There are numerous opportunities to experience the variety of restaurant offerings in New York City, including food halls, flea markets, food trucks, and food carts. Another popular option is any of the markets organized by Urbanspace. This past weekend, I had the opportunity to experience firsthand Broadway Bites, a pop-up food market curated by Urbanspace.
Broadway Bites is great on so many levels. There are 28 food vendors participating in the fall market, ranging from sweet to savory and spanning the globe with different food styles and cultural influences. Meeting up with friends who all want something different? Broadway Bites is the perfect choice! Everyone can get exactly what they want, or you can get several things to share. There’s plenty of seating scattered around the park as well.
I was invited to taste some of the delicious food offerings, and I thought I would share some of my favorites. There was this incredible truffle cheesesteak by the Truffleist, with its perfect balance of grilled meat and peppers, cheese sauce, and crusty yet soft bread, crowned with freshly-sliced truffles from Burgundy, France. The Truffleist is known for its handcrafted truffle products, and the company is based in Long Island City, Queens. More recently, they have been participating in pop-up markets and have just opened up a permanent kiosk at Gaansevort Market in Manhattan. All I can say about this is Yum! I plan on having this cheesesteak again sometime soon!
I love poutine, that delicious Canadian comfort food that usually consists of french fries covered in gravy and cheese curds – and Birds & Curds by MeltKraft offers some creative and flavorful poutine options. The Birds & Curds people suggested that I try the “Nacho Average,” a marriage between nachos and the traditional poutine. The crispy hot fries were covered in a refried bean gravy (yes, it did have that delicious flavor of refried beans) and then topped with cheese, salsa, and pickled jalapeños. Poutine traditionalists might be shocked, but this dish was really good!
Or how about the fresh, clean taste of Gotham Poke‘s spicy tuna poke? Poke is becoming popular in New York City, with new poke shops springing up across Manhattan on a regular basis. Gotham Poke is among the best, and its spicy tuna poke included Vidalia onion, seaweed, pickled ginger, chili mayo, and gochujang sauce, and was garnished with spring onion and thinly sliced radish.
I was intrigued by Hai Street Kitchen & Co.’s sushi burrito, which is offered in this box, almost like a present.
Once the package was opened, I discovered this Instagram-worthy and delicious treat – this one with salmon. The “burrito” form turns the sushi roll into a hand-held street food.
I’m a fan of Korean food, making Chingdu New Korean’s offerings intriguing. I tried this tender bulgogi, made with ribeye steak and garnished with pickles.
The man taking orders at Bar Suzette Creperie persuaded me to try the lamb burger, topped with carmelized onions and fried goat cheese and garnished with arugula, grainy mustard, and fig jam. The goat cheese added a tangy, creamy taste to each bite, and the mustard and fig jam balanced sweet and savory.
What made this stop particularly fun was watching one of the guys make a delicious looking crepe as I waited for my lamb burger to cook. Doesn’t this look tempting? I think it will require a return visit to try it as well!
Perros y Vainas has one of the most colorful kiosks at Broadway bites, and is the inspiration of the people behind New York City’s very popular Wafels & Dinges, Rossanna Figuera and Thomas DeGeest.
Perros y Vainas offers Venezuelan street-style hotdogs, which are cooked to create a crispy exterior and then loaded with a variety of toppings. I gave Rossanna free rein to garnish my hotdog as she saw fit, and this was the result – a masterpiece of flavor! My favorite part is the crispy potato sticks (papitas) that offer an unexpected but satisfying crunch with each bite. What also makes Perros y Vainas special is that Rossanna and Thomas are donating part of their sales to organizations that provide food and medical care for children in Venezuela.
Ending on a sweet note, I stopped by Mochidoki to try some Japanese-style mochi. The ice cream comes in a variety of natural flavors and is covered in the rice-based mochi dough. Ken Gordon, the company’s founder, presented the mochi with well-found pride, and I was excited to try it. In fact, I’ve already been back to try additional flavors since my first visit. So far I’ve tried coconut, double chocolate chip, mandarin orange cream, and salted caramel – and I’ve loved them all. Another bonus for those who can’t have gluten: all but two of Mochidoki’s flavors are gluten-free!
Want to check out Broadway Bites for yourself? The market is located in Greeley Square on Broadway between 32nd Street and 33rd, only a short distance from the 34th Street – Herald Square subway station. (The N, Q, R, B, D, F, and M trains all stop at this station.) Don’t wait too long though – the fall Broadway Bites market only continues through November 18, 2016.
Mouthwatering presentation !
Thank you!
A few weeks ago I checked out flights from Warsaw to NY in an idle moment. This post is another incentive! It makes me feel like a country hick too – most of these cuisines I’ve never heard of. Ihow long did it take you to graze through all these deliciousnesses?
I like the idea that I’m persuading you to visit NYC, Meg! I spent a couple of hours at the market on Saturday sampling away – I didn’t eat all of everything though. Way too much food! Many vendors were nice enough to give me full-sized samples because they understood that they make for great photos.
This looks scrummy
Everything was delicious!
Ok all those dishes look amazing, even though I would probably not eat the poke as I don’t like sashimi. That truffle cheese steak especially! But… how did you eat so much food? What are your secrets?!
Everything was amazing – but I only ate part of each one! The vendors were kind enough to give me full size portions, as they recognized that the photos would be better. I would have ended up in a food coma if I had tried to eat it all though!
Well next time I’m in New York, we can partner up and split all the food 😛
That sounds like a great plan! 🙂
This all looks amazing. The UK is getting better for culinary variety but we’ve still a way to go to catch up with this.
New York City is offering more and more of these pop-up food markets, as well as gourmet food halls with a variety of cuisine. It really makes dining out fun, as you can choose something different every time.
Some mouthwatering street food at the market Susan. I’ve heard of Poutine but haven’t tried it. Think the lamb burger looks irresistible! The weather still looks amazing for October too!
I think you would enjoy these pop-up food markets, Marion – so much variety, and it really is fun to try new things. The lamb burger was amazing – a perfect combination of flavors. We’ve had such a nice October so far, encouraging me to get outside as often as possible.
I love, love, love food events like this one. It’s such a great opportunity to try a taste of so many different foods in one spot. I like the idea of sharing to get a little of everything. I’m partial to poutine myself and my daughter is obsessed with mochi. We’re going to be in Brooklyn soon for a visit. I hope we have time to check Broadway Bites while we’re down that way.
It’s definitely worth a visit if you get the chance while you are here. The mochi is the best I’ve had – and in quite a variety of flavors. Curds & Chicks offers quite a variety of poutine as well, both traditional and creative.
Oh my gosh, I shouldn’t have read this on an empty stomach – I want one of everything!
I was writing this post when I was hungry as well – a pretty dangerous thing to do!
Fabulous photos. I am hungry now!
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed the post!
Fascinating! Sounds delicious!
The sushi burrito looks amazing. It all looks amazing. Thanks for the reviews — can’t wait for the next time I’m in NYC.
Some delicious looking food there and seating! There is some great street food in Westminster where I work for two days a week, but nowhere close by to sit down and eat it. A vital ingredient.
So many options, everything looks amazing! I am a poke addict after visiting Hawaii and have never had it in the 48…going to have to check out Gotham, thanks!
There are several new poke shops in NYC, so plenty to choose from! Gotham Poke was great though.
Very tasty.
always on the lookout for some great poutine in the city