After being caught in a torrential downpour Friday night at the free Alvin Ailey performance in Central Park, we wrung ourselves dry and made a fresh start on Saturday morning–joining the other crazy people who were out in the record-setting heat.
On our way downtown, we spotted a sign for the Hester Street Fair, and–realizing we were just a block or so away–detoured.
We hear we are a little late to the party. The Hester Street Fair apparently debuted at the end of April (and has been around for ages if you consider its 19th-century pushcart roots–where merchants wheeled their wares, and I quote, “hither and thither”!), but we are so glad to have discovered this (relatively) new addition to the New York market scene.
The fair is small compared to other of its kind (e.g. the Brooklyn Flea), but it had some really impressive offerings. And it sounds like the curated vendor roster changes, at least to some degree, weekly.
The food alone was worth a visit. Luke’s Lobster and Sigmund Pretzel were there, as were Guerrilla Ice Cream and Macaron Parlour.
Aron immediately grabbed a pretzel cookie, but was tempted again shortly by the Red Bean Paste-filled Japanese waffles, Taiyaki. (Cute!)
I held out for an ice-cream sandwich: brown butter bourbon cookies with peach ice cream. The cookies were so tasty (somewhat reminiscent of favorites from California), and I would even buy just them if given the chance.
Aron cooled off in the misting tent.
I admired unmentionables from Jemima Jackman, and we took home a reusable water bottle with a carbon filter from Bobble.
But the best bit of all…
…we bought bikes!
Hooray! We’ve been wanting bikes* of our own for what seems like forever. And in just two days, we’ve already put them to good use! Our sore derrières would suggest that we’ve lowered the price-per-use ratio significantly.
*In full disclosure, Aron did bring a bike to New York from home, but: Sorry, dad, your lovely Motobecane has not weathered well.
{ 26 comments… read them below or add one }
Yay! You will love your bikes. Have fun!
How fun! So sad about the Alvin Ailey concert. They are phenomenal. And all that food looks so good- I am hungry now! And I am so happy that you guys have bikes now. What an awesome couple activity!
That looks like such a fun time. The ice cream sandwich is making my mouth water (which is a bad sign since I've yet to eat breakfast)
All that food looks so yummy! What a perfect weekend.
nothin' better than a good street fair… EXCEPT a good street fair where you score completely amazing new bikes. good buy!
Ah, yes, bikes! We want some too but until our coops get a storage room it's not feasible really. They are planning it though so hopefully sometime in the near future. Looks like a great little market, I'd be Jones'ing to get some sets in ate table-tennis.
i'm hoping to get here this weekend, especially since the weather is supposed to be much nicer than it has been. and i'm quite jealous of your new bikes – a "new" bike is on my wish list.
lucky you! i'd imagine that finding a decent used bike in ny is challenging. enjoy them
I'm sorry I missed this before I left NYC. Looks amazing compared to typical street fairs. I also just bought a bike–and loving biking everywhere.
I'm totally fascinated with the Japanese waffles – have never seen or heard of such a thing! Love the ping pong table set up, so fun.
What a fun Saturday this must have been – all the stalls and eateries looked great. As for the bikes – what can be better than a riverside bike ride in the summer heat? Lovely!
What a great post! I hate to sound dumb, but where is that last picture taken? The path looks so lovely for a stroll and we'll be in NYC next week! Thanks!
One of the best bits of summer: so many good markets. The bikes were huge in securing this one a special place on my list–but it's definitely a worthwhile stop regardless. Hopefully we're not market-ing you all out… there's more to come…
Ha! Storage is another issue altogether, Ed. It's a little crowded in the apartment right now. Good luck with the co-op. We're working on ours, too.
Happily we've seen Alvin Ailey many times before, but I was pretty disappointing to have to leave before Revelations. Phenomenal is the right word.
CAP–no worries! The waterside parkways around Manhattan are definitely a highlight of the city. This is near the South Street Seaport, under the Manhattan Bridge (East River). It has great views, and they're working on making it even nicer. It's a nice in combination with having a beer on Stone Street, seeing Lower Manhattan historic sights, and/or walking across the Brooklyn Bridge. As walkways go, check out our posts on the Hudson side–gorgeous at sunset. Have fun!
That food looks terrific, and your photos are so lovely.
Thanks so much, Ashley! We are really looking forward to visiting some of these spots. And we will be going to the Brooklyn Flea for the first time too! Thanks for such a great blog–really love all the information
Oh I've been wanting to check out the Hester Street fair for the longest time! I had plans to this weekend but am too much of a wuss when it comes to the heat (a problem you sturdy people obviously do not have). But now that I see all of those wonderful macarons there, I will most certainly be making my way down! Lovely photos by the way.
those little succulents & macaroons are adorable.
The Hester Street Fair has been great since its opening day. Here's what I had to say about it then…
http://tastytravails.blogspot.com/2010/04/are-you-going-to-hester-street-fair.html
I like that Hester Street Fair. It's a fun time and I think the stuff they have is a little more interesting than what you find at the Flea (although the food at the Flea is worth a visit on its own). Those Sigmund Pretzels are no joke – seriously tasty.
I love my undies and headbands from Jemima Jackman, need to come back and select some new colours.
fantastic photos! looks like a pretty spectacular time.
xo Alison
HOLY, how did I miss that you got bikes?!?!?! WHAT! That is sooo awesome!!! The Hubs and I have been talking about getting some for the past two years…I fear we will need to wait until we figure out where we will be moving next before we make the purchase!
Congrats on the new bikes, guys!!
Oh your pics your pics! They make me swoon! I am however happy to be avoiding that sticky heat! We're yet to be hit here in LA…. but I'm anxiously awaiting
xo tash
Nice bikes! Jesse and I had seriously sore butts after getting ours here in Portland, but after a few rides you won't even notice anymore.
yay for bikes! i recently managed to drag mine from my parent's house over to my apartment and i'm loving it. i live right in the center of my small city (nothing like nyc, haha) and it's amazing that pretty much everything i need on a daily basis is within biking distance. i hardly have to use my car anymore!
so congrats on your bikes! yay!