Weekends in Brooklyn are about to get a little sweeter as Smorgasburg returns to the borough with a stacked roster of 80 vendors, including long-time foodie favorites and some delectable new offerings.
The weekly food festival will be back at Martha P. Johnson State Park in Williamsburg on Saturday, April 6; and Breeze Hill in Prospect Park on Sunday, April 7; and will run every weekend between 11 a.m.-6 p.m. until October.
Fans can expect to see some familiar faces when they head to the festival this spring — some 60 vendors are returning for another delicious season, including Brooklyn locals like Dough Donuts and Noodle Lane.
But Brooklynites will also sample some new treats — 20 new vendors will be serving up snacks at Smorgasburg this year, drawing from a wide range of flavors and cultural influences.
Renee Davis, who was born and raised in Flatbush and now lives on Long Island with her family, is getting ready to set up in Prospect Park with her family-owned biz Doubles or Nothin’.
True to its name, Doubles or Nothin’ will serve doubles — a classic Trinidadian street food of curried chickpeas with fresh, pillowy flatbread and a choice of curry goat, shrimp, and more.
“Doubles is the premier street food of Trinidad and Tobago,” Davis said. “When you go there, it’s doubles or nothin’. You haven’t done anything if you haven’t gotten a double.”
Each order is dressed up with delicious toppings, like tamarind sauce or mango chutney.
Davis and her husband started their first business, Trini Bites, after they moved to Long Island and realized there was a severe lack of authentic Trinidadian food, Davis said. They decided to keep the menu limited at Smorgasburg, since doubles are so iconic and pay homage to Davis’ family and heritage.
“My family and I, we’re eaters. We go to Smorgasburg every year,” Davis said. “We always support it. I said, one day, we’re going to be here. It really was a manifestation, prayer, whatever you want to call it.”
In Williamsburg, Manhattan-born baker Meira Bennett will be slinging slices of her fresh-baked focaccia with different mix-ins and toppings, like everything bagel, za’atar, and mortadella and ricotta.
“I’ve always loved baking, I grew up Orthodox Jewish, we were always making challah for shabbos, and I was able to have the run of the kitchen,” Bennett said. “It was always my creative outlet.”
She doesn’t love sweets, so dense, adaptable focaccia was a natural fit for the baker, who started her business, Gotcha Focaccia, just about a year ago. She had been making different kinds of focaccia to bring to parties and events for a while, and decided to go pro — quitting her tech marketing job to jump in with both feet.
Up until now, Bennett has been mostly selling her bread for delivery and catering — but Smorgasburg has always been aspirational.
“I remember when Smorgasburg started, I remember when there was the ramen burger, I waited in line for the rainbow cake,” she said. “Smorgasburg has always been an institution, and as someone who just loves to be where the food’s at, Smorgasburg was the place to be.”
Her classic flavors will be on the menu all season long, but Bennett said she’ll swap in new flavors and toppings depending on what’s in season.
While Bennett doesn’t love baking sweet things, Jatee Kearsley does – and she’s excited to bring her fledgling business, Je T’aime Patisserie, to Prospect Park this spring.
Kearsley opened her Bed-Stuy bakery eight months ago — the first Black woman-owned bake shop in the neighborhood, she said.
While she studied cooking, Kearsley loves a challenge — and few things in baking are more challenging than pastry, so she decided to teach herself how to make and bake the delicate, time-consuming dough needed for croissants and other delicacies,
“It started when I was a teenager, just casually taking box cake mix and just putting a little spin on it,” she said. “And then I took it to the extreme and I dedicated my life to pastry.”
Kearsley wakes up every morning at 3:30 a.m. to start baking, she said. She’s looking forward to the challenge of running a Smorgasburg booth every Sunday, and getting her goods out to a wider audience.
“I think it’s going to be a challenge that I’m ready for,” she said. “I’m ready to elevate my business, I want people to know about all the amazing products I have in my store.”
As for the menu, Je T’aime’s booth will have three standard flavors of croissant available each Sunday, like her signature pink croissant with strawberry shortcake cream, streusel, and fresh strawberries, plus a make-your-own option: choose a plain croissant and a delicious cream or jam filling.
“Every weekend will be a little different. You’ll come to my stand every Sunday and experience a whole new stand,” Kearsley said.
Dozens of other local vendors will also be set up at Smorgasburg for the first time: Bagel Joint NYC, a husband-and-wife operation known for their legendary bagels and bialys at the McGolrick Park farmers’ market are headed to Williamsburg, while the family behind Kravings Kafe in Mill Basin will be cooling the summer down with their Thai-inspired rolled ice cream at the World Trade Center location.
Smorgasburg returns for the 2024 season from 11 a.m to 6 p.m. on April 6 in Williamsburg and April 7 in Prospect Park.
