Smorgasburg is an all food market in Williamsburg from the people behind the Brooklyn Flea. It hosts 100 food vendors—a mix between prepared food stands and greenmarket farmers. It is paradise.
For this venue, SCRATCHbread wanted to do something different—“play with food,” as owner Matthew Tilden put it. And so, TOASTbar. The menu is always changing, but we’ve had inventive open face sandwiches, griddled chai sticky buns, and an assortment of the classic baked goods. We partner with other vendors to seasonally enhance our offerings.
Smorgasburg has been open for just one month, so things are constantly evolving. I highly recommend you come by for lunch—take the new East River Ferry, which just started running yesterday and will drop off right at the market entrance.
Cooking garlic in olive oil for tomato dunking sauce
Fresh ingredients
Chai sticky buns soaking in vanilla bean creme anglaise, waiting to be griddled
MOZZtoast: Rosemary and sea salt focaccia, stuffed with homemade-that-morning mozzarella, basil pesto, a squeeze of lemon
The Double Bourbon: bourbon wheat bread, a slab of butter, and orange bourbon marmalade from our neighbors at Maiden Preserves
The Garlic-ness: whole roasted garlic bulb with olive oil on sourdough
About a year ago, I became infatuated with SCRATCHbread’s brownies. I couldn’t get enough of the fudgy cake sandwiching rich buttercream frosting, dusted with cocoa powder to cut the sweetness. But it wasn’t just the sugar rush that had me feeling good; I loved the positive vibes coming from the owner and staff, whose passion for food exuded from the Brooklyn Flea stand.
SCRATCHbread is a company with a mission: to make simple, wholesome food—from scratch with local ingredients—accessible to the community. Founder Matthew Tilden is so passionate about the concept (he has the company logo tattooed on his forearm for pete’s sake), that he bakes around the clock in his three-oven kitchen in Bed-Stuy, which was partially funded by a community campaign on Kickstarter last year. Before he had his own space, he baked bread in his friends’ and employers’ kitchens in the late nite off hours.
Enjoying life through food is one of my philosophies and goals. I love that after a vacation, it’s often that transcending meal you’ll remember most. That you can understand foreign cultures better through the cuisine. That food is so central in memories—the way grandma’s kitchen smelled during the holidays, or how one bite of your favorite childhood dish instantly transports you back home. Food really does bring people together; it unites families, communities, and strangers.
After listening to Matthew and SCRATCH employees describe a loaf of bread so passionately you’d think they were talking about their own offspring, I had to get involved. Earlier this year I started volunteering for SCRATCHbread at the Brooklyn Flea, and I now work with the company at Smorgasburg (more on this tomorrow). I love being around someone’s passion project, helping to create things that taste good and make people happy, seeing a brand come to life, and building a community of food lovers in New York. Talking with people who appreciate food and watching their faces change when they taste the products—it’s a uniting and empowering feeling.
Please watch this Food.Curated. video to better understand Matthew’s vision.
Get involved: Apprenticeships and volunteering
SCRATCHbread is available at the Brooklyn Flea on Saturdays and Sundays, at Smorgasburg in Williamsburg on Saturdays, and at the kitchen’s retail window (1069 Bedford Ave.) on Wednesday evenings.
With friends in town for Memorial Day Weekend, we headed to the Brooklyn Flea for a massive chow down.
Rampwurst (ramp and snap pea slaw on sausage) from Brooklyn Bangers. Super flavorful and juicy brat, inventive topping, soft potato bun. Exactly what summer should taste like.
Lobster roll from Red Hook Lobster Pound. Just look at those huge chunks of lobsta, justifying the $16 price tag. Here’s a fascinating piece New York Magazine did last year about the NYC lobster roll craze.
I’ve been resisting new vendor Dough all year, but finally splurged on one of their donuts (Chocolate Earl Gray). These are serious treats—they were huge!! Loved every last bite and even had to go back for the donut holes!
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