Brooklyn Flea Food Market: Smorgasburg

After a failed attempt to win lottery tickets to the Broadway show Matilda last weekend, my friend Elaine and I needed a new plan so we headed to Brooklyn and the festivities at Smorgasburg. After spending a few hours there I could see this place becoming part of my weekly routine. 

Smorgasburg is made up of  "packaged and prepared foods, beverages, and more from purveyors from New York City and across the region, for a total of 75-100 vendors." For a full list of vendors click here.  They are open "Saturdays at East River State Park—Kent Ave. and N. 7 St.—on the Williamsburg waterfront; and Sundays on the DUMBO waterfront at the historic Tobacco Warehouse in Brooklyn Bridge Park." This place is so awesome that you have to experience it for yourself!

Check out some of the awesome vendors we visited last Satruday in Williamsburg:

Sunday Gravy NYC

Pecan Patti

Bamboo Bites- sticky rice

Mighty Quinns

Butter & Scotch

handsome hank's

These are just a few of the awesome places that we visited. They have so many vendors and something for everyone! This weekend make this your number one thing to do. Enjoy!

Villa Pancho Taqueria

 Villa Pancho Taqueria says they have "No pretensions of being best anything. Just really damn good food," and they aren't kidding. If you don't know by now Mexican is my favorite food. I could eat it everyday and never get sick of it. That's why when I discovered Villa Pancho Taqueria I was tickled pink.

Villa Pancho Taqueria is a small Mexican food joint with out-of-this-world dishes. They have over ten different burritos so there are options galore. They also make typical Mexican dishes like tacos, quesadillas and nachos. Check out the full menu here. They prepare whatever you like in quick fashion, you pay and then feast!

Regular Nachos. Cheesy goodness!

Mole Burrito

Bedford Ave.Burrito

I am absolutely loving this place and so is the rest of Brooklyn! Check it out for yourself at: 1047 Bedford Ave. Brooklyn, NY 11216.

Agata & Valentina: Fine Food and Good Ideas

 
Last week I discovered so many awesome eats! The one I'm going to tell you about today is called Agata & Valentina. My friend Vanh introduced me to it and now I absolutely love this place.

Agata & Valentina says their "business was born of a passion for fine foods from Sicily, Italy, and around the globe, which drives our desire to share the absolute highest quality products and authentic hand-made prepared foods and pastries with our customers." Their original location was established in 1993 on the Upper East Side and their second location in 2012 in Greenwich Village. 

We shopped at the Upper East Side location which has over 5,500 items... so, their was no time to waste! When you walk in the entrance the walls are filled with freshly baked  breads. As you continue around the store there are so many fresh fruits and veggies laid out so precisely that it looks like art work.

Keep walking through the garden of  veggies and you will come to the huge cheese selection. Our as Agata & Valentina like to call it "a cheese lover's mecca." They have over 350 types of cheeses including "local, domestic, and international artisanal cheeses." They also have handmade fresh mozzarella, that you can watch them make every half-hour right behind the counter.

Next I discovered the coffee section. As you can probably tell, this place just keeps getting better and better. Some of their coffee selections include Hawaii Coconut Coffee, Vienniese Roast, Jamaican Blue Mountain and Mocha Java. Check out their full coffee selection here.

The wall of Olive Oil was crazy! I have never seen so many types of Olive Oil in one place. Next to that was a fully stocked wall of pasta. And later, I found another selection of refrigerated pasta which included a large variety of ravioli. YUM!

Do you love a good olive bar? Look no further. There are olives are far as the eye can see. You mix and match or grab one of the pre-made containers to take home.

Like fresh seafood? This is the place for you. Agata & Valentina calls this one of the most "vibrant parts of the store." They say the "market buzzes with activity all day as our fishmongers hand-cut and display a colorful array of pristine whole fish such as Red Snapper, Brook Trout, Branzino, Sea Bass, Arctic Char, and other seasonal selections fresh from the market that morning." They offer the freshest lobster, crab, clams, scallops, shrimp and fish just for you!

Are you more into Italian meats? They've also got you covered with their Italian inspired deli. Thinking an Italian feast for dinner? This should be your number one destination before heading to your kitchen.

Now let's talk sweets. Agata & Valentina offers a huge selection of pastries, cakes and cookies. When I was perusing through this section I also discovered what looked like cobbler. Check it out for yourself!

Agata & Valentina is located on the corner of 79th and 1st on the Upper East side and 64 University Place in Greenwich Village. So tonight for dinner, think Italian!

We love Agata & Valentina!

One image from: Timeout.com

Dead Freddies

Girls weekend!

 This past weekend I took a trip to Ocean City, MD for a annual girls weekend getaway. This trip was started by my mother and her friends about 11 years ago and since becoming "of age" I have enjoyed two of the annual girls weekend trips. After enjoying the typical Ocean City hangout spots like Secrets and Fager's Island, we decided to venture to a new spot; Dead Freddies. 

Strawberry Daiquiri

Dead Freddies is an Island Grill with nightly DJ's, an outdoor bar, live music and a bay front view. We had such a great time here and really enjoyed the outdoor bar. They have typical bar food. Check out the full menu here and if you are more of a visual person check out the photos below.

Jerk Chicken

Chicken Quesadilla

Fries. My fav, obviously.

Seafood Quesadilla

Chicken Caesar Wrap

Dead Freddies is located at 105 64th Street Bayside, Ocean City, MD 21842. Go Bayside!

Yeah Baby: It's Sugar

IT'S SUGAR is another crazy candy store that has been offering up "sweet experiences to millions of visitors" throughout North America since 2006. This sassy and fun candy store is known for making a statement with their larger than life candies and rebellious atmosphere.

The first time I found IT'S SUGAR I was visiting Atlantic City. Lucky, they have multiple locations so I recently took a stroll around one in NYC. Surprise, surprise- I love this place! It the perfect place for kids that want to enjoy a five pound gummie bear and for adults that need a hilarious gift for their best friend.

I don't know about you but my best friend would find this hysterical.

IT'S SUGAR specializes in Super-sized Candy, Guinness World Records Gummies, Chocolate and much more. They also have a huge line of fashion accessories for girl, boys and adults.

They even can a candied thong. Haha!

IT'S SUGAR has locations all over North America. To find one near you click here. This place is hard to resist- enjoy your sugar high!

La Bagel Delight Got it Right!

     Recently, I had a hankerin' for a bagel. Luckily when I visited Alex on his lunch break one day last week there was a bagel shop right across the street. Among the many  La Bagel Delight locations, we chose the Park Slope location for this carb-party. 

      As soon as I walked into the shop I knew it was going to be fantastic. Since my very first job was working at a local bagel shop in York, PA, I know a awesome bagel when I see one. They have over ten types of bagels such as; everything, sesame, pumpernickel, garlic and egg and you can eat them so many different ways. They have breakfast sandwiches, lunch sandwiches and a full catering menu. If you are more of a bagel and schmear kind of person they offer over 15 type of cream cheese as well. What I love about this place is their menu is huge! If you went to La Bagel Delight everyday for two months you wouldn't eat the same thing twice. No joke!

     During my visit I feasted, (and I do mean feasted because this was about 3 pounds of meat just on my sandwich!) on the one and only "Godfather." The Godfather contains a "thick layer of ham, Genoa salami, pepperoni, provolone, lettuce, tomato, roasted pepper, oil and vinegar." When they say thick, they're not kidding. The guy that handed me the completed sandwich gave me a mischievous smile and said "I hope you are hungry!" I was thinking "well, duh," and then I felt the weight of the sandwich and thought "what in the world was I thinking!" This thing weighed nearly five pounds but it was delish! Feast you eyes on this baby... 

LaBagel Delight's  Park Slope location is located at 284 7th Avenue Brooklyn, NY. For more information check out their website here and have a carb-party for yourself!