Sure, flea market is not the correct term used for events like this. But calling it LIC Open Market for Expensive Food and Tinkeries doesn’t ring the same bell. It’s quite long and cumbersome to roll off the tongue.
From stall to stall, I enjoyed viewing different food, reading ingredients, looking at the colors, the richness and the beauty of all the food out for display. It takes you out of the city mode for a few bit of seconds before you have those annoying rushing-off-off-somewhere-New-Yorker pushing their way to get to something. I mean, what exactly are you rushing off to in Long Island City? It’s literally a ghost town.
I love the idea of LIC being the next up and coming neighborhood but it’s so sparse, sprawling, and dead every time I visit. It’s been 10 years “up and coming” and I still haven’t seen much change except new restaurants opening and closing. Food is expensive. Renting is the same price as Upper East Side for the same square footage. And most of all, I don’t find it diverse, unless you call a few Latino restaurants and one Indian restaurant paying due to diversity. I still go to LIC because it’s a convenient stop gap between Brooklyn and Queens.
For opening weekend, LIC Flea & Food Market featured some old faces and new faces.
The Nomad Truck did a stop, placing its hipster friendly dresses and blouses at the entrance, along with the bouncing castle for NY Cosmos, the borough’s up-and-coming soccer team. Sometimes, I really dislike that word, up-and-coming because it never really becomes anything but a fad trying to pretend to be a lasting trend.
Oconomi shop is a returner from last winter along with a bubble tea stall. Old Fashion Doughnut, Arborio King Rice Balls, and Bill’s Balls also made their return from the long winter break. But BiBim looked new with their kimchi cans. However, the pulled pork saffron rice ball from Arborio King knocked others out of the field.
Butcher’s Shop was also there, but since the restaurant is so near my apartment, I opted not to try it.
Of course, we stopped by the WOZA, the South African truck for some chicken prego and their amazing lychee ginger ale.
I also did try a new stall, Jicama NYC: California Street Food, featuring a “tortilla-less” taco. Jicama was used in place of the shell topped off nicely with pulled pork, cucumbers and mango.
As Spring days go by, Sunday was a better day than windy Saturday. The sun beat down on the cold, trying to tamp out the last of winter. We found a spindle table and hung out eating our goods, like pirates examine their booties from the latest raid.
After basking in the sun, I explored LIC. When I say “explore”, I really mean to say “eat at a new restaurant”.
Opendoor is this new restaurant at the corner stop of Hunter’s Ave train stop. I had been seeing it make the rounds on my Twitter feed and decided to check it out. It’s a bar with stools and bars lining the wall at the entrance. Beyond the bar, the restaurant opens up. We opted for the front to enjoy sunlight even as drafty wind blew over us.
I ordered Basil Smash, which I will have to note to never order any bourbon drink ever again.
On many of the tips on Foursquare, the French toast with coconut and captain crunch cereal was the most preferred, so I ordered that. The french toast isn’t exactly what I imagined. It was more of a polenta texture and since I’m not a fan of polenta, I refrained from eating all 3 pieces and opted to share it.
It was overall an okay restaurant. Nothing to shout it out of the ordinary. The price was a bit pricey for brunch when surrounding areas were offering better deals.
Before heading home, I stopped by The Bao Shoppe on Steinway. Now that is a must-try location. I got the Colonel Bao. The chicken was super crisp but the flavor was rich and herbal. It was very good and very decently priced. Don’t forget to order a bubble tea while you’re at it.
