Eating In Translation

Opening day confirmed for Red Hook ball fields

Dear Friends & Supporters,

It is with great pleasure that we announce the official opening date of our affair on Saturday, July 19th, 2008.

On behalf of the Red Hook food vendors, I would like to thank everyone who has visited, patronized, shown interest and\or given support to this humble thirty four year tradition, that it may continue for six more — We dedicate this victory to you.

We encourage you to continue visiting our web page at www.MySpace.com/RedHookFoodVendors for more updates on the Red Hook food vendors, including additional dates, times & season ending of our affair.

Best & warmest regards,

Cesar Fuentes
Executive Director
Food Vendors Committee of Red Hook Park

Word of Mouth: Start date for the Red Hook Food Vendors

Updated with more details from Cesar Fuentes, executive director of the Food Vendors Committee of Red Hook Park.

Baked

In Red Hook, "among the forests, beaches and rolling hills," Baked bakes cakes, cookies, brownies, and pies "that pay homage to classic American desserts." Read the promotional copy on the back of the menu, and you might say that the corn is growing awfully tall; try the coffee cake and you'll take that back. Beneath a sweet, very cinnamony layer of crumbs is a body nearly as rich as pound cake, marked by a thin vein of chocolate. Boy, that's good.

The coffee cake ($2.50) is set out on Saturday only; don't count on finding it Sunday morning.

Baked
359 Van Brunt St. (Wolcott-Dikeman Sts.), Red Hook, Brooklyn
718-222-0345
www.BakedNYC.com

Hope & Anchor

I hardly expected a Vietnamese sandwich, and to be sure, the bun was too soft and the patty, too hefty. But a little cilantro — in the company of spicy mayo, julienned carrots, and a thin slice of ham — goes a long way when you're building a "banh mi burger" ($8). The fries were a little limp, but the diner atmosphere was lively.

Hope & Anchor
347 Van Brunt St. (at Wolcott St.), Red Hook, Brooklyn
718-237-0276
www.HopeAndAnchorDiner.com

Mark's Pizzeria Restaurant

The garlic knots are six for $1.50, but for more dough, more garlic, and a little melted cheese, the garlic sticks are hardly a splurge at 50 cents each.

Mark's Pizzeria Restaurant
326 Van Brunt St. (King-Pioneer Sts.), Red Hook, Brooklyn
718-624-0690

Ikea

Saturday afternoon, when I happened to be in Red Hook, was not the time to take the measure of the gravlax, meatballs, and lingonberries in the Ikea café, not without a half-hour wait. With a much shorter investment of time at the market downstairs, I picked up this Swedish elderflower drink (350 ml.; $1.29); it was still and clear, like apple juice with a little lemon flavor but no bite. If you're keen to try elderflowers, you might enjoy them more at Café Sabarsky.

Ikea
1 Beard St., Red Hook, Brooklyn
718-246-4532
http://info.Ikea-USA.com/Brooklyn/

Fishport

The New York Fishport was a seafood processing and distribution center, conceived as competition for the Fulton Fish Market and seafood packers in New Jersey. Despite a $25 million-$30 million investment by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey as well as controversial subsidies, the Fishport flopped after about a year, but this sign near the Red Hook ball fields has been hanging on ever since.

Surviving signage for Fishport
Facing the southbound lane on Clinton St. between Creamer and Bay Sts., Red Hook, Brooklyn

Storefront chicken farm

I call it that, but in fact I have no idea whether these recently unboxed chicks are being raised as pets, or for food, or perhaps both. Or perhaps they're players — in some droll art installation about the decline of rural and then industrial Red Hook — that strut and fret their hour on this storefront stage, then are heard no more. I dunno; you?

Storefront chicken farm
Red Hook, Brooklyn

Defonte's Sandwich Shop

Superthin slices of eggplant, plus peppers and provolone, are at the heart of the Valentina ($7.95 for a half, but it's nearly a footlong "half"). Defonte's is virtually cut off from Carroll Gardens by the BQE and the entrance to the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel, and in warmer months the Latin vendors at the Red Hook ball fields are a much bigger draw, but if ever there was a reason to walk or bike a mile out of your way for a sandwich, Defonte's is it.

Defonte's Sandwich Shop
379 Columbia St. (at Luquer St.), Red Hook, Brooklyn
718-625-8052

Victor and Carmen Rojas

One of the great things about the Latin American stalls near the Red Hook ball fields is that you can literally see what's cooking and walk around until you're ready to order "one like that."

Ochoa Stall

I coulda had a V8, but I woulda missed out on the dozen shrimp in this ceviche con camarones ($6).

Ochoa Stall
Red Hook Ball Fields
Near Clinton and Bay Sts., Red Hook, Brooklyn
Saturday and Sunday, May through October only

Lainez Stall

The jalapeño-and-cheese pupusa ($1.75) is the most enticing of this Salvadoran stall's freshly griddled, stuffed tortillas; the spicy slaw called curtido adds crunch.

Lainez Stall
Red Hook Ball Fields
Near Clinton and Bay Sts., Red Hook, Brooklyn
Saturday and Sunday, May through October only

Sosa Fruits

The aguas frescas ("fresh waters") on offer include horchata (or-Chot-uh, the leftmost of the four large containers), a name that describes a variety of vegetable beverages but that in New York typically denotes a sugared drink made from rice and scented with cinnamon.

Martinez Stall

Immediately to your right as you enter the Red Hook ball fields, the Martinez family prepares tacos, quesadillas, and the two-handed corn tortillas called huaraches (hwa-Rah-chays; $5).

Hernandez Stall

Mexican outpost for tacos, huaraches, and quesadillas like this one featuring chorizo ($5).

Hernandez Stall
Red Hook Ball Fields
Near Clinton and Bay Sts., Red Hook, Brooklyn
Saturday and Sunday, May through October only

Carrillo Stall

Previously this stall bore a blue, white, and blue flag with a quetzal perched in the center; now it speaks to an increasingly non-Latin crowd with a banner reading simply "Guatemala." Fried-food offerings include rellenitos ($1.25), literally "little stuffed things," here, fried plantain filled with milk custard and sprinkled with sugar.

Tamales like the one below are casual about mixing meat and masa, the corn-based dough that usually surrounds the filling; somehow, they're also super-fluffy.

Carrillo Stall
Red Hook Ball Fields
Near Clinton and Bay Sts., Red Hook, Brooklyn
Saturday and Sunday, May through October only

Vaquero Fruits

You probably wouldn't think twice about a splash of lime juice on your mango ($2), but give a nod to the salt and chili powder, too; sweet-sour-salty-spicy is uncommonly tasty.

Vaquero Fruits
Red Hook Ball Fields
Near Clinton and Bay Sts., Red Hook, Brooklyn
Saturday and Sunday, May through October only

Steve's Key Lime Pie

All that's missing is the whipped cream, and the "swingle" ($5) — Steve's frozen key lime pie on a stick — more than compensates with a dip in dark chocolate. Full-sized pies are also available here, and in a number of stores in Brooklyn and Manhattan, if you're willing to hold out for a convenient spot to carve them up.

Steve's Key Lime Pie
204 Van Dyke St., Pier 41, Red Hook, Brooklyn
888-450-5463

Fairway

The Red Hook outlet, largest of the four Fairway stores, occupies the entire ground floor of this former warehouse; there's also a 100-seat indoor-outdoor café out back, where the water taxi lets out. Macintosh (50 cents, at $1.29 per pound).

Apple-Juice Stall

Small farmers' market on the site of a two-acre community garden; today also saw a musical stage, cooking demonstrations, leafleting tables, and activities for the kiddies. Free apple juice was pressed on the spot by an endless supply of pint-sized volunteers.

Apple-Juice Stall
Red Hook Farmer's Market Harvest Festival
Near Columbia and Sigourney Sts., Red Hook, Brooklyn