Teens at Smorgasburg — The open air “food flea market”!

This past Saturday, Meeting House Teens had the good fortune of enjoying the first sunny day after a week full of rain and clouds. Union Square was our meeting location, and the teens plotted their course and checked for their necessary items: MTA cards, wallets, watches, and phones for some. Up next, transit card balances were checked and the group hopped on the L Train which took us under the East River and across to Williamsburg, Brooklyn. During the subway trip, we made particular notice of the MTA “Courtesy Counts” campaign, and made sure we were following the humorous and helpful advice!

The destination of the day was Smorgasburg, a unique open air “food flea market” which includes food and drinks from over 100 local vendors. In order to help navigate between so many options, we first sat down and reviewed the extensive menus using phones and each selected their top choices. Additionally, since the area was quite crowded, we made sure to create a plan to stick together but also identify a ‘meet-up’ spot in order to be extra careful. Thankfully, our plan went on without a hitch, and we all managed to find fantastic culinary options, including: Barbeque, specialty hot dogs, fish and chips. A few also indulged their sweet tooth with ice cream and fresh coconut milk!

Smorgasburg is held each weekend in East River State Park, which stretches along the water’s edge in Williamsburg and provided our group a chance to take in the sights of Manhattan as we ate. Once finished with our meals, the group moved on to exploring the playground equipment, and we even discovered a small sandy beach along the edge of the park. In addition, we found original cobblestone paths and walls from the site’s original purpose, a dock and railway terminal first established in 1870. What a wonderful way to explore the history of New York City while enjoying a modern (and delicious) event! Many in the group noted that they wanted to return to Smorgasburg in the future, and bring back their friends and family to share in the experience.

As always, the time flew by and our group prepared to return back to Manhattan- recalling the amount of time it took to arrive, and double checking for any updates on the MTA website. With the all-clear, we shuffled back on to the L Train and rode the few stops back to Union Square, right on time to meet back with our waiting families!