flea at laff #11: brooklyn bangers.

snack: beef brisket hot dog
drink: lemonade

when it comes to sleeping in, i rule. i'm pretty much a world champion at it, especially when my brain whips together yarns that'd make luis bunuel giddy. why wake up when i'm getting a free, private screening of a never-before-seen bunuel film? this past saturday, i was in the middle of a prime sleeping session, making my way through a series of surprisingly hot & steamy dreams. before i knew it it was 1pm, the sun had been shining upon brooklyn for hours already & i hadn't made it further than kicking the covers off...yeah, adulthood. to remedy this, i got the hell out of bed, quickly made myself presentable & headed out the door for the flea. i figured it was the least i could do to get my day started.

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flea at laff #10: the good batch.

snack: birthday cake cookie
drink: hot tea

hey, so the saturday brooklyn flea has finally returned to fort greene. yep. it's true. in fact, they kicked off the 2011 season way back on april 3rd. the weather sucked on that first day, so i wasn't there to experience the opening in all its glory, but on the following saturday i did make it out to the flea for the first time this year. since my last visit to the flea back in late september, the sunday edition has moved to williamsburg & just yesterday the folks behind the flea announced that on may 21st they're launching a saturday food market called "smorgasburg" at the willyburg location. it'll feature over 100 vendors, making it the largest outdoor food market in the city. it'll also be the one with the f'n cleverest name. ch-ch-changes.

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only in ny #8: bark.

  

snack: bark dog
drink: foxon park iron brew

today, on the 56th anniversary of the date when the one-and-only oscar mayer met his maker, i'd like to take a moment to meditate with you on the topic of the gourmet hot dog. it's no secret that here in nyc, if you want to grab a hot dog topped with all sorts of crazy shizz, you have a plethora of choices. PLETHORA! there's crif dogs down in the village. there are f&b gudtfood locales on 23rd & 52nd. there's the traveling hot dog circus known as asiadog. the UWS fatty crab has a pork hot dog called the "fatty dog" on their snack menu. it's topped with pickled chili, pickled radish, cucumber & aioli and will set you back $12. yes. you read that correctly...$12 for a hot dog. therein lies my issue with gourmet hot dogs...they're so damn expensive. sure they're usually tasty & i'll sporadically buy a few, but i'd prefer that my hot dog doesn't cost more than a gallon of gas.

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only in ny #7: connecticut muffin.

  

snack: pumpkin spice muffin
drink: caramel latte

being an "adult" is pretty awesome, huh? my favorite part is the part where you have to have a job & support yourself or you starve to death or get put out on the street. ever since i first became an "adult" a few decades back, i've gone through three periods of time where my job was "eliminated" & i had to rely on government assistance to survive whilst i've looked for a new job. the first two times both lasted a few months & both times i'd spend many a morning riding the F train a few stops through brooklyn to the furthest west corner of prospect park where, in an effort to wake up & get my ass out of the house & get the day moving, i'd grab breakfast at connecticut muffin.

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#170 - salsa slammed.

in case i haven't made it apparent, i'm cool with the folks over at nachosny. they wrote a guest post for me last summer & i cooked "questionable" nachos in their honor last september. this year, after attending may's guactacular, i started writing a nacho snack guest column entitled "a queso the munchies" for them. back in july, i ate guacamole & listened to indie rock with 200 other people on a boat on the hudson as part of their "guac rock" event. when lee (the mastermind behind nachosny) tipped me off to their next event, a salsa battle dubbed the "salsa slam," it's safe to say that i was pretty friggin excited. then he asked me if i'd like to be one of the event's esteemed judges. i was all "hellz yeah. i love judging both salsa AND people!" the best part? explaining to people that i was going to be judging a food competition, NOT a dance competition.

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