The Brooklyn Flea Grows Up and Why Sundays are for Red Hook

Mr. Sakumensky and I went to the Brooklyn Flea when they first opened in 2008 mainly to get our Red Hook Food Vendor (RHFV) fix. As any of you who have been going to the vendors for at least the last 3 or 4 years know 2008 was the year we almost lost the vendors completely. The city made it illegal for them to set up tables inside the ball fields to sell their food and weren't planning on giving food truck licenses to them. It took the first half of the summer for any vendors to receive their licenses. While they waited for the full lineup to be granted a legal way to serve up their incredible treats the few that were made legal already headed over to the Brooklyn Flea to offer us what we had been waiting for.

I could be wrong but I'm pretty sure the few RHFV that are at the Brooklyn Flea are the ones that were there originally. A pupusa vendor (in my opinion, the best) and Fernando and Jolanda Martinez's huarache and taco stand (also a favorite). There are also delicious fresh juices that may be a part of one of the other stands but, may be on it's own. I can't quite remember. Either way I'm pretty sure Mr. Sakumensky would travel to the ends of the earth for the fresh watermelon juice.

Here's the thing, the Brooklyn Flea has a whole new food scene happening due in large part to the quickly growing food truck culture in New York City and across the country. I had heard rumors of new and exciting food things happening at the Flea and so I begged Mr. Sakumensky to go there instead of the Red Hook Ball Fields. He was unsure but, I managed to convince him and we had a more interesting day at the Flea than we expected.

We started out with the Spicy Pork Verde Tamale from Choncho's Tacos. The pork was well seasoned and the toppings of green chile salsa, pickled red cabbage, and fresh cilantro were all fantastic. My one complaint was that the masa, which is pretty much the point of a tamale, was not moist and fluffy but actually a little dry and dense. I suppose we should have had the fish tacos. That is what they are, in fact, known for.

There were plenty of other options for our next course and I have to admit we almost went back to the RHFV standards but, the sight and smell of someone else's Fun Guy pizza waiting for them at PizzaMoto changed our course. We ordered our own immediately and waited for it to be ready... luckily this is a fast pizza.

Dave Sclarow, who owns the once brick now steel oven on wheels, has also been at the Flea since it's first year. Although the oven has changed, as well as the size of the pizzas, they are just as delicious if not more so. A thin, crisp and chewy charred crust with simple and fresh toppings done Neopolitan style. After its very brief trip to the oven the pizza gets sprinkled with parmigiano and drizzled with olive oil.

We found a shady spot on the steps of the school and devoured our pizza... we only stopped chewing to say, "yum." The steps were filled with other happy eaters sampling the variety of new and high quality food offered at a more grown up Brooklyn Flea.

There was one more stop to make - dessert. I had already picked out the vendor and so Mr. Sakumensky got to choose which flavor we'd be enjoying from People's Pops. This was probably a wise call seeing as choosing between delicious things is not my strong suit. Mr. Sakumensky on the other hand had already decided to go old school but not entirely - Organic Lemon Shave Ice with a shot of mint. It was the perfect way to complete a summer meal - refreshing and so very tasty. I probably could have finished off at least three of them on my own but sharing one is so much more fun. I'll definitely be back for more.

There is one thing going to the Brooklyn Flea this year made us sure of - we'll be coming back often. Saturdays are for trying new things (and probably what are sure to become old favorites) at the Flea and Sundays are for heading to Red Hook and getting our Latin American fix.

Leaving you curious for more.
-Sakumensky