This would be my second weekend in a row visiting Brooklyn. Now that’s an anomaly since I rarely visit that borough, being that it takes an hour train ride. But I needed to visit BAM to exchange performance tickets. Since I’ve been told time and again from my friend, Chris to visit the Flea Market at the Skylight One Hanson and I didn’t want my trip to Brooklyn wasted on changing tickets, I walked around the corner and found the entrance to the winter flea market.
Houses in Fort Greene just around the corner from BAM
Chris praised the beauty of the Skylight but unfortunately, that day, it was surrounded by ugly scaffolds, you don’t see much until you actually enter the building, which is housed under a bank.
When you enter, it’s like stepping back in time. Domed under a beautiful and extravagant vaulted ceiling and lined with corinthian columns and arcade, etched with random art deco motifs along the window, it was like a combination of romantic art melded into art nouveau. The high ceilings, the stained glass, and hidden apses, I felt like I had stepped into a replica of St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle but with a touch of the industrial age riches.
Then your eyes come back down, and you’re bombarded by all these randomness and well, hipsters. Ignoring that piece, you can explore and support local art and craftsmanship. The Skylight only hosts the winter flea market and when Spring arrives, all its content are emptied out into the streets of Fort Greene, a few blocks away by the water.
Some of the best foods are located at the front entrance and also downstairs. One mustn’t miss out on this extravaganza. I found food like maple bacon cupcakes, s’mores, and brothless ramen, organic chocolate, and spicy pickle chips all under one roof. It is a foodie’s delight! Be careful not to spend all your money at one stall as the prices are moderate and portions are small. But if you go around, there’ll be tastings of everything that you might not even want to buy anything. Of course, who could resist not bringing home some donut and chocolate?
I was really tempted for the Butter & Scotch s’mores pie and even the Irish Car Bomb trifle cake…but alas, I stayed away to save my appetite for something more savory.
Moseying on downstairs, avoiding a crowd of young hipsters and hipster families, I finally founded the savory food, where you could choose from artisan hot dogs to plain ole tacos. I went for the cheap food and got spicy tuna taco for $5 at Takumi Taco, $5 for grilled rice ball at Rice & Miso Everyday, and $8 brothless spicy tuna ramen at Yuji Ramen.
Before exiting the food venders, I took a box of John & Kira’s Fruits home, along with 2 amazing(!!!!!) blood orange donut and passion fruit with cocoa nib donut from Dough, which I must now go try and find the actual store to try more versions, and of course, how could I not get the s’mores and cookies from S’more Bakery. If you haven’t tried these, you MUST MUST MUST!
Finally, I made my first big purchase of the year by buying a couture dress by Louisianna’s own Mam’selle by Betty Carol. This beautiful black dress with lace comes from the ’50s, though parts of the lace are a bit worn out, I think I can pull it off, if I could just lose that extra 5 pounds I keep saying I’ll lose. And what better way to support local artists than to buy this beautiful rose gold plated infinity bravely from Elma Blint Design.
Despite hanging out with hipsters rummaging to old, used stuff, I had a very enjoyable day. Even walking just two floors, I was pooped out and ready to come back to my lovely abode in quiet family neighborhood of Queens.