Author Archives: Gloria Garcia

The Smorgasburg~Gloria Garcia

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The Smorgasburg contains more than 100 vendors displaying their food for more than 10,000 visitors every Saturday and Sunday from April through November. The Smorgasburg promotes culinary tourism therefore making it one of the most popular destinations in Brooklyn. On Saturday October 29 I went to the Smorgasburg in Williamsburg with my parents, siblings and a close friend of mine. Due to the weather the area was full of people and the choices of food were endless. The area provides a great view and a bunch of benches for the customers, making it a great site for families.

First, I went to take a look at the different vendors to see what type of food they were offering. There was a lot of diversity in the food from Mexican to Japanese, Chinese, American anything that one would crave for. I was very impressed on how vendors organize themselves in order to serve their consumers in small spaces. As I walked I heard different amounts of music in each booth, most relating to the food that were being sold. Most of the food tempted me, mostly because they were things that I never heard about, tasted or the way they were displayed. However I will try them once I go back. I’m the type to try different dishes, I see it as a way of learning about different cultures and expanding my knowledge on culinary tourism. The prices vary with each vendor, some are rather high for the portions that they serve. The customers that I saw were teenagers around 18 or 19 and older, probably 40. It seems that the area was almost full of tourists which would explain the prices for the dishes.

Once I finished my small tour I decided to go to the two vendors that had a huge line so I could see what the fuss was all about. First I went to the Ramen Burger, which I never knew existed until that day and it seemed very interesting. While I was waiting on line I observed the process of how the burger was made. It all starts with the noodle buns, they are cooked on a griddle with a splash of sesame oil making the texture chewy instead of crunchy. The beef is then griddled and coated with a secret shoyu ramen sauce. The middle of the burger contains arugula, scallions and based on the preference of the consumer cheese. The burger was $10, it would’ve been a good price if it was a little bit bigger however I was satisfied with the flavors. At the first bite you can taste the mixture of the sauce with the beef and bun, the scallions and arugula taking it to a whole other level. This is a must try burger for those who have yet to experience new culinary creations.

My second stop was in Home Frite, this was the #1 stop for every consumer everyone was walking around with their fries. It was obvious that this was going to be my next stop. The line was a bit longer than the Ramen Burger and it took some time for me to be at the front. I ordered the Dutch fries which were topped with curry ketchup, lemon aioli and chopped onions. The fries were $8 which was a reasonable price due to its size. I shared them with my friend and both us agree that the mixture of flavors were amazing while the crunchiness was perfect.

My friend made a stop at Dough to get some donuts since they looked very delicious and there was a good amount of different flavors. She ended up getting the Hibiscus and Dulce de Leche donuts. The hibiscus was sweet with a little bit of tanginess, but good. The Dulce de Leche was sweet enough and the toasted almonds gave it an exquisite taste. The dough in both donuts were cooked perfectly and tasted like they were fresh out of the oven.

The Smorgasburg was a very wonderful experience that makes me want to come again and do it all over again. The best thing about it is that once the weather begins to get cold the Smorgasburg is then placed inside. I’m looking forward to check the place out and see how different it is from the area that I visited.

Field Trip Post~Gloria Garcia

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Last Monday the class went to the Brooklyn Grange which is a sustainable rooftop garden in the Brooklyn Navy Yard. The farm grows “over 50,000 lbs of organically-cultivated produce per year” which is then sold to CSA members, restaurants, and to the public. The Brooklyn Grange also operates an apiary and egg-laying hens, the honey is sold to the public. The Hospitality Garden Club from City Tech has an association with the farm, it teaches club members the basic skills of sustainable gardening. During club hours members maintain a neat and clean garden while they grow flowers and vegetables for the pastry and culinary labs at City Tech. The farm’s compost consists of food waste from individuals, restaurants and the garden itself in order to have a nutritious soil for the crops. There’s also no activity of pesticide use. The Brooklyn Grange mission is to produce healthier and nutritious crops compared to those sold in the supermarkets.

In the first episode of America Revealed “Food Machine”, Yul Kwon explores how the food is grown, processed, and transported in the United States in order to feed nearly 300 million Americans every day. The show displays how engineering has allowed 80% of California’s water to go to Central Valley farm which produces 50% of the entire country’s fruits, nuts, and vegetables. It also exhibits the use of antibiotics and growth hormones on animals just so it could provide a good amount of meat for a low price. All of these activities are affected by “craveability”, which is what Americans want and whatever is currently trending in the restaurant business. In order for all of the consumers to be satisfy, farms have to take different measures on how they operate from the use of more than 40 pesticides to hormones and antibiotics. Lastly, Kwon investigates Detroit where people can’t afford to get real food and it shows how urban farmer Will Gardner has been growing his own crops to eat and sell in a local farmer’s market. From the beginning and end of the show we see the great differences between both farming techniques and the impacts it has on the population it feeds.

Michael Pollan’s states in his article that President Obama did not address the broken food system like he should have and how quickly the Obamas were “outlobbied and outgunned” when poking at Big Food. Michelle Obama in the other hand did her best to promote a healthier lifestyle by focusing “on issues that resonated with ordinary Americans concerned about their children”. An accomplishment being the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 where she prioritized and raised “nutritional standards for the meals served in the Federal school lunch program” and eliminating the sale of junk food in public schools. Michelle Obama has set the start of the food movement, it is up to us to continue fighting for this movement to exist as a political force. At the end of the day we have to understand that it takes a lot of time to change the way agriculture has been operated in the past years, that’s one of the reasons why the Obamas didn’t make as much progress as we would have liked them to.

The Brooklyn Grange sets an excellent example of how farms/gardens should be operated and its interaction with the community by providing countless workshops and renting the area for yoga classes, wedding ceremonies and dinner parties. Farms that produce without the use of chemicals should be expanded to promote a healthier lifestyle since the other way of farming has caused several health issues. There should be more available resources like the Brooklyn Grange in necessary areas where it is not easy to afford organic products. Overall, sustainability should be reevaluated in our agriculture so there could be a balance in the foods that we consume.