Neeno, a 68-year old fishmonger,has been selling fresh fish for a cheap price at the corner of Myrtle Street in Brooklyn for the past 15 years. Even though he loves what he does, his heart yearns to go back to Puerto Rico, from where he originally belongs.

Over 250 people showed up on April 7 to kick off the festival held by Brooklyn
Flea, an association of flea markets started by Brownstoner.com founder Jonathan
Butler and Eric Demby, a former spokesman for Brooklyn Borough President Marty
Markowitz. The festival features stalls serving grub as varied as rabbit stew shots
and fried anchovies. Less daring customers can choose safer options like brisket,
lobster rolls or pizza.

Smorgasburg is just one example of a movement dedicated to local and sustainable
food that has swept Brooklyn’s culinary scene over the past few years. Many of the
vendors are deeply committed to using only the freshest produce supplied by local
purveyors. It’s also a sign of a Brooklyn’s healthy economy. Since 2000 and 2010,
the borough has created more than 50,000 jobs – more than any other borough –
with over 9,300 jobs in food services alone.

If you missed it this week, don’t worry: Smorgasburg will be around until November,
leaving plenty of opportunities to whet your apetite.

Hours: Smorgasburg is open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. every Saturday until November.
Location: Between North Sixth and Seventh Streets on the East River in
Williamsburg, Brooklyn. (Bedford stop on the L train.)
For more information, check out the Smorgasburg website.

The Brooklyn Lens webcast for the week of February 26, 2012.

A couple dines at the Burger Guru in Williamsburg Sunday night. The restaurant hopes that the customers it gained during the football season will keep coming back. (Scott Eidler/The Brooklyn Ink)

So, the Super Bowl is over. What’s a burger joint, a bar, or a wing place to do?

The Giants’ victory last week not only capped off a successful playoff run, but also a very busy few months for Brooklyn bars and restaurants. Now, owners are looking to keep up some of the momentum.

On Super Bowl Sunday at the Burger Guru in Williamsburg, “the whole place was packed,” recalls Tommy Arvanitidis, one of the joint’s owners. It offered a special – $40 of limitless wings and beer on tap – that filled both its main dining area and a larger indoor backyard with 85 sports fans.

But a week later, the place appeared noticeably emptier in the late afternoon, with under a dozen diners at the restaurant seated (the owners blamed the cold weather, and football burnout for the slow day). “The Super Bowl did bring us a lot of fans and a lot of customers,” said Arvanitidis. “But it doesn’t mean that the fans and customers we made over the football season won’t continue coming back.”

To make up for the football crowd, the Burger Guru plans to rely not only on special holiday deals, like a candlelit dinner with burgers, fries, and a milkshake for two on Valentine’s Day tomorrow, but a menu overhaul to boot. The owners are getting into the brunch business, putting the finishing touches on a new menu that premieres next Sunday.

For the Burger Guru, and other restaurants and bars, the Super Bowl is more of an occasion to showcase itself than cash in. The profit margin, explained a manager, is smaller on the specials than if people were to order them separately. “It wasn’t to make money, because we didn’t,” said Arvanitidis.

He isn’t the only one who believes specials aren’t necessarily moneymakers. Felice Kirby, who owns Teddy’s Bar and Grill in Williamsburg, also says major sporting events aren’t always profitable for bars, since beverages are often discounted. “People don’t actually spend that much money because you give them drink specials,” explains Kirby. But she adds, “The football season being over is sad for the Monday night bartender.”

Yet hyping Super Bowl specials may have worked as a long-term strategy for other nearby restaurants. At Wingstop Brooklyn, a three-month old restaurant downtown, shift leader Shonda Maton said specials for the big game, which included a pre-order option, and a 30 percent discount off menu items, brought a steady stream of new customers.

For the week after “It was a lot of people coming in that we had never seen before,” said Maton. “I’ll bet the Super Bowl really turned us around.”

Though she predicts that Sundays will be less busy, it may mean that the restaurant can save on variable costs such as extra hands on deck to serve customers. “We won’t need as much staff and we don’t have to use as much,” she says. “We won’t have an incident where we don’t have enough chicken.”

Meanwhile, the Burger Guru might have a new draw: basketball “It’s not just football,” says Arvantidis. “We’ve got the Knicks.” Then he started chanting, “Lin, Lin, Lin,” referring to the NBA’s latest phenomena Jeremy Lin, the Knicks point guard who after successful starts last week has breathed new life into the struggling team.

However, the Knicks’ turnaround may not translate into success for many Brooklyn bars. A cable dispute between Time Warner and MSG has resulted in a Knicks blackout for Time Warner subscribers, like Teddy’s Bar and Grill.

Felice Kirby, Teddy’s owner, says it’s too early in the season to tell whether losing the Knicks will affect business, but she suspects it will. “We lost something that helps us,” she said.

Photo: Gloria Dawson / The Brooklyn Ink

There’s always a line at the Kimchi Taco Truck. Whether it’s parked under the High Line, next to the vintage furnishings at the Hell’s Kitchen Flea Market or among the other gourmet food trucks at Grand Army Plaza’s Food Truck Rallies, patient customers are greeted with “thanks for waiting” when they finally reach the front of the line. Phillip Lee, the owner and founder of the truck, wants to keep his customers happy and satisfied. He’s betting they’ll be waiting for his kimchi when he opens up a restaurant later this month.

“I think everyone who goes into this business wants their own place eventually. If you go to work at a bank you don’t want to buy a bank, but there’s definitely an entrepreneurial spirit in the food truck business,” Lee said.

The idea for the restaurant, Kimchi Grill, wasn’t just a case of the entrepreneurial spirit getting the best of him. Lee had the lease to the restaurant space before the first person lined up for a kimchi dish from the truck. The truck was a way for Lee to test out the recipes, build excitement, a beta test for the restaurant launch.

Other local businesses have made the leap from truck to brick-and-mortar shop like Van Leeuwen, the artisanal ice cream makers and Mexicue, the creators of popular dishes that combine Mexican and barbeque flavors. Van Leeuwen now has three permanent locations and Mexicue has two. David Weber, the president of the Food Truck Alliance and co-owner of Rickshaw Dumpling Bars, went the other way, from restaurants to trucks.

“Trucks are a good way to get your brand in front of customers,” said Ron Ruggless who writes about restaurants, food trucks and more at Nation’s Restaurant News. Trucks are increasingly a good way to test the waters. A recent study preformed by National Restaurant Association indicated that 59 percent of customers would likely visit a food truck if one of their favorite restaurants decided to open one.

When comparing restaurants to trucks, Ruggless said, “The benefits being seating and climate, to name a few. The downside is not being able to go to where the people are.”

The Kimchi Taco Truck tacos. Photo: Gloria Dawson / The Brooklyn Ink

Lee thinks it’s all about location too. Parking location. If you can’t park you can’t serve your customers. Finding a place to park was his main gripe about operating a food truck. With the truck, he was dealing with the DMV. Now it’s the DOB (Department of Buildings). But there’s always the DOH (the Department of Health), he said. Trucks and restaurant “both have headaches. Just different headaches,” Lee said. Yet opening a restaurant has been easier, so far. He had plenty of experience to bring to the operation. He studied at Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration and spent almost nine years working in hospitality, management and as a general manager at various BR Guest restaurants.

The Kimchi Grill will be a small restaurant on Washington Avenue in Prospect Heights, with a counter in the back for orders. There will be seating for 17, but for now, before the restaurant opens, the space is used to store bottle after bottle of Sriracha sauce and huge bins of kimchi and as a bit more space to prepare the trucks food.

Lee will be keeping things simple and consistent, at least at first, by having the same dishes (and prices) as the truck, with occasional specials. That means he’ll be keeping the truck’s signature style of adding kimchi and Korean flavors to cheesesteaks, nachos, rice balls and, of course, tacos. Lee, and the truck’s co-founder and his former partner chef Youngsun Lee, created the Kimchi Taco Trucks’ version of kimchi, the fermented vegetable dish. Theirs is a red kimchi. They drew from their Korean backgrounds and their love for street food.

The future home of the Kimchi Grill. Photo: Gloria Dawson / The Brooklyn Ink

The Kimchi Grill will be in good company in their new permanent location, with plenty of new bars and restaurants and a good sense of community, said Jennifer Wanous, who will be working with Lee at the new restaurant. Wanous and Mike Calderon, another employee, both live in the areaand Lee will be looking to them for feedback on how to appeal to the neighborhood. When Lee said he thinks lunch will be the busiest shift for the grill, Calderon interjected that he thought happy hour would be hopping. “A bar across the street are already asking for the menu” to give to customers so they can order in at the bar, Calderon said. Besides the bar owner, other locals have popped in when they see the truck outside to ask when the restaurant will open.

Kimchi isn’t always an easy sell, but Lee thinks the people who settle in this up-and-coming area are adventurous and that will translate into the food they like as well. Lee has been surprised by New Yorkers tastes before. When he started serving up kimchi he said he thought New York City palettes were dumbed down, but it turned out New Yorkers asked for the spicy kimchi amped up.

The Kimchi Grill will be located at 766 Washington St., near Sterling Place.

>>More on this story:

Do Restaurant Ratings in Brooklyn Make the Grade?
Prospect Heights Restaurant Boom Creates New Dining Destination

Protesters share a meal prepared in Brooklyn kitchens. Photo by Michael Wilner

Even diehard true-believers have to eat, and for those in the Occupy Wall Street protest, that means eating food prepared not in Manhattan, but in Brooklyn.

Food for Occupiers in Zuccotti Park is being cooked in Boerum Hill and East New York, shipped to Lower Manhattan in donated vans and, occasionally, yellow taxi cabs.

The amount of food required to meet demand has reached a peak since the protests began in mid-September, Chef Eric Smith said. The voluntary kitchen staff, constantly shuttling food in from Brooklyn, is now preparing three meals a day for nearly 2,000 people.

Sean Dolan, chief cook at the protest, says one problem organizers face is an inability to “discriminate” between protestors and freeloaders.

“Rich people can come looking like homeless men, protestors can come in suits,” he explained. “We have to serve everyone.”

Dolan came to Zuccotti Park after being laid off from a restaurant in Massachusetts, where he was a cook.

“I lost my job, and three hours later I was on a train to New York,” Dolan said.

But free handouts in Zuccotti are hurting others. One vendor, Aly Amin, a resident of Bay Ridge, has been working in the park since 1991. His profits are down 40 per cent.

“I hear what they are saying, but they should say it and leave,” Amin said. “None of the business men want to come to me anymore,” he explains, and the protestors “have no money.”

Amin has already lowered prices, he says. But that has not been enough to resuscitate his business.

Read exclusive stories on unemployment in Brooklyn here.

Continental breakfast is offered until 9:30 am at the protest’s food stand, after which a hot meal of eggs and marinated potatoes is served. Sandwiches are typically on offer for lunch, and dinners are hot meals, such as Chinese food or pasta. All meals are free.

According to a report from The New York Post last month, most of the produce is organic from farms in upstate New York, Connecticut and Vermont.

One protestor, Brian Thomas, arrived from Maine twelve days ago, and now calls Zuccotti Park home. He says he alternates between eating from vendors and the free food station, which he says is often “delicious.”

“It’s like a catered graduation party,” he said, as he ate the morning’s offerings.

Soon, OWS organizers plan on moving all operations to The Commons Brooklyn, on Atlantic Avenue, where only some of the food is now cooked. Organizers plan on moving out of their second location, Liberty Café, a soup kitchen in East New York, due to its distance from the protest.

Smith says they are also looking at spaces in Red Hook for their operations, which they expect will expand in the wintertime, when everything will have to be stored and prepared indoors.

“We’re in preparation mode,” Smith said.

A first generation and native-born Palestinian opened the Middle Eastern restaurant Zaytoons on Vanderbilt Avenue in 2008 (Cristabelle Tumola/The Brooklyn Ink)

An Italian immigrant who came to America around the beginning of the 20th century likely encouraged his children to assimilate. It was the era of Ellis Island and mass migration. His children assimilated, but they also forgot their parents’ language and culture.

The U.S. is now in the midst of another mass immigration wave. According to a 2009 Pew Hispanic Center study, 12.5 percent of America’s population is foreign-born, the highest level it’s been in a century.

Today’s immigrants also encourage their children to assimilate, but what separates the current era of mass migration from the last one is that the nation now prizes multiculturalism as a fundamental American value. This enables the children of immigrants to more easily hold on to their parents’ language and culture while assimilating.

And what that means for the longtime burghers of Prospect Heights is food—ethnic food in a restaurant scene as dynamic as the arriving immigrants.

Some of these ethnic restaurants use imported ingredients from their homeland and serve food exactly like in its country of origin; others adapt their ingredients to fit local availability but use authentic cooking methods; and some use authentic ingredients but repackage their food for a wider audience.

Four restaurants—the Middle Eastern Zaytoons, the Korean Kimchi Grill and the Italian establishments Aliseo Osteria Del Borgo and Amorina—show how these trends cross national boundaries in ways that reflect how immigrant chefs may have more that unites them in their new country than separates them.

Each of their owners emigrated to the U.S. or has foreign-born parents. Ahmad Samhan, co-owner of Zaytoons, was born in Palestine and came to America as a child. Faried Assad, the restaurant’s other co-owner, is a first generation Palestinian-American. They have three Zaytoons locations in Brooklyn, including one at 594 Vanderbilt Avenue.

Phillip Lee emigrated from Korea as a child. He is co-owner of the food truck sensation Kimchi Taco, and around late October he plans on opening his first restaurant location on Washington Avenue.

All three of these men grew up eating their parents’ traditional food and speaking their native language at home.

“A lot of Korean parents they try to encourage the kids, take the approach to only speak English so they can learn English faster and be good in English. Or some parents take the other approach, which is to try to not speak English, try to teach their native tongue because they realize they will speak English eventually,” said Lee.

Lee’s parents also sent him to Taekwondo school. He credits all of these efforts to the strong connection he has to Korean culture as an adult.

Lee and Samhan also believe that growing up in the city helped them maintain their heritage.

Albano Ballerini didn’t grow up in New York City, but emigrated there as an adult to work as a photographer. Later he switched careers and opened two restaurants, Aliseo Osteria Del Borgo and Amorina, both on Vanderbilt Avenue.

Unlike many of the earlier Italian immigrants, Ballerini doesn’t come from the south. He is from Le Marche, a region in central Italy.

Ballerini also distinguishes himself from those immigrants in another way. They came to America out of poverty and need. “I was very comfortable in Italy. I didn’t come here out of necessity. Italy was too small for me. That’s all, ” he said. Ballerini doesn’t even call himself an immigrant, but rather an “ex-patriot.”

With his new career, Ballerini shares his native Italy through his cooking methods and seasonal ingredients.

Unlike Ballerini, Samhan and Assad use mainly imported ingredients. In Brooklyn there are many wholesalers who sell the ingredients they need, which allows them to keep it authentic.

Yet the majority of Zaytoons’ customers are non-Arabs. This fact doesn’t surprise Samhan: “That’s why there’s so many ethnic restaurants throughout not just Brooklyn but throughout New York City. Everybody should try something once, and if they like it, they come back and order different things on the menu,” he said.

Like Samhan, Ballerini can easily find Italian ingredients, however, he finds that it’s more authentically Italian to buy local ones. Many of Italy’s traditional dishes rely heavily on fresh local food. Most of his ingredients come from within a 100-mile radius.

Each week Ballerini visits the Grand Army Plaza Greenmarket, near his restaurant, and the Union Square Greenmarket in Manhattan. Instead of using only imported Italian formaggio, 50 percent of his cheese is from local artisanal makers.

Phillip Lee uses the same ingredients and cooking techniques from his native Korea, but the name of his food truck sounds more like a trendy fusion eatery than an authentic Korean one.

Its Kim-Cheesesteak comes with a choice of Cheese Whiz or provolone and is served on an Italian hoagie roll. But the filling, beef, pork or chicken, is marinated in Korean flavors and sautéed with kimchi.

Korean food has been around for a long time, but has never taken off like other Asian fare. Lee’s business markets Korean food to Americans in a less intimidating way.

“Part of it was the cuisine itself and how the Koreans marketed and really didn’t want to change it to accommodate the palate of Americans,” said Lee. “I want everyone to sort of taste how great Korean food is,” he continued.

Although they tweak the food, many of the ingredients are exactly what are used at a traditional restaurant he explained. “It’s sort of like what you would call the packaging part of it [that’s different]. ”

Some criticize Lee and Ballerini for straying from authenticity, but like many of today’s immigrants, their food can assimilate without losing its native culture.

Brooklyn Brownie Bash from Brooklyn Ink on Vimeo.

We’ll add them to the list. Just tell us why your pick cannot be resisted.

- BENSONHURST -

Lenny’s Pizza: Bay 23rd and 86th Street

The only way to eat a slice of Lenny’s Pizza is walking down 86th Street in Bensonhurst, the oil dripping down your chin. Otherwise, the pizza doesn’t taste the same. Though in 1977, John Travolta grabbed two slices of regular pie, I’d recommend the vodka sauce. Putting them on top of one another is optional.

-Mariya Karimjee

L&B Spumoni Gardens: 2725 86th Street

The Sicilian slices at L&B Spumoni Gardens on 86th Street are always the first thing mentioned about the pizzeria. But people neglect the product of the pizzeria’s title: spumoni. A mix of pistacchio, vanilla and chocolate ice cream and almonds, this Italian dessert is by far the best part of L&B’s menu. It is always fresh and one scoop simply is not enough. A Sicilian is a nice compliment to the dessert but I make sure to always save room for the ice cream. At this place, dessert before dinner is completely acceptable.

-Lillian Rizzo

- BUSHWICK -

Los Hermanos: 271 Starr Street

Any time I find myself in Bushwick around lunchtime, I make it a point to hop off the L train at the Jefferson stop and grab a quesadilla at Los Hermanos. Walking up stairs from the subway is like ascending into tortilla heaven. This place doubles as a taqueria and corn tortilla factory, with all the tortillas for your tacos and quesadillas made right in front of you. I recommend the chicken quesadilla, which is more like a giant taco because it’s filled with lettuce, onions, cheese and avocado, with the red sauce. Best part – they’re only $3.50.

-Joe Proudman

Raw Chocolate Love: 1717 Troutman Street

For chocolate that tastes good and is actually good for you, look no further than Raw Chocolate Love. Here the chocolate’s ingredients are non-dairy, gluten-free, vegan friendly, but who cares? Made directly from raw cacao, the dark plain chocolate is sweet, but refreshing. When I first tried it, I got the feeling this was exactly the way chocolate should taste in its purest form. Prices range from $4 for 1 oz. to $25 for 16 pieces of assorted flavors. With flavors like Dark Ginger Love and Fresh Orange Bloom, you should try it, too.

-Yolanne Almanzar

- CROWN HEIGHTS -

Lily & Fig – Fine Cakes and Confections: 727 Franklin Avenue

It’s been about 24 hours since my last visit to Lily & Fig. Whether I just photographed a weekend protest against a pawn shop or pounded the pavement of Crown Heights in the pouring rain with nothing to show for it, I know I’m only a cookie away from bliss. I like the $1 palm-sized chocolate-chip cookies with some jasmine green tea, but I’ll have to go back soon for the red velvet cupcakes or perhaps the banana white chocolate muffins I was eying the other day.

Go there for the cookies, the cupcakes and the cakes, and wash them down with fresh coffee made to order. Hang out a little longer to get the 411 on everything Crown Heights.

-Becky Bratu

- FORT GREENE -

Madiba Restaurant: 195 Dekalb Avenue

Madiba serves Isopho, a cape seafood soup, Yebo Burgers & Chips, but my favorite dish on the menu is the Oxtail Potjie-kos Bredie, a traditional African stew. The oxtail melts off the bone. Madiba has a laid back atmosphere that’s reminiscent of a South African pub – an ideal spot to watch soccer. To help you relax from a long week, Madiba also serves South African-inspired cocktails including the Joburg Joller otherwise known as the “African” margarita and the Soweto Sangria, named after South Western Township, in Johannesburg.

-Joi-Marie McKenzie

- GREENPOINT -

Van Leeuwen Artisan Ice Cream: 632 Manhattan Avenue

In Greenpoint, where its ever-expanding population of affluent youth has forced microscopic bowls of “organic” clam chowder to cost $6 dollars and a slither of cheese made from free range mold to be worth my next pay check, paying more than $3 for a scoop of ice cream is something I try to avoid. Unless of course it’s the coffee-flavored ice cream from Van Leeuwen’s Artisan Ice Cream shop. Aside from selling tea and espressos, it sells ice cream made from hormone-free milk from local New York farms. The ice cream’s perfect creamy texture alone is worth its price, but the subtle and exotic flavors they sell such as Giandujia (a type of chocolate that includes hazelnut) and Red Currant (a type of gooseberry), also make it worth its reputation. If you’re on the go, you can also find Van Leeuwen’s pale yellow ice cream truck parked a few blocks down from its store selling ice cream during regular business hours.

-Lynn La

- PARK SLOPE -

Ghenet Brooklyn: 348 Douglass Street

The injera tastes better here, compared to any other injera I have had in the city. Injera, a spongy bread, is an Ethiopian staple used to scoop up the sauce, meat and vegetables, while eating the meal with your hands. At Ghenet, the opportunity to order combinations means you can get a great vegetarian dish like shiro wett, a bean dish, with their doro wett, a chicken dish, that comes with a spicy sauce, and some egg. Because groups eat off a shared plate, Ghenet offer portions for up to four people. You can get your food mild, or go all the way and order it traditionally spicy.

-Idil Abshir

- PROSPECT HEIGHTS -

Bark Hot Dogs: 474 Bergen Street

The Best Damn Hot Dog. Period.

Forget about Nathan’s frankfurters, Bark is the best. Coney Island’s “Famous” vendor missed the memo: it’s not the 20^th Century. Nathan’s may have had New York’s best during the Great Depression, but the Great Recession’s top dog is Bark. I like the Classic, a plain griddle roasted dog topped with my favorite condiments. For a specialty, go with the bacon cheddar dog. Wash it down with one of their draught beers or my personal favorite, a Foxon Park Orange soda.

-Joe Deaux

BKLYN Larder: 228 Flatbush Avenue

Mom’s Grilled Cheese? Please, She Can’t Touch This.

Throw away your bread, butter and cheese because even on a good day you won’t make a grilled cheese sandwich as delectable as BKLYN Larder’s. The 7-Grain Pullman Loaf bread made by Grand Daisy Bakery bookends a Tractor Cheddar from Shelbourne Farms. This gourmet bread and cheese combination makes for a basic American fare that explodes off the palate. It is sure to satisfy your toddler and your grandmother.

-Joe Deaux

- RED HOOK -

Red Hook Food Trucks: Corner of Clinton and Bay streets

Pupusas: I didn’t know what they were, but I knew I was hungry.

It was August and sweltering, still months away from the end of the seasonal reign of the Red Hook Park food truck vendors. I had been familiarizing myself with my new beat, and everyone told me I just had to check out the food trucks.

I passed up the ceviche (I had just tramped through Peru and had eaten enough “tiger’s milk” to fortify an army) and the roasted corn. I needed weight from this meal.

The pupusas, which as it turns out are corn-and-flour pancakes stuffed with chicharron and queso (pork and cheese), offset by the crunch and spice of a healthy portion of curtido (cabbage slaw), filled my empty tank and got me back to work, shaking hands with strangers and asking awkward questions.

-Alex Gecan

- SUNSET PARK -

La Fe Restaurant: 941 4^th Ave, Sunset Park

The absolute best plantains the borough has to offer? La Fe, right off the D line. The venue is authentic and tiny, with eight tables and a small bar. Sip a cold Corona while you stare at the menu, deciding between maduros or tostones—that is to say, fried sweet plantains or fried green plantains. Both are buttery, rich and fried to perfection. I still can’t choose which better suits my palette, but for a mere $2 and a full plate, I recommend ordering both.

-Abigail Ronck

- WILLIAMSBURG -

Fette Sau: 354 Metropolitan Avenue

Fette Sau serves meat. All meat. All the time. It’s everywhere. On the walls, on the tables and in the minds and hearts of everyone there. I suspect there have been dozens of open heart surgeries just because of Fette Sau. My friend once told me that dying from a heart attack at the Fette Sau would be a pretty good way to go. Fette Sau makes me wish I wasn’t a vegetarian.

-Vegas Tenold