The LIC Flea & Food was filled with winners this past weekend.
The popular Long Island City flea market, held every Saturday at the outdoor lot on the corner of Fifth Street and 46th Avenue, hosted the first Annual LIC Flea Favorites Food Festival, bringing the best food vendors from the market.
During the festival, vendors received “Flea Favorite” awards based on votes by a panel of judges and visitors to the market as well.
Judges included Bradley Hawks, editor-in-chief of BORO Magazine; Rob MacKay of the Queens Economic Development Corporation; NY1 reporter Arlene Borenstein; and bloggers Layla Khoury-Hanold of “A Glass of Rose” and Karen Siegler of “Markets of New York City.”
Husband and wife duo Chimere and Norbert Ward of Clean Plate Co. took home the “Food Vendor Winner,” Megan Griffey of Frittering Away was selected as “Beverage Vendor Winner,” and Ice & Vice was crowned “Dessert Vendor Winner” after wowing judges with its ice cream sandwich.
Visitors to the Flea on July 26 selected Drink More Good as the winner of “Visitor Favorite.”
Below we take a quick look into each of these winning vendors and see what makes them shine.
Chimere and Norbert Ward, the husband and wife duo behind Clean Plate Co., say they are still feeling the shock after taking home the “Food Vendor Winner” during the first annual LIC Flea Favorites Food Festival.
Saturday, July 26, was their last day participating in the LIC Flea and the Astoria Flea & Food at Kaufman
Astoria Studios for the season and they served the panel of judges their signature dishes of smoked gouda mac and cheese and shrimp and grits.
“There were so many vendors,” Chimere said. “We didn’t think that was going to happen at all, we just weren’t prepared for that.”
Clean Plate Co., which this season has participated in the Astoria Flea, specializes in seasonal comfort & artisan preparation. The Ridgewood couple uses local ingredients and has vast knowledge and experience in various cultural cuisines.
“The flea by itself is just a great place,” said Chimere, who hopes to come back to the market during the holidays. “With so much great food out there, we are fans of the other vendors, we built a family with the other vendors.”
The couple also caters cocktail parties, private dinners and intimate affairs. They’ve also partnered with many other unique New York City businesses and venues for fabulous food events.
Megan Griffey of Frittering Away was awarded as “Beverage Vendor Winner” for her reinvention of the lemonade stand.
Frittering Away, vendor at both the LIC and Astoria Flea, started out by refreshing customers with their original flavor, Strawberry Basil Lemonade. Then, the specialty drink maker shook it up with Watermelon Jalapeno Limeade. Last fall, as the leaves changed and thoughts went to warming, soothing beverages, Ginger Lemonade emerged. Frittering Away lemonades are made in small batches with fresh, seasonal produce.
Offering the judges their delectable ice cream sandwich, experimental ice cream pop-up shop Ice & Vice took home “Dessert Vendor Winner.”
Ice & Vice can be found at the LIC Flea on Saturdays and at Astoria Flea on Sundays, so stop by for a sweet treat to cool you down on a sunny day of exploring the flea. The shop handcrafts ice cream, sorbet and frozen yogurt in small, customized batches. Unique flavors include Crack-o-Lantern (pumpkin seed oil and crystallized ginger), Movie Night (buttered popcorn, toasted raisin, dark chocolate flakes) and American Beauty (creme fraiche and rose petal jam).
Jason Schuler founded Drink More Good with one goal in mind — to make this world a better place.
This past Saturday, visitors at the LIC Flea believed he was doing just that and voted to have him awarded as the “Visitor Favorite Winner.”
Drink More Good’s syrups are small-batch, thoughtfully crafted, and handmade with locally sourced and organic ingredients. The syrups can be used to make homemade sodas that have 50 percent less sugar and calories than mainstream sodas and have no high-fructose corn syrup and or preservatives. The syrups can also be used as cocktail mixers.
A FLEA HUNT
Guests at the LIC Flea & Food are going to have to put on their hunting hats this weekend.
The popular Long Island City flea market will be hosting The Great LIC Scavenger Hunt on Saturday, August 2, from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The scavenger hunt will take place within the flea market as well throughout the western Queens neighborhood.
To participate and compete to win some great prizes, guests must sign up online at licflea.com.
Teams, which will have different names, should be between two and six hunters, and participants should bring a camera.
LIC Flea & Food is open every Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
In Astoria, the Astoria Flea & Food is offering the best in food, drinks, antiques, clothing, art, accessories and much more. Local art groups will be represented at the Astoria Flea.
The market is open every Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the outdoor backlot of Kaufman Astoria Studios at 36th Street and 35th Avenue until Aug. 31.
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