“Have you ever tried elote, also known as Mexican street corn? If you have, this is better than any you’ve enjoyed before. And if you haven’t? Prepare to have your life changed.”

With its charming neighborhoods, beautiful skyline views, and amazing rooftop bars, Brooklyn is definitely the best borough. If I’m being honest, Brooklyn has the most incredible food out of the boroughs, and it has Smorgasburg, the fabulous outdoor food festival hosted in Williamsburg.

The first step, especially if it’s your first time, is to take a full lap around to survey the premises. It’s important to know what your options are before committing to your menu.  Make sure you go with friends so you can split each dish and have more room for more food.

Now, it’s easy to get overwhelmed because of the plethora of choices, and everyone finds their own favorites at Smorgasburg. But here’s an outline for your food-consuming strategy. Also, these are just some of the things I enjoy there, so don’t feel the need to eat every single one. More power to you if you do.

Pro-tip: Buy a $1 water bottle from the vendors outside the festival as it’s the cheapest you’ll find.

I like to start with a beverage, particularly the Vermont Maple Lemonade, which is so simple and yet unbelievably delicious.

The owner actually drives every weekend from Vermont to bring 100 gallons of his fresh maple lemonade to Brooklyn. I know it sounds basic, but the maple syrup adds a real uniqueness to the lemonade without making it too sweet. It’s also great as a dessert, but I can never wait that long to enjoy it.

Next is the appetizer. Have you ever tried elote, also known as Mexican street corn? If you have, this is better than any you’ve enjoyed before. And if you haven’t? Prepare to have your life changed.

This magical delicacy is from a stand called Vaquero, and it is definitely the best deal at Smorgasburg. For a low low price of $4, you can get a grilled piece of fresh sweet corn, smothered in salty butter, sprinkled with chili powder, rolled in crumbled cotija cheese and then drizzled with lime juice. No big deal. Except it’s a giant deal.

Time for the next course. As you can tell, I’m all about the simply delicious, and this one is no different.

The guys at Santa Salsa do a Venezuelan hot dog like no one else.

I’d never had a Venezuelan hot dog before, but now that I have, I don’t think I can go back to the regular kind. Santa Salsa make a Perro con Todo that will blow your mind, and make you rethink the American hot dog. It’s a kosher all-beef dog in a pretty generic bun but it’s topped with onions, cabbage, ketchup, mustard, cheddar cheese, CRUSHED POTATO CHIPS (yes, potato chips on a hot dog), and this outstanding sweet corn sauce they call Santa Salsa. The service is really slow, but it’s just the two guys behind the counter, so be patient, because it is so worth it.

Okay, next up is the main course, and it’s a stunner. A jianbing is a Chinese breakfast dish that resembles a savory crepe, but is just so much better.

They start with this super thin batter and spread it on a very hot stone.

Next comes an equally as thin egg mixture which cooks with the batter and creates a sticky base for the toppings that come next. The original has scallions, their special house “13 sauce,” their homemade chili sauce, cilantro and this awesome crispy cracker that goes in the middle. Now you can stick with the original and be very happy, or you can up the ante and go for the hoisin-lime beef and really change your game. All of the Asian flavors come together in a tasty mouthful with a fantastic crunch in the middle.

The jianbing is quite large so I definitely recommend splitting it with someone.

If you still have room and you’re not ready for dessert, go for the Big Mozz sticks. Big Mozz makes their own mozzarella right here in Brooklyn and let me tell you, the difference is noticeable. It’s creamy and smooth and makes an unreal mozzarella stick.

They gently batter it and then, of course, toss it in the fryer for a delightful crispy stick. They are enormous, and there’s four to the order so definitely share them.

Now dessert. There are plenty of ice cream options but after all the food courses, I like to go with something light. Enter People’s Pops. They offer a delicious selection of popsicles and shaved ices, all made from fresh fruits and juices and crafted right here in Brooklyn.

I went for the blueberry melon pop which was delicately sweet and had a nice melon finish. It was a perfect end to my really delicious day.

The post Attention Brooklyn: Here’s Your Guide to Smorgasburg appeared first on FactoryTwoFour.

The drink menu here is extensive, and quite lovely. All of their cocktails sounded amazing but I just felt a beer was more suited for the meal, and went with a Black Hog Strawberry Gose. I’d never had a gose before but this was perfect! Light and crisp with a pleasant fruity flavor that totally complimented my dinner.  Now, on to the good stuff.

They have pickles, and yes, they’re really good but that’s just the tip of the iceberg with this place. I made a statement about fried chicken a while back, and I have to say the chicken at Jacob’s Pickles also ranks quite highly at the top of my list of best fried chicken in like, the entire world. Their menu is extensive and it’s hard to make choices, so go with a group and share stuff.

Our neighbors at the table got a flight of pickles and couldn’t finish it so we were gifted with their leftovers (I know it sounds weird but it wasn’t.) Personally, I love the pickled green beans the best, or dilly beans as they’re called on the menu. Crunchy, snappy and super tangy, they’re a great way to start off.

My favorite thing on the menu is called the BBQ Smothered Pepper Jack Chicken sandwich. Yeah, just read that name again and try to picture it- believe me when I say it’s better than you can ever imagine. It’s a massive piece of extremely crunchy, juicy, fried chicken, on top of their homemade biscuits that are to die for, and smothered with their housemade barbecue sauce and shredded pepper jack cheese. It’s so aptly named, let me tell you. The plate is absolutely enormous so it’s perfect to split.

The biscuits are part of their fame, and well worth it too. Buttery, soft, moist, I could eat just those for dinner and be totally satisfied.

Everything always looks good, but I recommend getting anything that comes with the cheddar grits. Goodness, they’re good. I’m not a southern girl so it’s not like I know that much about grits, but I can tell you these are absolutely incredible. Totally cheesy (so of course I like them) and perfectly smooth, I like to alternate a bite of the sandwich and then a bite of the grits, just for some balance throughout my meal.

For some reason we thought we could handle more food, so we also ordered a side of poutine- it’s a weakness of mine, I can’t turn it down. This wasn’t traditional poutine, as it wasn’t completely covered in gravy, but it was so delicious and really filling. The fries seemed to have soaked up the gravy so they were very flavorful and salty, but were still crispy. The best part was the obscene amount of cheese on top, forming them into a giant mass of happiness.

I cannot possibly recommend this place enough. The food is incredible, the price is totally reasonable, the atmosphere is pleasant and the music is rockin’. They do it right over there, so if you’re in New York, go now. I will say it gets pretty crowded and they don’t take reservations for small groups, so be prepared to wait a little bit, but know that the wait is 100% worth it.

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If you don’t know what CMJ is you aren’t alone. I lived in NYC for two years before I first learned of the 34-year-old marathon last year. Two main factors contribute to CMJ’s lack of notoriety: venue and artists. While other large music gatherings have one central location CMJ occurs at over 80 venues across Manhattan and Brooklyn and the artists, over 1,300, are all emerging artists. While those numbers are intimidating the five-day event is actually surprisingly easy to navigate.

When the schedule was first released about a week or two in advance CMJ also released an app that turned out to be a lifesaver. Every artist had a bio page with relevant info and links to their social media including SoundCloud that would launch within the app to allow you to get a feel for the act. However, with thousands of artists it was still a bit daunting, but the map within the app became the flagship feature. Allowing it to use your current location it would show all the venues hosting shows near you and clicking a venue would then provide the schedule and same links to the artist’s bio page.

CMJ kicked off on Tuesday October 21, but needing one more night of rest before taking on the marathon my experiences didn’t begin until the next evening. I found myself in some bars near NYU (thanks to the app) enjoying numerous nondescript bands before heading Lower East Side of Manhattan to meet up with a friend who works at a music agency to catch Ryn Weaver, who he was interested in seeing. I didn’t know her name before entering Bowery Ballroom, but she’s now certainly not one I’ll forget anytime soon.

The next evening was all about supporting my Texas roots and checking out a Texas music showcase. Not country, though country is certainly a part of the Texas music scene, Texas music is very diverse from Houston rap to all things Austin (“the live music capital of the U.S.) And it was Austin based East Cameron Folkcore that really stole the show. An eight person band that, once I could get passed the logistics of forming an eight person band, blew me away with their use of guitars, trombones, drums, sax, harmonica and even cello to create a bolstering sound reminiscent of early Kings of Leon. Following their set at The Delancey a move was made to nearby Pianos to catch an Australian electronic music duo. Not knowing much about electronic music or even the equipment they were using they impressed with an interesting live show and chilling vocals.

Friday night was a break from the marathon; a man’s got to see his kids. Kidding, I had other drinking to tend to. Saturday was an all day event of catching varying acts around the Lower East Side before shutting down the festival late that evening at Fat Baby awkwardly jamming out with two friends an on empty dance floor to an all female rock band.

Fittingly, when I left that show I realized I had lost my badge. I took this to mean one of two things: I should, in fact, never dance or that the festival was over. Either way it was time to go home for some much needed rest. Until next year, CMJ.

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