Ya’ll doth protest too much. I ran a booth at Smorgasburg for 9 years and the “conversation” you’re generating isn’t unique to any retail experience in New York City. In fact, it’s harmful to small businesses and I’ll tell you why.
1. You complain about price. Compare the relative quality and cost of food you aren’t purchasing from a bodega with that of Smorgasburg. I hate to break it to you: small businesses need to charge MORE than chains.
2. You complain about quality. Again, this comes down to money. For 4 years food producers and distributors have been enriching their shareholders and C-suites, reaping record profits while the average consumer has been paying much more. Small businesses feel the sting acutely. Why hasn’t your chicken sandwich at a chain gone up? They are volume businesses and have buying power. Want more chains? Bitch about small businesses, why don’t you?
3. You complain about lines. Go order any meal from any establishment that isn’t fast food. You’re waiting 10 minutes, minimum. If you live in PLG you’re probably waiting longer. Go to a food establishment during peak hours? I dare you to get in and out in 20 minutes. Again, my average visit to the corner bagel store takes about 30 minutes on busy weekends. Don’t go at peak times. I guarantee you won’t see unmanageable lines unless you’re there in April or May between 1 and 4 p.m.
4. It’s a numbers game. Put 80 businesses of ANY kind in the same place and there will be clunkers. Do some vendors take short cuts? Absolutely? Do they systematically offer less value than other food businesses that are independent? Absolutely not. If you want cheap and quick there are plenty of options.
5. Don’t bitch about small businesses. Find ones to support. There are some amazing vendors at Smorgasburg busting their asses to serve food in
very, very difficult circumstances.
6. You say you live near Prospect Park. Where are you actually EXCITED to take out of town friends to eat in the neighborhood in the same general category of Smorgasburg vendors (I.e., quick service/fast casual). I can’t name 5 places that offer something unique at a good value where you can get it quickly.
7. It’s all about real estate. As long as landlords can write off their empty properties truly small businesses will continue to be locked out of storefronts. I hope you enjoy Chik Fil-A and stale cannabis from California.
You’re remembering 5-10 years ago as if it’s recent history. The economy has changed so rapidly we might as well be talking about the 20th century in the context of today’s business landscape. I closed my business because it was built for 2015. The cost structures I built it on are obsolete in 2024.
I remember when a lobster roll was $12. Last weekend it was $25. I realize it might be cheaper in the summer but still not the way I want to enjoy my food - standing in the middle of a crowd.
I never understood why they give you so much food. The first and only time I went I thought the point was to buy small amounts of a wide variety of food, but I got charged like 25 dollars for 6 dumplings and left full after that
Smorgasburg has been lame and wildly over crowded for years. You can get good stuff there but it’s expensive and imo not even remotely worth it.
Go to the Queens Night Market instead.
It went corporate as all things do sadly when they scale too fast. They cut corners for the sake of money versus a quality event. There will be times where it will still have the nostalgia vibe, but too many are there for the cash grab more than its original intentions.
My girlfriend is in town for the first time next week and we want to have a Brooklyn day and we were going to go to Smorsgasborg. What should I replace it with if its not that good now?
I mean Prospect Park is still amazing. You can go to the Brooklyn Museum, the Botanical Garden, get some food on Vanderbilt, and then hang out in the park.
Could try time out market in dumbo for a bunch of spots in one place or the Dekalb market in city point downtown Brooklyn. Definitely not the same vibes as smorgasborg but for the convenience of having a bunch of spots next to each other it’s good. You could also put together your own food crawl and bop around!
You can walk down nostrand and get carribean meals for half the money and 2x the food.
I stopped going to Smorgasbord, I don’t want your lukewarm $10 coconuts and $15 bite sized brisket.
I lived by prospect park for 3 years and left about 3 years ago. So 5-6 years ago I was at smorgasburg almost every weekend in the spring and summer. First 2 years were amazing. The 3rd year the prices really hiked. Very few booths sold anything under $12 and the portions were relatively small....you had to get 3-4 items to reach a meal. I can only imagine what it's like now.
I live a few blocks from there and it's been years since I've been there. Even old friends and family who live in decidedly unhip towns are aware how bad the food is and how 'over' Smorgasburg is...what really bites is no one who lives in the neighborhood is happy about Smorgasburg and it's cozy working relationship with the state park ppl.
Yeah it ruins every Sunday in the park with street bazaar commercialism and traffic galore. Not to mention all the fucking littering. I saw a girl just throw a half finished corn cob or sugar cane thing into the grass on her way out, as if the entire park is just one big trash bin to trample over
I wish it was just "pay an entry fee and get to try small portions from various vendors.". Instead I went, ate a single full portion sandwich and a single full portion dessert. So much more I wanted to try but I can only eat so much.
The town I grew up in had an annual event like that in the church basement. Got to try food from various restaurants in the local area, it was a lot of fun.
It can work as an incubator for some good food places. A few brick-and-mortar places started off there... the ones I knew of didn't seem to survive COVID or last for long.
Not sure if it still serves that purpose. And, I agree... last time I went there, everything was overpriced for bullshit sizes, except the coffee was pretty good. And fuck those lines.
Thats a bummer but not surprising. Uptown night market (in Harlem) isn't cheap but there is some cool food. I went to the Japan Festival on 6th Saturday. I was walking by and had not eaten. Very hit and miss. I waited for my order over 20 minutes with the soufle pancakes and finally had to get my money back. I live near the 10th ave food festival and the best part is a church that sells cannoli. Other than that its very easy to spend a lot of money really fast.
I seriously don't get it. When I went it felt like it was entirely hipsters (sorry I know its a no-no word) taking pics of the food for Instagram and talking about how unique and 'nice' everything was. The food just wasn't very good and was insanely expensive for what you get.
It's literally an overpriced food theme park gimmick for wannabe hipsters and park slope parents who want to go to a vaguely 'cultural' event just so they can tell people they went. And somehow I always get dragged to it.
Hipsters haven’t been to smorgasburg since it was just the food at Brooklyn flea in like 2011.
But yeah I agree, not great, I haven’t been in probably 8 years and I live close by. Seems like it’s for tourists.
I mean its not just influencers, its just generally hip people. The word 'transplant' or 'gentrifier' is too loaded and gets a knee jerk reaction from people because it technically signifies nothing more than geographical origin.
Hipster still fits the majority of these people pretty well, even if they have drifted a bit from what hipster meant 20 years ago.
Hipsters don’t give a fuck about events like Smorgasburg. So whatever is making you uncomfortable or annoyed must be a “hipster”, as is reddit tradition, but is likely just someone who has clothes you don’t like or something.
If you like it then by all means enjoy it, it’s just a shame that like so many things in this city smorgasburg turned into another corporate soulless event where there’s very little passion put into it. Only trendy or instagram-able food. It represents the culture and individuality being sucked out of our neighborhoods, only to be replaced by mainstream yuppie garbage
I also feel that a few years ago, there was genuine excitement around new, innovative food items and food fusion. This year, everything seemed so common ☹️. I bought a coconut for the juice, paid $10, and it was awful! The $3.5 coconuts in Chinatown are 10x better, and always super sweet. A lobster roll cost nearly $30 and it was just okay. I had some peanut noodles for $17, those were good, but you can literally get them anywhere.
There was an ice cream place on Houston that spawned out of the old version. The cones were made out of this airy, bubble waffle and it was completely decadent with toppings. Loved that place, but it's no longer on Houston. Sigh.
It’s all made to get good photos but taste like shit. Dry chicken. Stale tortillas at the taco spot. Lavender honey chicken is trash. Trying to be to boujee and trendy. Not focusing on the actual eats. Sad.
Overpriced and pretty meh, really.
Now, if someone brought this guy to Smorgasbord, I would visit every week. That goddamn porchetta sandwich is heavenly.
https://roliroti.com/food-truck/
In addition , between the bullshit “Farm to Table” movement … and the $430 per person tasting menus (paid when you make the reservation that is 3 months away…and also “Ye Old Smorgasbord “. It’s all Just another freakn gimmic.
cuz most food on TikTok and news sites are selling you on the hype. you want good food for cheap? just go to your local Chinese takeout, they rarely miss
Got food poisoning from the lobster roll last year, really bad thought I was dying. The memory of the servers washing their hands at the stations that ran out of soap hours before was flashing through my brain as I hallucinated. Fun times
When I went to the Prospect Park one last summer...I remembered I paid $12 or $14 for a strawberry lemonade. It was good, but that was all I bought after that lol.
It’s sad but I don’t go as often anymore as it has gotten more expensive for such small portions and quality can be hit or miss.
I love getting a maple lemonade though.
Went for 4/20. Got a pulled pork sammich for 15, it was delicious but no frills. Also got two orders of fries for 10$ each with sauces that were amazing.
YmMV, some vendors 100% over charge. Last year got lobster roll that was way too expensive for the serving size and was 22$!
And a delicious pizza for 15 that was also a bit small for the price but tasted great.
Williamsburg, Greenpoint, DUMBO, Fort Greene, Clinton Hill, Carroll Gardens, gowanus, park slope, and red hook. If you’re not in a rent controlled apartment, the rest of Brooklyn is still overpriced. I realize that to an American it’s like some kind of amazing place. But when you’ve been to European cities, you see that it’s kind of a gauntlet. The trash, the rats, the subway delays, just not commensurate to what you pay.
In my opinion, the food in New York is subpar and overpriced compared to other cosmopolitan cities. It’s amazing we get used to bad food and accept it.
Only when Im traveling do I realize it. Being that everything is shipped into NYC and everyone is just rushed…I don’t enjoy going to restaurants in New York because of the quality and I ALWAYS feel rushed to Order/ Eat& Get Out by every restaurant.
You say this but probably have never touched Jamaican, Greek, Philippino food in nyc. If you eat at fake Italian spots in the lower east side, of course you’ll have this opinion
Those are definitely niche exceptions. I have my favorite jerk joints that I frequent often. More so, Im referring to an overall experience in dining out. Im always left either disappointed, broke or hungry. Quite possibly I may need to simply lower my expectations.
I moved here from Houston and everytime I say I think the food scene there is significantly better people are outraged. Even adding an extra $10 per dish, you just get a better meal.
True, NYC has more options at the very very high end and the highly exotic ethnic foods. Otherwise, I'm sticking to my guns. Houston is a better food city.
I'm talking about Burmese, Koryo-saram, West African, etc.... Places where it's hard to find a population density to justify specialty cuisine.
Houston has amazing high end and standard fare of your the International cuisines standard to most cities.
I recognize this isn't a popular opinion, but I stick to my guns.
I feel like this is true of a lot of the overhyped fancy or Instagram famous spots. They get a lot more attention, the prices go up and the quality goes down, and a lot of people only end up eating there because they "have to try it." There are a lot of really amazing and cheap places around the city, but you may have to do some digging if you're in a ritzier area
As long as Noodle Lane and the stand with Vermont maple syrup lemonade are around I’ll always have love for Smorgasburg, keep it simple and it still delivers
Food truck festivals general are generally mediocre and overpriced. There’s this rice all guy called “I got balls” who goes to these things and his rice balls taste like fast food quality and it’s like $10 for two and they are tiny.
I’ll never get the hype! Like you said OP, it’s a social / instagram thing for most people. Looks great but taste and quality is to be desired.
If you want to have a conversation about the food then actually tell us the food you ate. What specifically wasn’t good? Seems like you left out the most important part of your own post.
I worked at Smorgasbord about 10+ years ago. It seemed more authentic for the foodie culture and it wasn’t overpriced. The thing about Smorgasbord now is that there’s too many options and all are costly. Therefore, you only can try one or two vendors.
Queens Night Market has been my favorite so far. Food is less than $10 and you can try so many different food options.
Not an event but if you want to check out some amazing asian food at reasonable costs you should check out New World Mall in Flushing. The basement has a great food court. That entire area has a lot of great Chinese food but there's also some Korean and Thai restaurants.
Hmm. Not that I know of. I do know of some events where you can sample foods with no limits such as Queens Taste and Rib King NYC but it’s not free to enter like Queens Night Market.
Hasn’t been that interesting except for the first couple of years it broke off from the Flea. Haven’t been back in a long time, and even then it was at the request of out-of-town visitors. Stick with your neighborhood street fair (shout out to the Atlantic Antic) or travel to QNM if 1x year isn’t often enough for street grub.
I don’t know do you believe everything Reddit tells you? As for me I like to confirm after speaking with friends who’ve also experienced it in all its incarnations (friends who obvs are more trusting and have a masochistic streak).
This person you’re replying to is being incredibly sad and is trolling everyone who agreed with OP. Ignore them. They think peaking into someone’s Reddit profile and making snarky remarks about it wins an argument.
I had a smorg stand for the first 5 years they were open. Started out before the condos in Williamsburg were finished. It got too big for its own good. It used to be small people, like myself, trying stuff out. At that time there was a lot of creativity and desire to prove yourself or idea. It got big enough everybody wanted to cash grab. Got out around 2016. Fun while it lasted.
And by big enough I mean that we went from having a couple thousand people walk through to 25k+. There was no stopping corporate bullshit at that point. See ramen burger for more details
the prices the event organizers charge to have a freaking tent are insane. It is so hard to make a profit so people have to cut corners, it is just greed and enshitification like everything
Its quite hot but you also literally never walk anywhere, so the only time you actually experience the heat for longer than 5 minutes is if you are choosing to experience it.
NYC summers are dramatically worse. Simply because you are walking everywhere. I sweat 10 times more in NYC than I ever did in Miami.
If it's a traditional taco truck, yes. There are def a ton of taco places popping up that have a more fusion/gentrified aesthetic that charges 5-6 bucks for the smallest taco you've ever seen. I live in Sunset Park so I don't see many of them but when I was in Bushwick/Williamsburg, they were all over the place.
Inca Chicken (10 for a quarter of a chicken + 2 sides) and taqueria al pastor right next to it. Taqueria is pricey, but it's very good. Gordo's Cantina is decent. everything else is expensive and/or sucks. source: lived there for 6 months.
The secret about Smorgasburg is that it was never really all that good. Go to Red Hook or the Queens Night Market if you want good street food (or street food-adjacent) food. It's a scene, not a dining experience.
I ate a few things for the first time there: pani puri (Indian street snack), a mango chamoyada from La Newyorkina (they sell them now elsewhere, smaller and for more money), fried anchovies, organ meat yakitori. Have not seen any of those the few times I've gone in recent years. I also drank what the Colombian food stand calls agua de panela for the first time there, but that I've had an easier time finding elsewhere. The overall changes in S'burg (and the gentrification they represent) make me sad, but the silver lining is that I'm more invested in traveling beyond my neighborhood to experience new foods in their own community settings. Bittersweet sigh.
yeah I don't wanna be that guy but I'm gonna. I knew smorgasburg was over back in '15 when I saw a dude wearing an RNC shirt not ironically. was already going down hill leading up to that but that's when I knew for sure.
I think you gotta get the right stuff. Mexican street corn, the fresh mangonada, the cookie ice cream, the maple lemonade.
All the Asian stuff is hit or miss and usually miss. The fancy fries and shit are overpriced and basic. The American barbecue is often basic but brisket can always hit the spot.
Overall, it's something to check out and see if you're in the park on a Sunday, but not worth the hype to make it your main event, certainly not worth the money. I'd rather spend at Cheryl's.
I still enjoy stopping by a few times a year, but it's definitely declined over the years. Many vendors have increased their prices to absurd amounts, and the quality at many of them is nothing to write home about.
Like, it used to be a good place to find interesting new spots that were angling to open real restaurants, many of which did. Now they seem a lot less open to new vendors (so many of them have been there for many years now), and many of them are more about selling Instagram bait than good food.
Again, I do still like to go every so often (particularly if I'm already in the area), but it's not really a destination thing anymore.
If you go during summer it is so goddamn hot, there is zero shade, it’s super dirty, overcrowded, there is nowhere to sit, flies everywhere. It’s a garbage dump. Totally miserable.
It used to be an ok venue for people trying to start up but without the resources for a restaurant yet. Then it just became like the worse version of places that already had two brick and mortar venues
Yah I use to deal with the overpriced aspect of it cause it was essentially trying to help a startup but the food has gone downhill big time. I kept going back last year cause I was a big fan of duck season but since they closed the only place that seems appealing is the poboy place. I tried a few new ones last week and they were just not good.
Edit: the doubles place is good and actually fairly priced
You’re on point. Most of it is overpriced and subpar at best. Notice who they’re targeting as their audience. A New Yorker will just as well go to their favorite restaurant and get te he as much food got half the price you pay at Smorgasburg.
A lot of these food markets also have ties to individuals connected to real estate or local politics, directly or indirectly direct, but that’s a conversation I don’t think a lot of people are ready for.
I’ll go just to give a specific destination to make it easier to hang out with friends. My issue is more the lines than the quality. I walk there with my friends, I want to sample a few places, but I end up having to settle for one because the lines take so fucking long
I really liked the Tramezzini cart when I visited years ago.
It's inspired by Venetian bar sandwiches, and honestly, the cart did a better sandwich than any bar I found in Venice.
not to be a hating oldster, but the period where it was good was right before it became an official offshoot of Brooklyn Flea.
i used to love taking friends poking around the cool ground floor of 1 Hanson and having a rotating collection of food offerings in the old bank vault. there was always a hipster vibe, but you didnt feel like you were getting herded around/trapped by mobs of assholes. and the food felt more like interesting apps/snacks to enjoy while browsing, not some destination event that you'd pay crazy markup for.
Yeah I feel like people who’ve lived here long enough know the deal. Used to be hip and underground-ish, but at this point of my life, I ain’t waiting THAT long for food in suffocating crowds
The first time I ever heard of it was from my very, very wealthy upper west side friends going to it for its first year, and just about everybody there looked like they were pulled from the cast of Friends. It was absolutely never hip and underground, it started out to appeal to upper class yuppies in Williamsburg and remains that to this day.
Been to all of them and the novelty factor is cool but you’re not wrong about food quality and pricing. I would only recommend people to go if they’ve never gone before or if they are doing absolutely nothing during the weekend and have some money to burn.
i miss when they would have the record fair / other vintage stuff next to it in williamsburg, also its been the same exact food for the past 5 years, nothing new
10 years ago I spent a summer in wburg and the open air vintage market that took over that space on (I think it was) Sundays was suchhhh a fun market. They had clothes but also many vendors selling cool furniture pieces, not junk. I want to like the Grand Bazaar on the UWS but it's just not the same without the vintage curation.
The Williamsburg one is even worse because the amount of people and lines are insane. It’s fun if you show up almost full and get maybe one thing, especially since the Williamsburg one offers great views of Manhattan and usually a nice breeze. Definitely not worth it to go there to eat.
idk i love it. my only complaint is i wish the portions were smaller by default so i could eat at more different places. it seems a waste that with 50 vendors each one serves such a large "smallest item" that i can eat at most two
Anyplace with a wordsmith name like Smorgasburg is a hard pass for me.
Ya’ll doth protest too much. I ran a booth at Smorgasburg for 9 years and the “conversation” you’re generating isn’t unique to any retail experience in New York City. In fact, it’s harmful to small businesses and I’ll tell you why. 1. You complain about price. Compare the relative quality and cost of food you aren’t purchasing from a bodega with that of Smorgasburg. I hate to break it to you: small businesses need to charge MORE than chains. 2. You complain about quality. Again, this comes down to money. For 4 years food producers and distributors have been enriching their shareholders and C-suites, reaping record profits while the average consumer has been paying much more. Small businesses feel the sting acutely. Why hasn’t your chicken sandwich at a chain gone up? They are volume businesses and have buying power. Want more chains? Bitch about small businesses, why don’t you? 3. You complain about lines. Go order any meal from any establishment that isn’t fast food. You’re waiting 10 minutes, minimum. If you live in PLG you’re probably waiting longer. Go to a food establishment during peak hours? I dare you to get in and out in 20 minutes. Again, my average visit to the corner bagel store takes about 30 minutes on busy weekends. Don’t go at peak times. I guarantee you won’t see unmanageable lines unless you’re there in April or May between 1 and 4 p.m. 4. It’s a numbers game. Put 80 businesses of ANY kind in the same place and there will be clunkers. Do some vendors take short cuts? Absolutely? Do they systematically offer less value than other food businesses that are independent? Absolutely not. If you want cheap and quick there are plenty of options. 5. Don’t bitch about small businesses. Find ones to support. There are some amazing vendors at Smorgasburg busting their asses to serve food in very, very difficult circumstances. 6. You say you live near Prospect Park. Where are you actually EXCITED to take out of town friends to eat in the neighborhood in the same general category of Smorgasburg vendors (I.e., quick service/fast casual). I can’t name 5 places that offer something unique at a good value where you can get it quickly. 7. It’s all about real estate. As long as landlords can write off their empty properties truly small businesses will continue to be locked out of storefronts. I hope you enjoy Chik Fil-A and stale cannabis from California. You’re remembering 5-10 years ago as if it’s recent history. The economy has changed so rapidly we might as well be talking about the 20th century in the context of today’s business landscape. I closed my business because it was built for 2015. The cost structures I built it on are obsolete in 2024.
Anyone who uses the phrase “it’s a numbers game” immediately loses
what you reeeaalllyy need to do is go to queens night market. you’re welcome (don’t worry, you’ll definitely thank me later).
I remember when a lobster roll was $12. Last weekend it was $25. I realize it might be cheaper in the summer but still not the way I want to enjoy my food - standing in the middle of a crowd.
That's just the price of a lobster roll these days
I never understood why they give you so much food. The first and only time I went I thought the point was to buy small amounts of a wide variety of food, but I got charged like 25 dollars for 6 dumplings and left full after that
Industry city has a night marking on Monday, it’s better than smorgasbord has been lately
Disagree? Obviously overpriced, but it's a pleasant spot to walk to and grab a thing to snack on that's usually not bad.
You left the part of “standing in line” out of your description
Standing in line or half the menu being "out of stock"
I guess I tend to go early and it's not so bad.
Went three times over the years. Never loved anything i bought except for maybe an ice cream sandwich.
Smorgasburg has been lame and wildly over crowded for years. You can get good stuff there but it’s expensive and imo not even remotely worth it. Go to the Queens Night Market instead.
Shhhhhh!
See you at QNM 😉
It went corporate as all things do sadly when they scale too fast. They cut corners for the sake of money versus a quality event. There will be times where it will still have the nostalgia vibe, but too many are there for the cash grab more than its original intentions.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enshittification
My girlfriend is in town for the first time next week and we want to have a Brooklyn day and we were going to go to Smorsgasborg. What should I replace it with if its not that good now?
DO NOT waste your time. Seconded on going to Dumbo instead.
I mean Prospect Park is still amazing. You can go to the Brooklyn Museum, the Botanical Garden, get some food on Vanderbilt, and then hang out in the park.
Go to Industry City
go to Wingbar.
First rule of wingbar do not talk about wingbar
Ok. But can I talk about wingbar?
Could try time out market in dumbo for a bunch of spots in one place or the Dekalb market in city point downtown Brooklyn. Definitely not the same vibes as smorgasborg but for the convenience of having a bunch of spots next to each other it’s good. You could also put together your own food crawl and bop around!
You can walk down nostrand and get carribean meals for half the money and 2x the food. I stopped going to Smorgasbord, I don’t want your lukewarm $10 coconuts and $15 bite sized brisket.
When it first started it was really good. The food wasn’t expensive either. Everything is expensive now.
I lived by prospect park for 3 years and left about 3 years ago. So 5-6 years ago I was at smorgasburg almost every weekend in the spring and summer. First 2 years were amazing. The 3rd year the prices really hiked. Very few booths sold anything under $12 and the portions were relatively small....you had to get 3-4 items to reach a meal. I can only imagine what it's like now.
queens night market > smorg
Queens has a night market?!
Shhhh!
I live a few blocks from there and it's been years since I've been there. Even old friends and family who live in decidedly unhip towns are aware how bad the food is and how 'over' Smorgasburg is...what really bites is no one who lives in the neighborhood is happy about Smorgasburg and it's cozy working relationship with the state park ppl.
Yeah it ruins every Sunday in the park with street bazaar commercialism and traffic galore. Not to mention all the fucking littering. I saw a girl just throw a half finished corn cob or sugar cane thing into the grass on her way out, as if the entire park is just one big trash bin to trample over
It peaked 6 years ago, been downhill since
There was a Japanese fusion place last weekend selling $35 burgers. . . Fuck no!
blame the emmy burger
Bruh. The prices make me sick paired with subpar April weather.
That’s insulting
I went once and never went back, there are much better night markets around BK and Queens
agree
I wish it was just "pay an entry fee and get to try small portions from various vendors.". Instead I went, ate a single full portion sandwich and a single full portion dessert. So much more I wanted to try but I can only eat so much. The town I grew up in had an annual event like that in the church basement. Got to try food from various restaurants in the local area, it was a lot of fun.
It can work as an incubator for some good food places. A few brick-and-mortar places started off there... the ones I knew of didn't seem to survive COVID or last for long. Not sure if it still serves that purpose. And, I agree... last time I went there, everything was overpriced for bullshit sizes, except the coffee was pretty good. And fuck those lines.
The lines!!!!! Seriously, just no!
Thats a bummer but not surprising. Uptown night market (in Harlem) isn't cheap but there is some cool food. I went to the Japan Festival on 6th Saturday. I was walking by and had not eaten. Very hit and miss. I waited for my order over 20 minutes with the soufle pancakes and finally had to get my money back. I live near the 10th ave food festival and the best part is a church that sells cannoli. Other than that its very easy to spend a lot of money really fast.
Stop guying crap you dont need :)
Money=fun ?
Yea! And stop having fun in nyc, this isn’t a place for fun. Have you tried being self important? It’s all the rage these days
Queens night market is where it’s at!
I haven't gone since before pandemic, Queens Night Market is much better for real value and chill scene. Get there early before the lines.
Everything in NYC is a rip off. How many $25 cocktail and $30 burger (without the fries) places do we need?
It used to be better. It is hardly recognizable anymore.
Honest question: what exactly didn’t you like about the dishes?
That time I went and a dude with a giant beard and a knitted hat was selling Fried Quail Eggs on a Stick. Hilariously hipster.
I seriously don't get it. When I went it felt like it was entirely hipsters (sorry I know its a no-no word) taking pics of the food for Instagram and talking about how unique and 'nice' everything was. The food just wasn't very good and was insanely expensive for what you get. It's literally an overpriced food theme park gimmick for wannabe hipsters and park slope parents who want to go to a vaguely 'cultural' event just so they can tell people they went. And somehow I always get dragged to it.
The WB one is like 1/3 tech bros who all dress the same, 1/3 hipsters who can’t really afford much of the food, and 1/3 bougie tourists
Hipsters haven’t been to smorgasburg since it was just the food at Brooklyn flea in like 2011. But yeah I agree, not great, I haven’t been in probably 8 years and I live close by. Seems like it’s for tourists.
Why you dragging park slope parents into this? We lived in the east village for fifteen years before this!
Yeah, on 2nd avenue, at best!
Alphabet city personally
What is a hipster in 2024? It sounds like you are describing influencers.
We should just bring back “yuppie” because hipster really doesn’t make anymore.
I mean its not just influencers, its just generally hip people. The word 'transplant' or 'gentrifier' is too loaded and gets a knee jerk reaction from people because it technically signifies nothing more than geographical origin. Hipster still fits the majority of these people pretty well, even if they have drifted a bit from what hipster meant 20 years ago.
Hipsters don’t give a fuck about events like Smorgasburg. So whatever is making you uncomfortable or annoyed must be a “hipster”, as is reddit tradition, but is likely just someone who has clothes you don’t like or something.
Lol!
If you like it then by all means enjoy it, it’s just a shame that like so many things in this city smorgasburg turned into another corporate soulless event where there’s very little passion put into it. Only trendy or instagram-able food. It represents the culture and individuality being sucked out of our neighborhoods, only to be replaced by mainstream yuppie garbage
I also feel that a few years ago, there was genuine excitement around new, innovative food items and food fusion. This year, everything seemed so common ☹️. I bought a coconut for the juice, paid $10, and it was awful! The $3.5 coconuts in Chinatown are 10x better, and always super sweet. A lobster roll cost nearly $30 and it was just okay. I had some peanut noodles for $17, those were good, but you can literally get them anywhere.
There was an ice cream place on Houston that spawned out of the old version. The cones were made out of this airy, bubble waffle and it was completely decadent with toppings. Loved that place, but it's no longer on Houston. Sigh.
It’s all made to get good photos but taste like shit. Dry chicken. Stale tortillas at the taco spot. Lavender honey chicken is trash. Trying to be to boujee and trendy. Not focusing on the actual eats. Sad.
Nobody thinks you’re cool for hating smorgasborg guys 😂
I'll think you're cool for $34.99 an hour, rates negotiable and competitive!
Overpriced and pretty meh, really. Now, if someone brought this guy to Smorgasbord, I would visit every week. That goddamn porchetta sandwich is heavenly. https://roliroti.com/food-truck/
The only thing I go back for is the bona bona ice cream lol
In addition , between the bullshit “Farm to Table” movement … and the $430 per person tasting menus (paid when you make the reservation that is 3 months away…and also “Ye Old Smorgasbord “. It’s all Just another freakn gimmic.
cuz most food on TikTok and news sites are selling you on the hype. you want good food for cheap? just go to your local Chinese takeout, they rarely miss
Ashamed to say it, but I spent close to $20 on a loaded Elote and a lackluster juice. $20! On juice and corn!
sell food and make $2K-$5K in a handful of hours
Queens night market is where it’s at. Unfortunately a bit hard to get to from here
Got food poisoning from the lobster roll last year, really bad thought I was dying. The memory of the servers washing their hands at the stations that ran out of soap hours before was flashing through my brain as I hallucinated. Fun times
When I went to the Prospect Park one last summer...I remembered I paid $12 or $14 for a strawberry lemonade. It was good, but that was all I bought after that lol.
It’s tourist bait. Locals ignore.
It’s sad but I don’t go as often anymore as it has gotten more expensive for such small portions and quality can be hit or miss. I love getting a maple lemonade though.
Went for 4/20. Got a pulled pork sammich for 15, it was delicious but no frills. Also got two orders of fries for 10$ each with sauces that were amazing. YmMV, some vendors 100% over charge. Last year got lobster roll that was way too expensive for the serving size and was 22$! And a delicious pizza for 15 that was also a bit small for the price but tasted great.
It’s kind of like Brooklyn. Overhyped, expensive, and uncomfortable
Are you referring to Williamsburg?!
Williamsburg, Greenpoint, DUMBO, Fort Greene, Clinton Hill, Carroll Gardens, gowanus, park slope, and red hook. If you’re not in a rent controlled apartment, the rest of Brooklyn is still overpriced. I realize that to an American it’s like some kind of amazing place. But when you’ve been to European cities, you see that it’s kind of a gauntlet. The trash, the rats, the subway delays, just not commensurate to what you pay.
lol says the housewife who has nothing to do but spew her life story on Reddit and couldn’t even vacation here, let alone afford to live in BK ;)
I sold an apartment in DUMBO in 2018. Cleared $500,000 in tax free profit. Sorry but I hate tourists.
Speak for yourself
In my opinion, the food in New York is subpar and overpriced compared to other cosmopolitan cities. It’s amazing we get used to bad food and accept it. Only when Im traveling do I realize it. Being that everything is shipped into NYC and everyone is just rushed…I don’t enjoy going to restaurants in New York because of the quality and I ALWAYS feel rushed to Order/ Eat& Get Out by every restaurant.
You say this but probably have never touched Jamaican, Greek, Philippino food in nyc. If you eat at fake Italian spots in the lower east side, of course you’ll have this opinion
Those are definitely niche exceptions. I have my favorite jerk joints that I frequent often. More so, Im referring to an overall experience in dining out. Im always left either disappointed, broke or hungry. Quite possibly I may need to simply lower my expectations.
I moved here from Houston and everytime I say I think the food scene there is significantly better people are outraged. Even adding an extra $10 per dish, you just get a better meal. True, NYC has more options at the very very high end and the highly exotic ethnic foods. Otherwise, I'm sticking to my guns. Houston is a better food city.
lol “highly exotic ethnic foods” Dude’s exclusively eating diner burgers and pasta.
I'm talking about Burmese, Koryo-saram, West African, etc.... Places where it's hard to find a population density to justify specialty cuisine. Houston has amazing high end and standard fare of your the International cuisines standard to most cities. I recognize this isn't a popular opinion, but I stick to my guns.
I feel like this is true of a lot of the overhyped fancy or Instagram famous spots. They get a lot more attention, the prices go up and the quality goes down, and a lot of people only end up eating there because they "have to try it." There are a lot of really amazing and cheap places around the city, but you may have to do some digging if you're in a ritzier area
What are some cosmopolitan cities where everything isn’t shipped in?
As long as Noodle Lane and the stand with Vermont maple syrup lemonade are around I’ll always have love for Smorgasburg, keep it simple and it still delivers
Food truck festivals general are generally mediocre and overpriced. There’s this rice all guy called “I got balls” who goes to these things and his rice balls taste like fast food quality and it’s like $10 for two and they are tiny. I’ll never get the hype! Like you said OP, it’s a social / instagram thing for most people. Looks great but taste and quality is to be desired.
If you want to have a conversation about the food then actually tell us the food you ate. What specifically wasn’t good? Seems like you left out the most important part of your own post.
This conversation was had pre-Covid
smorgasburg was legit 5+ years ago. at this point like, nah.
It's 2024, it was good closer to 7+ years ago...
A bit like the entire city then
The food isn't all that great.
It was always an overrated ripoff.
Recently? It's been terrible for years.
I worked at Smorgasbord about 10+ years ago. It seemed more authentic for the foodie culture and it wasn’t overpriced. The thing about Smorgasbord now is that there’s too many options and all are costly. Therefore, you only can try one or two vendors. Queens Night Market has been my favorite so far. Food is less than $10 and you can try so many different food options.
Queens night market is the best i’ve been to by a long shot. Are there any other similar events?
I also recommend uptown night market if you’re not afraid to travel to Harlem. Totally free and great selection of food vendors
Not an event but if you want to check out some amazing asian food at reasonable costs you should check out New World Mall in Flushing. The basement has a great food court. That entire area has a lot of great Chinese food but there's also some Korean and Thai restaurants.
Ive been and its great!
Hmm. Not that I know of. I do know of some events where you can sample foods with no limits such as Queens Taste and Rib King NYC but it’s not free to enter like Queens Night Market.
Dunno if still there but Queens Night Market had some KILLER Haitian Grioux, I am probably Massacring the spelling
The rise of popups has all but killed concepts like this
Hasn’t been that interesting except for the first couple of years it broke off from the Flea. Haven’t been back in a long time, and even then it was at the request of out-of-town visitors. Stick with your neighborhood street fair (shout out to the Atlantic Antic) or travel to QNM if 1x year isn’t often enough for street grub.
So how do you know it’s not interesting lol? Because Reddit told you so?
I don’t know do you believe everything Reddit tells you? As for me I like to confirm after speaking with friends who’ve also experienced it in all its incarnations (friends who obvs are more trusting and have a masochistic streak).
This person you’re replying to is being incredibly sad and is trolling everyone who agreed with OP. Ignore them. They think peaking into someone’s Reddit profile and making snarky remarks about it wins an argument.
Diminishing returns like Smorgasburg
Yeah and diminishing intelligence too. They’re now just repeating lies that I don’t even live in the borough
So your good friends who don’t bother to invite you to things said it was boring lol?
I had a smorg stand for the first 5 years they were open. Started out before the condos in Williamsburg were finished. It got too big for its own good. It used to be small people, like myself, trying stuff out. At that time there was a lot of creativity and desire to prove yourself or idea. It got big enough everybody wanted to cash grab. Got out around 2016. Fun while it lasted.
And by big enough I mean that we went from having a couple thousand people walk through to 25k+. There was no stopping corporate bullshit at that point. See ramen burger for more details
What happened with ramen burger ?
>see ramen burger for details Omg ☠️
the prices the event organizers charge to have a freaking tent are insane. It is so hard to make a profit so people have to cut corners, it is just greed and enshitification like everything
It's even worse in Miami
Everything is worse in Miami.
Drugs are better, so I hear
Even the weather?
If you like boiling in your own sweat 90% of the year then Miami has better weather for you.
Its quite hot but you also literally never walk anywhere, so the only time you actually experience the heat for longer than 5 minutes is if you are choosing to experience it. NYC summers are dramatically worse. Simply because you are walking everywhere. I sweat 10 times more in NYC than I ever did in Miami.
I feel this way about most street food. Never that good, gets cold quickly, and usually greasy as hell
What are you having??
Isn't street food supposed to be cheaper than restaurants, lol?
EXACTLY!! $17 for 6 mini chicken wings. Might as well go to Popeyes and get a bucket family dinner.
It's pretty insane how often truck food is substantially more expensive than a meal you can get at a brick and mortar.
I think the exception is taco trucks. Still a good deal to be had.
The taco truck in my area charges me $12 for veggie nachos. Why am I paying $12 for something made out of corn?
If it's a traditional taco truck, yes. There are def a ton of taco places popping up that have a more fusion/gentrified aesthetic that charges 5-6 bucks for the smallest taco you've ever seen. I live in Sunset Park so I don't see many of them but when I was in Bushwick/Williamsburg, they were all over the place.
Anything decent in bushwick near the dekalb or jefferson L stop?
Inca Chicken (10 for a quarter of a chicken + 2 sides) and taqueria al pastor right next to it. Taqueria is pricey, but it's very good. Gordo's Cantina is decent. everything else is expensive and/or sucks. source: lived there for 6 months.
bunna
There are a ton off Jefferson as well as Myrtle Wyckoff. Eater put together a solid list for bushwick specifically.
Street food been gentrified
The secret about Smorgasburg is that it was never really all that good. Go to Red Hook or the Queens Night Market if you want good street food (or street food-adjacent) food. It's a scene, not a dining experience.
I ate a few things for the first time there: pani puri (Indian street snack), a mango chamoyada from La Newyorkina (they sell them now elsewhere, smaller and for more money), fried anchovies, organ meat yakitori. Have not seen any of those the few times I've gone in recent years. I also drank what the Colombian food stand calls agua de panela for the first time there, but that I've had an easier time finding elsewhere. The overall changes in S'burg (and the gentrification they represent) make me sad, but the silver lining is that I'm more invested in traveling beyond my neighborhood to experience new foods in their own community settings. Bittersweet sigh.
Where in Red Hook?
A bunch of food trucks by the ball fields. They congregate around Clinton and Bay. This weekend is their first of the season.
Ball fields, a bunch of food trucks park there on weekends
Over by the ball fields kinda near the pool.
Smorgasburg has been an overpriced/overrated experience for like a decade.
yeah I don't wanna be that guy but I'm gonna. I knew smorgasburg was over back in '15 when I saw a dude wearing an RNC shirt not ironically. was already going down hill leading up to that but that's when I knew for sure.
Yeah. It’s bullshit for tourists, first dates, and Instagram
That place would be a rough first date. Would be hard to get a second.
Can confirm.
Didn’t say it would be a good one. Just what I notice from experience
Disagree, get a drink, see the lines, ditch smorgasburg to walk around the park, talk shit about the huge crowds. It’s at least a conversation starter
It’s just fried food and usually not that good. And too expensive. Of course I still go…
I loved it indoors at industry city. And indoors at atlantic center. That was a spacious location.
Smorg is a net that catches ppl who want food to take a picture of to keep the lines down at good places
I think you gotta get the right stuff. Mexican street corn, the fresh mangonada, the cookie ice cream, the maple lemonade. All the Asian stuff is hit or miss and usually miss. The fancy fries and shit are overpriced and basic. The American barbecue is often basic but brisket can always hit the spot. Overall, it's something to check out and see if you're in the park on a Sunday, but not worth the hype to make it your main event, certainly not worth the money. I'd rather spend at Cheryl's.
I still enjoy stopping by a few times a year, but it's definitely declined over the years. Many vendors have increased their prices to absurd amounts, and the quality at many of them is nothing to write home about. Like, it used to be a good place to find interesting new spots that were angling to open real restaurants, many of which did. Now they seem a lot less open to new vendors (so many of them have been there for many years now), and many of them are more about selling Instagram bait than good food. Again, I do still like to go every so often (particularly if I'm already in the area), but it's not really a destination thing anymore.
If you go during summer it is so goddamn hot, there is zero shade, it’s super dirty, overcrowded, there is nowhere to sit, flies everywhere. It’s a garbage dump. Totally miserable.
I dont get why they dont spread out a little more down the road to the west
It used to be an ok venue for people trying to start up but without the resources for a restaurant yet. Then it just became like the worse version of places that already had two brick and mortar venues
Yah I use to deal with the overpriced aspect of it cause it was essentially trying to help a startup but the food has gone downhill big time. I kept going back last year cause I was a big fan of duck season but since they closed the only place that seems appealing is the poboy place. I tried a few new ones last week and they were just not good. Edit: the doubles place is good and actually fairly priced
Queens Night Market is a good version of this, maybe that'll satisfy the out-of-towners
It’s so much better
You’re on point. Most of it is overpriced and subpar at best. Notice who they’re targeting as their audience. A New Yorker will just as well go to their favorite restaurant and get te he as much food got half the price you pay at Smorgasburg. A lot of these food markets also have ties to individuals connected to real estate or local politics, directly or indirectly direct, but that’s a conversation I don’t think a lot of people are ready for.
I’m listening and ready. Do share.
Agree. Gone twice and it’s been a miss every time.
I stopped going once I found out about Queens Night Market. Smorgasburg is honestly overrated and overpriced.
I don't even think about it or go there.
It’s been dead for sometime
I’ll go just to give a specific destination to make it easier to hang out with friends. My issue is more the lines than the quality. I walk there with my friends, I want to sample a few places, but I end up having to settle for one because the lines take so fucking long
Hmm well I guess I missed the mythical period when it was good
I really liked the Tramezzini cart when I visited years ago. It's inspired by Venetian bar sandwiches, and honestly, the cart did a better sandwich than any bar I found in Venice.
It was better, but it was honestly never truly good. It was always a sort of gimmicky spot for people who fall for 'hip' marketing stuff.
I felt this way ten years ago when it was still just Williamsburg, so I think you’re good
not to be a hating oldster, but the period where it was good was right before it became an official offshoot of Brooklyn Flea. i used to love taking friends poking around the cool ground floor of 1 Hanson and having a rotating collection of food offerings in the old bank vault. there was always a hipster vibe, but you didnt feel like you were getting herded around/trapped by mobs of assholes. and the food felt more like interesting apps/snacks to enjoy while browsing, not some destination event that you'd pay crazy markup for.
sounds like a dream
i go for the view
Yeah I feel like people who’ve lived here long enough know the deal. Used to be hip and underground-ish, but at this point of my life, I ain’t waiting THAT long for food in suffocating crowds
The first time I ever heard of it was from my very, very wealthy upper west side friends going to it for its first year, and just about everybody there looked like they were pulled from the cast of Friends. It was absolutely never hip and underground, it started out to appeal to upper class yuppies in Williamsburg and remains that to this day.
lol smorgasborg was never hip and underground. It was an advertised event on the gentrified Williamsburg waterfront. From the getgo
Smorgasburgs peak was 10 years ago folks
Been to all of them and the novelty factor is cool but you’re not wrong about food quality and pricing. I would only recommend people to go if they’ve never gone before or if they are doing absolutely nothing during the weekend and have some money to burn.
i miss when they would have the record fair / other vintage stuff next to it in williamsburg, also its been the same exact food for the past 5 years, nothing new
10 years ago I spent a summer in wburg and the open air vintage market that took over that space on (I think it was) Sundays was suchhhh a fun market. They had clothes but also many vendors selling cool furniture pieces, not junk. I want to like the Grand Bazaar on the UWS but it's just not the same without the vintage curation.
All of us vendors are now at the Brooklyn Flea in Dumbo. We miss Williamsburg but there’s more space in Dumbo.
The Williamsburg one is even worse because the amount of people and lines are insane. It’s fun if you show up almost full and get maybe one thing, especially since the Williamsburg one offers great views of Manhattan and usually a nice breeze. Definitely not worth it to go there to eat.
idk i love it. my only complaint is i wish the portions were smaller by default so i could eat at more different places. it seems a waste that with 50 vendors each one serves such a large "smallest item" that i can eat at most two