Author Archives: Irene Ceng

Smorgasburg Irene Ceng

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On October 08th 2016, I went to the Smorgasburg, a Brooklyn Flea Food Market, in Williamsburg with a group of friends; including Jessie. Smorgasburg has variety of food from different cultures including: American, Japanese, Vietnamese, and etc.  There were burgers, wraps, tacos, philly cheesesteak, takoyaki, donuts, and etc.

Upon arriving there, I ordered Karaage Fried Chicken with Barbeque Sauce. The word “Karaage” refers to a Japanese method of deep frying various foods such as chicken, fish, and other meats.  It costs $7 for a single serving portion of 8 to 11 pieces. This fried chicken tasted average and didn’t meet my standards. Fried chicken usually have a crunchy texture, however, what I ordered didn’t have it. According to the menu, there should be Barbeque sauce along with the chicken yet I did not taste any sweetness. The vendor added some sesame and other spices, which I do not know of, instead of Barbeque sauce; there was a hint of spiciness but not very strong.  The sauce, in general, smelled like those appetizers from Korean restaurant. I finally understood why there wasn’t any line for this vendor.

I was tempted by the Raindrop Cake because I think this dessert is unusual and extremely creative. However, I didn’t try it because I don’t think the price matched the size of the portion. It costs $8 for one cake.  Overall, most of the customers in Smorgasburg are adults in between ages of 20s to 30s. Majority of the food vendors there have a minimum of two staffs and some have three. Usually, one staff works as the cashier meanwhile the others handled and cooked the food. For example, at the vendor where I bought my Karaage Fried Chicken, there was one who deep fried my chicken meanwhile the other one handled the money.

Visiting the Smorgasburg was a great experience however, I didn’t like the way how most food vendors handled the food. Some vendors’ cook didn’t wear gloves, especially since the cashier and cook switch their roles frequently. Therefore, I think there’s some sanitation issues and should be fixed.

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Field Trip Blog – Irene Ceng

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On October 17th, the class and I went to the Brooklyn Navy Yard at Cumberland Street and Flushing Avenue. The Brooklyn Grange rooftop farm we entered has 4 acres of space where farmers planted different kinds of crops. Their goal is to create a sustainable rooftop garden within the urban area. The farmers planted kale, peppers, lettuces, and other flowers such as marigold. At the same time, the Citytech Gardening Club planted sages, peppers, and basils. This rooftop garden doesn’t use pesticides therefore; the crops are healthier and more nutritious compared to crops we purchase from the supermarket. Aside from crops and flowers, there are beehives and small chicken coops on the roof.

The class prior to the day of field trip, Professor Krondl had shown us a film called “Food Machine Episode 1 America Neverland”. This film was about the host, Yul Kwon, visiting the largest farms in the United States.  In the film, all farmers expressed the same issue: insects. Using pesticides contributes to harmful crops meanwhile it helps sustaining mass products. Due to large numbers of insects in the fields, farmers are having difficulty dealing with them. As a result, some farmers said they used pesticides. Not only do the pesticides kill the insects, it harms the crops and eventually the consumers.

During Barack Obama’s campaign years ago, he addressed issues such as the price of health care, climate changes, and the broken food system. According to him, the food system had the most issues and there has to be changes. The amount of fossil fuels used during the transportation of crops contributed greatly to the emission of CO2 and this directly impacts climate change. Another issue regarding the food system is how processed food and meats impacts the cost of health care. Majority of the health care system is used to treat chronic diseases related to food because plethora foods procured by the Big Food are processed so the food contains harmful substances that affect the human bodies. Although it is important to have sustainable agriculture and food supply, Big Food should consider health issues.