The Incredible Brooklyn Flea Market
My television crew and I have been working on an upcoming special about the New York City borough of Brooklyn, with a strong emphasis on the food scene. This past Sunday, we paid a visit to the incredible Brooklyn Flea Market, and once again, my niece, Sophie Herbert, a proud Brooklynite, joined me for the occasion. The Brooklyn Flea takes place every weekend in two locations. On Saturday, it's held in Fort Greene and on Sundays, it's under the Brooklyn Bridge, now called DUMBO. More than 100 vendors gather beneath this most beautiful bridge and it's so much fun to stroll around and to sample all the delicious and varied food.
1 This is my film crew setting up for the shoot.
2 Mary Curran - my hair and makeup artist and Clair Magruder - my wardrobe stylist visiting with Sharkey
3 Delicious prosciutto, arugula, and fresh ricotta open-faced sandwiches at Salvatore Ricotta Bklyn www.salvatorebklyn.com
4 Betsy and Rachel, the founders of Salvatore Ricotta - they named their business after a man called Salvatore, whose ricotta they fell in love with in Italy. That's Gary behind the lens.
5 Scrumptious cannoli from Salvatore Ricotta
6 Bob and Joe McClure of McClure's Pickles www.mcclurespickles.com have carried down their great-grandmother Lala's classic pickle recipe. They make their pickles in Brooklyn and Detroit. We loved the spicy dill pickles!
7 Here I am with John Cutti, his wife Sarah, and their adorable son Eli.
8 Francesca was captivated by the people strolling on the Brooklyn Bridge walkway overhead.
9 Francesca's point of view of the bridge above
10 Raw, fair trade Ecuadorian cacoa from FINE & RAW Chocolate www.fineandraw.com - Decadent!
11 FINE & RAW's chocolatier Daniel Sklaar
12 Pickled green beans, okra, peppers, and more at Rick Field's Rick's Picks rickspicksnyc.com pickle stand. Rick has been living and pickling in Brooklyn for over 20 years.
13 Rick Field of Rick's Picks
14 Gary standing in front of Pizza Moto www.pizzamotobklyn.com - a portable wood oven pizza parlor
15 Pizza dough ready to go into the wood burning oven
16 The pizza assembly line at Pizza Moto
17 The incredible Margherita pizza we savored from Pizza Moto. It's made with a sourdough starter procured from local apples.
18 Here I am with Dave, the founder of Pizza Moto, and his co-worker. Dave, a former architecture student, is also a chef at Brooklyn's Lunetta.
19 Susan Povich of the Red Hook Lobster Pound redhooklobsterpound.com. She and her husband, Ralph Gorham, founded their Maine Lobster business last May.
20 A classic Maine lobster roll on the left and a Connecticut roll on the right - served on a buttered roll
21 Rafael and Reina Soler, of Red Hook Foods, cook up some of their delicious tamales and pupusas - a traditional food of the Pipil/Mayan people of Cuzcatlan in modern day El Salvador
22 The hot pupusas at Red Hook Food Vendors
23 Cesar Fuentes of Red Hook Food Vendors told us all about pupusas.
24 Delicious tamales and pickled cabbage to go
25 Sophie and I shared a rice and bean pupusa - delish!
26 Yummy hot dogs at Asia Dog
27 Steve Porto and Melanie Campbell of Asia Dog. Both are half-Asian and decided to merge their Asian and American heritages. Their dogs all have Asian inspired toppings.
28 David Carrell and Joel Horowitz of People's Pop. They make splendid all-organic popsicles and ices.
29 Joel shaving the ice block
30 Crafts by Lotta Jansdotter jansdotter.com
31 Former MSLO craft department editor - Laura Normandin's crafts. Her new line is called Wren Handmade. lauranormandin.com
32 Fois bois plates, made by Marcie McGoldrick, AVP editorial director Holiday & Crafts MSLO (http://www.marciemcgoldrick.com/) The stationery is made by moontree letterpress
33 Laura Normandin with her handmade craft line
34 Blue Marble ice cream cart under the Brooklyn Bridge www.bluemarbleicecream.com
35 Maple, vanilla chocolate chip, chocolate, and green tea ice cream from Blue Marble. Yum!!
36 The Blue Marble ice cream vendors - Alexis and Jennie. Blue Marble, which has two store fronts in Brooklyn, makes organic ice cream from locally sourced ingredients.
37 The very majestic Brooklyn Bridge
38 Driving away from the flea market on the Brooklyn Bridge
39 Another view of the grand bridge
Photos By Sophie Herbert and Martha Stewart
Lucky you Martha!! However did you decide what to eat. Thank you also for giving us websites of some of the vendors, now I can go see what they have and maybe find some treasures for my home.
Posted by: Cathy | October 28th, 2009 at 5:53 am
Flea markets are such fun! Haven't seen such an amazing selection of edibles at "fleas" here in my neck of the woods! Thanks for the opportunity to take a close look at the Brooklyn Bridge, too.
Posted by: Jo Johnston | October 28th, 2009 at 6:43 am
Nice weather! Glad Francesca got to go.
What's a Connecticut roll?
Posted by: Charlotte K | October 28th, 2009 at 7:05 am
Food served outdoors always tastes great!
Mmmmmm good!!
Posted by: Gloria Brown, Winterport, ME | October 28th, 2009 at 9:12 am
-- Is sm. Vt. city an oxymoron? I was there in Brooklyn with you, M, vicariously. I felt the sun, heard the traffic, smelled the tamales. Lobster, green tea ice cream, crafts. (Sigh) I'm glad YOU are having fun. --
Posted by: Mina I. | October 28th, 2009 at 9:20 am
I want to eat all of these things! Looks like the perfect trip to the farmer's market.
Posted by: Johanna Inman | October 28th, 2009 at 9:46 am
Love the Flea Market Sunday visit. Martha Angell
Posted by: Martha Angell | October 28th, 2009 at 10:14 am
You look great in Brooklyn, Martha. Come back to the outer boroughs again and again!
Great job uncovering all the Brooklyn Flea has to offer.
Posted by: JO | October 28th, 2009 at 10:46 am
I live in DUMBO and the Brownstoner Flea has been nothing short of a wonderful addition, and fantastic way to spend any Sunday afternoon. In the summer the line is out the park for People's Pops, and on any given day you're in for a surprise with a number of new food vendors. We even bought a beer making kit from a local couple selling hops. We love it!!
Posted by: Nicole Tereza @ mangiavita.com | October 28th, 2009 at 10:58 am
All of the food looks delicious! Looks like it would be fun outing!
Posted by: ryepye | October 28th, 2009 at 11:25 am
WOW. What great coverage. Makes me want to hop a train from Boston and visit this Sunday. Great Exposure you give.
Thank you for sharing.
Posted by: Ann | October 28th, 2009 at 11:37 am
loved reading this I keep saying I am going to go and have not maybe this Sunday! Curious to taste the riccotta..we go to Little Italy in the Bronx Aurthur Ave and they make it fresh there. Did they have Flea Market finds? You know antiques or treasure trash? The rest of the United States and Europe have these great flea markets with treasure trash and llots of food...hmm maybe we can tour the Flea markets?? Great Blog! Grace
Posted by: Grace Palazzolo | October 28th, 2009 at 11:41 am
ooooo I want one of those lobster rolls. YUM!
Posted by: Molly K. | October 28th, 2009 at 12:16 pm
That is quite an amazing flea market! Your doggies really seem to love all the attention they get! They are so cute.
Posted by: Alyzabeth | October 28th, 2009 at 12:18 pm
You should come to SPACECRAFT next time you are in Brooklyn. We really love you here.
Posted by: Stella | October 28th, 2009 at 12:22 pm
Hey Martha,
If you ever want to dine on some amazing Polish cuisine in Brooklyn, contact me and my Polish born wife and I will bring you to the Greenpoint section of the borough (nicknamed Little Poland) for some outstanding Eastern European food.
Best,
Andrew
TheBrooklynNomad.com
Posted by: Andrew | October 28th, 2009 at 12:26 pm
Incredible, indeed!
Posted by: Isle Dance | October 28th, 2009 at 1:00 pm
My own niece gave me trip to NYC and visit to your studio for my birthday last year.
My dream came true and did love Brooklyn
I am comin back as know that always something new going on there.
Posted by: ann | October 28th, 2009 at 1:21 pm
is the brooklynn flea marketp open year round, every weekend or certain times of the year? i'd love to know... thanks for sharing!
barb
Posted by: barb giglio | October 28th, 2009 at 1:25 pm
Thanks to you, I now know about this wonderful event and will visit when I come to New York next year.
Posted by: Sonya W. | October 28th, 2009 at 2:17 pm
Oh yummy, the pizza and ice cream look delish!
Did Frannie and Sharkey have any samplings along the way?
gail
Posted by: gail pierson | October 28th, 2009 at 2:41 pm
I'm moving to New York! They have everything in that city and now flea markets where one can get all this great looking food. Our flea market has a food court like you might find at the mall - nothing special.
~
Those lobster and Connecticut rolls look so good as well as Rick Field’s Rick’s Picks. Someone on the boards at one time was asking about his pickles but I’d like to taste the okra. I’m already looking forward to seeing this special when you air it and thanks for taking such a cute picture of Franny too! Trish
Posted by: Trish | October 28th, 2009 at 2:50 pm
A great album Martha. What variety and diversness in people and products.
Posted by: Jennifer Dobbins | October 28th, 2009 at 2:51 pm
The foodsies look soooooooo delicious. Great job martha.
Posted by: Edna/HandmadeDiva | October 28th, 2009 at 3:01 pm
Hi!
Boy that looks like a fun day : )
Where are the pictures of Sophie, I havent seen her in forever...maybe in one of my older Martha books?!
Posted by: Debra | October 28th, 2009 at 4:44 pm
We love Salvatore Brooklyn ricotta and are so glad that the rest of the world is learning about it too!
Posted by: (another) Martha & Woody | October 28th, 2009 at 5:22 pm
Salvatore Brooklyn ricotta is the best! I eat it at home drizzeld with olive oil, sea salt and lemon zest!
Posted by: Eva | October 28th, 2009 at 6:49 pm
Hi Martha, Your fabulous blogs are absolutley the best I have ever read. How fun it would be to go under the Brooklyn Bridge and see as well as eat all of the delicious looking food that they had to offer. What fun you and Sophie must have had. That's another place I will have to visit if ever I get to NYC. Your show today was super. Loved seeing little Daniel in his octopus costume. What a cutie. It's always fun seeing John B and Marc M any time on your show. I'm watching the World Series right now and have trouble deciding who to root for. Raul Ibanuz and Alex Rodriguez both played for the Seattle Mariners and I root for both of them. I've been a Yankee fan since the early 50's and I will be happy if they win. Jan
Posted by: Jan Erickson | October 28th, 2009 at 10:20 pm
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Hello Brooklyn BAG Lady!
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Glad you're exposing shopping options for the current economy. Not only do flea markets save us money, they provide a most relaxing entertainment and comradery among 'a day at the park' people!
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My charity maintains a booth at a large flea market in Massachusetts featuring Avon, Reliv, Tupperware and other direct sales items, where these companies donate proceeds to us and we can sell at discount points to our shoppers!
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We then have The Smack Dab Shop on our property site featuring ALL KINDS of donated items for our customers' 'cheap shopping', along with tons of discounted pet foods donated by local companies. We're a year round PERPETUAL YARD SALE!.... and we love helping our customers, who in turn are helping us!
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From Scrub Boards To Skate Boards.....
National Cancer Society for Animals
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Posted by: andreaandweims on Twitter | October 29th, 2009 at 1:12 am
We were in New York this Summer, our first time, wish we had know about the flea markets! Next time, for sure! They look way fun!
Posted by: lise mancos | October 29th, 2009 at 9:21 am
Salvatore Brooklyn Ricotta the Smoothest, made by the Coolest Betsy Devine
Posted by: Mimi Woodbridge | October 30th, 2009 at 9:03 am
Those Peoples Pops are INCREDIBLE!!!! I think they do new, insanely refreshing flavors every week! YUM!
Posted by: Deb | October 30th, 2009 at 12:05 pm
All the food looked great but something about that green tea ice cream just speaks to me.
I hope Sharkey and Francesca got to enjoy a little bone appetit as well?!
Posted by: Linda | November 1st, 2009 at 2:06 am
PEOPLES POPS!!! they are so great!
Posted by: Sam | November 9th, 2009 at 10:12 am
We went to The Flea on Sunday Nov 15th and bought MapTotes, Ricks Picks, Chocolate and a Lobster Roll. Everyone there asked us if we saw The Flea on Martha. I guess we looked a little out of place being from Atlanta!
But we met two nice women who were there because they saw The Flea on Martha too!
Right up the street is Jacques Torres Chocolates where we split a hot chocolate.
We love NYC and the Martha Tips.
Posted by: William Gilmore | November 18th, 2009 at 8:39 pm