Dekalb Market Open for Business
Last weekend saw the launch of Dekalb Market, a new open air marketplace on the edge of Downtown Brooklyn. I had planned on writing an elaborate post about it, but it seems that's not going to happen soon, so I'll have to settle for a quick series of photos with a bit of commentary after the jump...
Inside the main entrance, you've got a sparse population of vendor stands. There wasn't a lot exciting there just yet, but given the turnout of visitors, I imagine that the demand will bring more sellers soon.
The really interesting part of Dekalb Market - besides bringing interesting local shops to an otherwise desolate area - is that the primary shops are built within old shipping containers.
A number of the shops sold clothing art and the like. I even ran into a Twitter friend, AKAMami, who's kids' clothing shop was still in progress. I didn't get a chance to look around at too many of the shops on Saturday, but plan to explore further on my next visit.
This time around, I was mostly interested in the food.
A giant tent was the center of the food scene at the market. Surrounding the tent are more trailers offering food and drink and a couple playing music.
The market is still a work in progress, only a few of the shops, like Tea by Tiffany, selling custom blended teas, had signs or prominent names or menus on display.
I didn't catch the name of this place, but after running into Nicole of Food Culturalist and seeing their chicken biscuit, I had to have one for myself.
I haven't had a chicken biscuit since I was introduced to Sunrise Biscuit Kitchen in Chapel Hill last year. This was a little more upscale than that with a peppery red cabbage slaw and a nice dab of white gravy, but at the price point of $6.50, I don't know that I'll be running back for another order every time I'm down there.
The real draw of the market for me was that Robicelli's, the mom and pop dessert specialists now have a brick and mortar shop, which is pretty great. I've been fans of Matt and Allison since I met them while covering an event a year or two back.
Inside the shop, there was a brief respite form the searing heat on the 100+ degree day and a display full of treats that tempted me in every direction. That said, there was only one cupcake that I was walking out with...
The chicken & waffle cupcake may be a bit of a gimmick, but it's also awesome. A chunk of fried chicken breast, drizzled with syrup is lodged into the buttercream topping of the cupcake. It's a thing to behold.
Just a few feet from Robicelli's is Cuzin's Duzins, which sells mini doughnuts by the dozen, which I snacked on with some friends.
They also serve a pretty refreshing lemonade in hefty portions that were absolutely needed on such a hot day.
Even more refreshing was the selection of beer that's on hand at the market. Cans of Brooklyn Summer Ale and Brooklyn Lager are on sale at a few different stands and provided much comfort as I ran into some friends and spent a couple hours chatting and relaxing with them.
To that end, the music played by DJ Raw Beats was a great mix of hip-hop and soul.
Overall, the market looks like it's going to be a great new Brooklyn institution. There is much to be worked out and touched up, but it's off to a good start so far.
Dekalb Market, 332 Flatbush Avenue Extension, between Gold and Willoughby.