FLEA BITES
Smorgasburg vendors are doing trial runs at Whole Foods’ Bowery cafe
Billyburg is coming to the Bowery in a feat of sustainable food innovation. Starting Monday, Smorgasburg at Whole Foods Market Bowery will bring vendors from the popular Brooklyn Flea spinoff to the store’s newly renovated cafe for trial runs.
The one-of-a-kind partnership is an effort to revitalize the Bowery shop’s cafe and allow Smorgasburg vendors, many of whom only sell at the Flea, to test the waters of restaurant building.
“It’s an exciting new way to support local vendor communities,” says Elly Truesdell, Whole Foods’ Northeast regional local forager.
With the first three vendors lined up, Smorgasburg is poised to take the Manhattan market by storm, one dish at a time.
CEMITA’S
Running: Oct. 22-Nov. 20 0
Danny Lyu will kick off the Whole e Foods-Smormorgasburg partnership with an extended xtended menu of his specialty — 10-layer Mexican sandwiches known as cemitas or Dagwoods.
The sustained passion of Lyu’s two chefs, brothers and former residents of Puebla, Mexico, where the cemita originated, is matched only by Lyu’s loyal following, which he hopes to grow.
For the first time, the Smorgasburg vet will incorporate vegetarian options such as the Cemita Salad, a breadless cemita made with romaine lettuce, to appeal to a wider audience.
“I want to do my best as a representative of the Flea,” Lyu says. “At the end of the day, we’re selling sandwiches. We want to make people happy.”
MILK TRUCK GRILLED CHEESE
Running: Nov. 26-Dec. 23
Keith Klein’s roving grilled cheese operation will temporarily settle down thanks to the new partnership.
Between selling at the Brooklyn Flea on weekends and operating a daily food truck, Klein already has a grueling seven-days-a-week schedule.
But the chance to sell at the Bowery market provides Klein’s team with several pieces of equipment they don’t normally work with, such as a fryer. “It’s a big experiment,” says Klein. “I think it’s a great synergy between brands.”
While the menu at the market will remain relatively similar to the one at the Flea, Klein hints that he may add a special or two during his Whole Foods run.
Until then, diners can expect popular Milk Truck bites like the Milk Truck Classic, Three Cheese Grilled Cheese, and the Classic with a Twist.
MIGHTY QUINN’S
Running: g Jan. 2-Feb. 2
Things are heating up for Hugh Magnum. In ad addition to the opening of a Might Mighty Quinn’s restaurant in early N November, the pitmaster was chosen as the third Smorgasburg vendor to sell at Whole F Foods Bowery.
Magnum says, “The Flea has bee been a think tank for so many vendo vendors. It feels like we’re all coming up togeth together.”
During his month-long stay, Magnum will bring barbecue that pays homage to his Texas-born father and North Carolinian wife — an eccentric mix of grilling traditions from across the South combined with Magnum’s own gourmet experience.
His meticulous, melt-in-your-mouth beef brisket and succulent pulled pork are the culmination of over a decade of “self-taught trial-and-error work with smoked meats.”
khruby@nydailynews.com
Whole Foods Market Bowery, 95 E. Houston St. (212) 420-1320.