Vegan MoFo Day 9 - Smorgasburg!

I'd been hearing great things about Smorgasburg, a foodie festival that takes place in Willamsburg, Brooklyn every Saturday, for awhile. It's run by the same people who host Brooklyn Flea on Sundays, but Smorgasburg is all about the edibles. Johnny and I decided to check it out, but the subway to Williamsburg wasn't running at the time. So we took a trip on the new East River Ferry. It was so much fun! It stops in Manhattan on 34th Street - very close to our apartment - and another stop is exactly at the Smorgasburg site in Willamsburg. Perfect! It was lots of fun to be out in the fresh air, enjoying the sun for one last time before the colder temps make outdoorsy activity less probable. 

The ferry with a view of Manhattan - how pretty!

Smorgasburg has lots of vendors selling food that's ready to eat and there are also vendors selling groceries to take home. On this particular day, there was also a record festival going on, which is perfect since we're trying to add to our record collection!

We did a quick cruise around all the tents before deciding what to eat - no easy feat since it was pretty crowded and we were starving. Barry's Tempeh stand caught my eye right away and it's where I ended up purchasing my first course - a BBQ tempeh sandwich. The tempeh is made right in Brooklyn from local grains, beans and seasonings. It was really good! The sandwich was kept simple, with the tempeh cubed and smothered in a tangy, smoky BBQ sauce, and a sesame hamburger bun. The sauce had caramelized a bit and was sticky, crunchy and sweet. Yummmmm. I think I might re-create this and add some vegan cole slaw on top. 

Next up, I headed for the Kombucha Brooklyn stand where they had fresh Kombucha on tap! I've only had bottled Kombucha before, so I was excited to try it this way. I went for the Mellow Yellow mild Kombucha. It was pretty good, but a bit strong for my taste. Something in it - ginger perhaps? - made it a bit spicy. Still overall it was a refreshing beverage for a hot day. But it looked like a cup of pee, so I didn't bother taking a picture. 

Finally, I made my way to Rob & Anna's, a stand selling frozen, blended banana soft serve. (Rob & Anna's = raw bananas... get it?) I was so happy to see that one of their toppings was VEGAN CHOCOLATE SAUCE! The sweet, clean banana flavor and the light chocolate sauce were the perfect combo. I am definitely gonna try to make my own banana soft serve at home - just blend frozen bananas in a food processor till smooth... I can handle that!

Johnny spent the day eating some very non-vegan items (ahem), but for dessert he checked out People's Pops. They have a big slab of ice and shave the ice right in front of your eyes! They had a bunch of crazy syrups to add in, like red pepper and cantaloupe chai. Johnny went for the Concord grape and absolutely devoured the icy concoction. 

After we were stuffed, we wandered around the grocery stalls and picked up some goodies. I bought a pound of Red Merlot beans from Brooklyn Bean. They had an amazing assortment of dried beans, many of which were local, and they were all $4/pound - not bad by Smorgasburg standards! I also got some insanely delicious whole grain mustard from Tin Mustard that is not too spicy, not too sweet, and the whole mustard seeds burst in your mouth. Delicious! Finally, we got a bag of Better Than Brittle, a vegan peanut brittle that is "West African Style". The peanuts are ground before the brittle is made and they use much less sugar that other brittles - and no corn syrup. The result is so peanutty and crunchy, a perfect snack! 

We picked out a few records and then made our way home on the ferry with our haul. Quite the productive and scrumptious Saturday! I highly recommend the East River Ferry and Smorgasburg for a quintessential New York day!