was a Saturday night, we still missioned out on the town, but apparently mixing alcohol and eating piles of seafood does not become me, as the following morning my face was already slightly swollen, from what would break out into a full blown allergic reaction on our final night.
But more about that experience next time!
Yours truly,
Fräulein SoulFood x
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