The Ultimate Guide to Smorgasburg World Trade Center (2019)

I was so stoked when I found out Smorgasburg was opening at the World Trade Center. My work just relocated offices to FiDi, which means I get to spend my Friday lunches eating lobster rolls and ice cream under the sun. Score!

If you didn’t already know, Smorgasburg is an outdoor food festival where you can find anything from giant mozzarella sticks to jerk chicken dumplings. It’s home to tons of local vendors who show up every weekend to feed the crowd, rain or shine. Smorgasburg has been doing a Williamsburg location on Saturdays and Prospect Park location on Sundays, so it’s awesome that they’ve added a Friday at the Oculus Plaza that will be more accessible to people who live in Manhattan. Smorgasburg WTC runs from 11 AM – 7 PM, which opens the doors for grabbing lunch with your coworkers or stopping by for dinner on your way home.

Below, you’ll find a complete list of all the Smorgasburg World Trade Center Vendors, their website/Instagrams, prices, what they’re serving, along with some reviews of the repeat vendors I’ve tried at the Williamsburg location. Since I haven’t gotten a chance to try them all yet, I’ll be going back every Friday until I have a review for every spot on this list. If you have any opinions about any of these vendors, feel free to drop me a line here.

Stay tuned, and see you there!

Smorgasburg WTC Favorites (as of 5/10)

Winners

• Pineapple Bird from Thai Bird
• Truffle fries from Home Frite
• Mozz sticks from Big Mozz

Big Mozz

• Website / Instagram
• The Food: Mozzarella Sticks
• Price: $10/order of 4 sticks
• About: Our handmade Mozz Sticks put us on the map. Every batch is prepared with whole, honest ingredients: fresh garlic, parsley, and Pecorino Romano on the outside for that chewy, flavor-packed crust; and a life-saving amount of melty Wisconsin mozzarella give you that cheese-pull for days.
• Review: Big Mozz is a Smorgasburg classic and is something you need to try at least once. I’m so glad they are part of the Smorgasburg WTC line up! The breading is super flavorful, the sticks are big, and I hope you have a decent wingspan because you will be stretching out to break the cheese from each bite. These sticks are great but are very rich, so I’d recommend getting an order to share with your friends. Eating four sticks to yourself is doable, but not advised.

Bolivian Llama Party

• Website / Instagram
• The Food: Modern Bolivian Food. Saltenas, sandwiches, and Bolivian citrus soda
• Price: $6-$16
• About: Opened in 2012 by Alex, Patrick and David Oropeza, BLP serves modern Bolivian food for the discerning NYC palate. It has been recognized for it’s innovative take on Bolivian cuisine by Eater NY, The Gothamist, CNN, New York and TimeOut Magazine.
• Review: BLP easily wins most eye-catching booth at Smorgasburg, and I’m glad I finally got a chance to try them. I picked up a brisket chola, which was good, but I didn’t think it was anything special. +5 points for well toasted buns. Solid choice if you’re in the mood for a sandwich, but don’t expect it to be the best sandwich you’ve ever had! Sliders are also a great option to try all three of their meat options.

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Bona Bona Ice Cream

• Website / Instagram
• The Food: Small batch ice cream
• Price: $7
• About: “Bona Bona Ice Cream is the joyful creation of Chef Nick Di Bona. For him, it’s all about flavor. And to get the best flavor, he uses the best possible ingredients and makes it in small batches, from scratch, with love. Bona Bona is an ever-evolving collection of delicious and imaginative flavors served up in cones, bowls and shakes”.
• Review: I had the burnt Rice Krispie treat, which was fantastic. The flavor was close to a caramel Rice Krispie treat, and small chunks of Rice Kripsie treat may be one of my new favorite toppings to find in ice cream. My only gripe was that the marshmallow swirl was much sweeter than the ice cream itself, so my palate had to reset before I could taste the full flavor. Not the best ice cream I’ve ever had, but it’s definitely quality stuff. I went on a cloudy day and the line was long, so I can only expect it to be longer when the sun is out!

Burger Supreme

• Website / Instagram
• The Food: Cheeseburgers
• Price: $9 Burger Supreme Burger / $14 Double Supreme Burger
• About: Burger Supreme is an Atlantic boardwalk-style burger stand founded by Mark Andrew Gravel… The Burger Supreme Burger is a classic, griddle-steamed all beef patty with white American cheese and mustard special sauce on a Martin’s potato roll.
• Review: Haven’t tried this one yet, but will update this post as soon as I do! Burger Supreme is at the top of my list!

C Bao

• Website / Instagram
• The Food: Pork bao (white buns) and bubble tea
• Price: $9/bao
• Review: I didn’t get a chance to try these guys out, but my friend Cole did, and these were his thoughts: “Came for the pork belly, stayed for the peanut sauce. Cilantro haters beware 7/10”.

The Choripan

• Website / Instagram
• The Food: Argentinian sandwiches
• Price: $12 whole / $7 half sandwiches
• Review: I tried the sausage sandwich, which was nothing special. I wasn’t a fan of the club roll they use, and there was way too much of it. Bread to meat ratio is so important!!! I ended up eating only the parts with the meat and leaving the excess bread for dead. The sausage was actually really good, but I wish there was more of it. I’ll probably give this place another chance and try the steak next time.

D’Abruzzo

• Website / Instagram
• The Food: (Italian) Arrosticini (meat skewers), Pizzelle (Abruzzese waffle cookies), Lamb Sammy
• About (From their Website / Instagram): D’Abruzzo celebrates the food of the region with a nod to the simplicity. Food that is fresh, in season and delicious. The motto of Abruzzo is Forte e Gentile: Strong and Gentle. From the sheer cliffs of the Gran Sasso to the seaside fishing trabocchi in Pescara that is what Abruzzo is, and I am happy to introduce you to this incredible place.
• Review: We only tried the lamb skewers, and they were really, really good. Kind of pricey, but then again so is everything else at Smorgasburg. I think it’s worth getting an order to share so everyone can try a little bit, but the skewers are definitely not going to fill you up so plan to eat other food too.

Dan & John’s Wings

 

• Website / Instagram
• The Food: Hot wings
• Price: $8 – $27
• About: Dan and John are two friends from Buffalo who make wings in NYC. Using recipes they learned growing up in Buffalo, they started making wings in Dan’s Brooklyn apartment to satisfy their needs during Bills games (losses).
• Review: Really solid wings that were surprisingly crispy even after sitting in the buffalo sauce for a little while. I wouldn’t put Dan and John’s into “some of the best wings I’ve ever had” territory, but they’re definitely way above average. If you’re feeling wings, these will do the trick.

Destination Dumplings

• Website / Instagram
• The Food: Dumplings
• Price: $4 for 5 dumplings, $9 for 8
• About: The founders of Destination Dumplings are self-described as “Two Kids From Queens”. Both born in 1984 in the dumpling capital of the borough… Flushing. They have been long-time friends and both married wives who were also best friends. Chef Tristan has a unique cultural heritage which is reflected in his dumplings. Tristan is Chinese-Jamaican and the concept for Destination Dumplings began as a way to showcase food from both his and his wives’ culture and progressed into a more modern approach to eating dumplings.
• Review: I’m a huge dumpling guy, so Destination Dumplings was one of the first places I tried at Smorgasburg. I ordered the jerk chicken dumplings (4) because I’ve only ever eaten traditional Chinese dumplings and I’m always game for a good fusion riff on my favorite foods. Really good dumplings, but I still think I prefer the classic pork & chive to the new-wave flavors. Excited to go back and try their other flavors! $9 for 8 dumplings is definitely pricey by regular dumpling standards, but it’s actually not so bad compared to some of the other vendors at Smorgasburg. Check these guys out if you like dumplings!

Home Frite

• Website / Instagram
• The Food: Hand-cut fries
• Price: $8-9
• Review: GET. THE. TRUFFLE. FRIES. The two best non-descriptive words I can use to describe them are “holy” and “fuck”. They come covered in parmesan and black truffle oil and are served with a lemon garlic aioli. I love that they aren’t just smothering fries in toppings to reach gourmet fry status, but actually putting in the effort to make the fries themselves amazing. These guys are french fry masters, nuff said.

Jianbing

• Website / Instagram
• The Food: Chinese
• Price: $9 – $13
• About: What started as a weekend pop-up is now our daily passion, with an offering that has grown beyond jianbing to include jidan bing, rice bowls, dumplings, and delectable veggie sides. We’re delighted to share it all with you! We strive to provide a unique, transportive food experience using the freshest, highest quality ingredients possible.
• Review: I love getting jian bing whenever I’m in China, so I was really excited to try Jianbing Company. To be honest, I was a little disappointed. There wasn’t any Lao Gan Ma (which I think is mandatory) inside, although the menu says chili oil goes in. If there was any, I didn’t get much of it. It mostly tasted like a braised beef wrap. Overall, it was good, but I don’t think I’d get it again.

Mao’s Bao

• Website / Instagram
• The Food: Shanghai sheng jian bao
• Price: $10 for 4 pieces
• About: Mao’s Bao is a food pop-up that specializes in Sheng Jian Bao (Shown-Jen-Bau), a carefully crafted round shaped bun. Bao features a soupy, meaty, and juicy filling on top of a crispy crust with a thin dough on top.
• Review: I fucking love sheng jian bao, it’s easily one of my favorite foods. If you like soup dumplings, I guarantee you’ll like sheng jian bao. They also make these with impossible meat, so it’s a great option for vegetarians! Shout out to my friend Elise (certified vegetarian) who tried them and said they were awesome.

MUTZ

• Website / Instagram
• The Food: Italian
• About: Everyone believes their mom or grandma is the best cook in the world, and so do I! From the gravy to the meatballs I was by my mother’s side each Sunday as she prepared a delicious feast for my family to enjoy. My love of classic Italian-American food is the inspiration behind creating MUTZ. Fast. Fresh, Italian.
• Review: Haven’t tried this one yet, but will update this post as soon as I do!

Nansense

• Instagram
• The Food: Afghan
• Price: $6 – $12
• About: Nansense is the winner of the 2018 Vendy Awards and was featured on the NY Times. Read the full review here.
• Review: We were really full by the time we made it to Nansense, so we decided against going all out with the chicken korma and grabbed the potato korma just to try. Really delicious, and a great option for vegetarians. I’m excited to go back and try the chicken korma and will update this as soon as I do!

Parish Po Boys

• Instagram
• The Food: New Orlean’s po boys
• Price: $9 – $10
• Review: Haven’t tried this one yet, but will update this post as soon as I do!

Red Hook Lobster Pound

• Website / Instagram
• The Food: Lobster rolls
• Price: $10 – $22
• Review: I tried the Main Lobster roll at RHLP at the Williamsburg location on a sunny day last summer. Oh man, it was fucking good. But it was also $20, which is kind of steep since I was only half-full after crushing the roll. But I guess it’s kind of the same thing as spending $15 on a big can of beer at a concert or baseball game– it’s expensive but totally worth it. My friends Matt & Josh went recently; Matt got the Maine style (cold lobster) and said he was really disappointed, and Josh got the Connecticut style (hot & buttered) and said it was awesome.

Ring Ding Bar

• Website / Instagram
• The Food: Ring Dings (Two pieces of cake with cream filling)
• Price: $5 each
• About: Ring Ding Bar is a creative and contemporary take on the classic 1950s hand-held dessert snack. We’re reintroducing the colorful spirit of 1950s baked America to sweet teeth all around the world, one Ring Ding at a time.
• Review: If you’re into interesting and exciting flavor combinations, you’ll have a blast reading through Ring Ding Bar’s menu. The menu features flavors such as PB&J (pictured below), pistachio raspberry, and french toast. If you’re around my age, you’re probably wondering what the hell a Ring Ding even is. My friend, it’s a layer of filling sandwiched between to layers of cake, and dipped in a thin layer of chocolate. Yes. Yes!!!!!!

Rooster Boy

• Website / Instagram
• The Food: A modern take on traditional Japanese chicken
• About: Rooster Boy is a brand started by two Japanese-Americans, Richard Kashida and Joseph Hirotsu. Having come from various restaurant/culinary backgrounds, the need to create what they thought was delicious and share it with the world became a common topic of discussion…Understanding various cultural differences, challenges and tastes, it has become their mission to present the modern take on traditional foods to the next level. Rooster Boy was created in 2018 as the starting point of this new adventure.
• Price: $8 – $12
• Review: Haven’t tried this one yet, but will update this post as soon as I do!

Thai Bird

• Instagram
• The Food: Thai chicken / pineapple fried rice bowls
• Price: $11 – $14
• Review: Thai Bird takes the crown for my favorite dish at Smorgasburg with their Pineapple Bird. Don’t be deceived by its instagrammableness, it’s really a well thought out dish that has some serious flavor. The spicy sauce they put on the chicken is so delicious; it’s sweet, salty, and spicy. It’s nice to get some bursts of cool pineapple in between bites of the perfectly cooked fried chicken, which by the way, is some top tier fried chicken. Make sure to get this next time you go!

Tojo’s Kitchen

• Website / Instagram
• The Food: Japanese
• Price: $6 – $14
• About: Whether it is a bowl of signature tonkotsu ramen or a shoyu ramen, you cannot find a more quality place than Tojo Kitchen. Our thick, creamy, hearty pork flavor broth is made from pork bones, chicken and collagen boiling over high heat for hours. If you crave more than just ramenm you have come to the right place. Tojo Kitchen also specializes in karaage rice bubrger and small bites, such as shumai, spring roll, and gyoza .
• Review: Haven’t tried this one yet, but will update this post as soon as I do!

Wood Fired Edibles

• Instagram
• The Food: Wood-fired pizza
• Price: ??
• About: “Wood Fired Edibles is a mobile wood-fired artisan pizza & cookery co”.
• Review: Haven’t tried this one yet, but will update this post as soon as I do!

Yakitori Tatsu

• The Food: Yakitori (Japanese BBQ’d meat skewers)
• Price: $3-8/skewer
• Review: Yes, these are expensive, but Yakitori is expensive no matter what. Don’t plan to eat your fill here, but definitely stop by to grab a couple skewers between some other vendors. It’s fantastic yakitori. I’ve only tried the chicken thigh and the pork belly, both were delicious.