Brooklyn Heights

Smorgasburg beats the weather during busy opening weekend

April 6, 2015 By Rob Abruzzese Brooklyn Daily Eagle
Thousands of people descended upon Brooklyn Bridge Park’s Pier 5 for the opening weekend of Smorgasburg, Brooklyn’s massively popular weekly food festival. Eagle photos by Rob Abruzzese
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Smorgasburg season is officially upon us. The weekly food festival kicked off this past weekend, when thousands flocked to Williamsburg on Saturday and Brooklyn Bridge Park on Sunday to brave long lines and windy weather for a taste of the ’burg.

“It’s crazier than I thought it was going to be,” said Duvaldi Marneweck, chef at Goa Taco, who sold out of all of his food at Smorgasburg two hours before the festival closed. “I even brought more than I thought we were going to need and it flew. But that’s great.”

The temperatures were in the upper 50s and lower 60s, which made for a great opening weekend. However, winds wreaked havoc on vendors and patrons alike, especially on Saturday, when it became impossible to hang a sign or keep burners lit.

“The struggle with the wind has been real,” Marneweck said. “It wasn’t so bad early in the day [Sunday], but the wind got real bad toward the end of the day, which made it hard to cook because it was constantly blowing on our burners and just made everything take a bit longer.”

While the wind was a bit of a pain, it certainly didn’t stop anyone from enjoying themselves. Smorgasburg favorites like Ramen Burger, Dough and Mighty Quinn’s Barbeque had their typical long lines, and many of the newcomers like Big Mozz and Marneweck’s Goa Taco were busy all day as well.

Smorgasburg is open now through November. It’s held in the East River Park at North 7th Street in Williamsburg on Saturdays and on Pier 5 in Brooklyn Bridge Park on Sundays from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Expect long lines — so bring some suntan lotion, and don’t forget that everything is cash only.

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