The opening of North 3rd Street Market has ramped up foodie excitement in Williamsburg, a neighborhood already full of great restaurants. Its lineup of vendors goes toe-to-toe with nearby Smorgasburg: entries include famous Brooklyn pizza purveyor Di Fara; beloved French bakery Bien Cuit; and Mexican sweet shop La Newyorkina, from Dough doughnut impresario Fany Gerson. Plus, the market’s open year-round.
We’ve mapped out the 10 places you can’t miss during your visit—or over the course of repeat visits.
Courtesy, North 3rd Street Market
Bien Cuit
This bakery, helmed by two-time James Beard nominee Zachary Golper, is famous for its croissants. You’ll find other Viennoiserie like cinnamon sugar roulé, tarts and cakes along with breads such as the seasonal strawberry rose loaf and classic baguettes. Savory fare includes sandwiches, tartines and quiches.
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Champion Coffee
At the front of the market you’ll find this NYC favorite (with other locations in Brooklyn and Manhattan), which offers a full-service espresso menu and alt milks such as almond and oat; it makes a good first stop. Champion roasts their own beans locally in Maspeth, Queens.
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Di Fara
The legendary Di Fara pizza that’s been drawing crowds to its Avenue J location in Midwood since 1964 is now available in north Brooklyn—a little closer for Manhattanites. Hungry marketgoers can get plain slices (at $5 a pop), square pies or calzones and get a taste of one of New York City’s most coveted pizzas, as long as they’re willing to wait.
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East Wind Snack Shop
Whatever you’ve already eaten, try to squeeze the pork dumplings from East Wind—a spin-off of the Chinatown-tea-house inspired Windsor Terrace location—into your market feast. Follow up if you can with an order of Double Happiness Rice, which comes with Chinese sausage, braised pork belly and ginger-scallion sauce.
Harvest2Order
Billed as the first-ever ‘‘microgreen salad bar,” Harvest2Order makes its debut with a rainbow of hydroponically grown microgreens like red amaranth, carrot and pea tendrils. These eco-friendly greens are freshly snipped and generously added atop colorful salads and avocado toasts. A side of French batard from Bien Cuit Bakery adds a nice touch. Throw in extras like chicken, egg, avocado or hummus to make your meal more filling.
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JaJaJa
The colorful vegan Mexican restaurant (the original is on the Lower East Side) serves tacos, bowls and tortas. Don’t miss the nachos, smothered with turmeric queso fundido and vegetable relish; mezcal mushroom or palm carnitas tacos; and beet empanada. There are a few burritos specific to the market, including one with sweet potatoes, lava rice and coconut milk—though plans to bring the menus of the two locations more in line are afoot.
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La Newyorkina
The queen of Dough doughnuts, Fany Gerson, traffics in traditional Mexican flavors at her other sweet-shop offering. La Newyorkina serves up Mexican-style ice creams, mango chamoyadas (a sweet and salty slush with chamoy—a pickled plum juice—and salted chile) and fruity water-based paletas (ice pops). Choose from atypical ice cream scoops like arroz con leche or tres leches cake ice cream plus drinks like aguas frescas, hot chocolate and Mexican-style coffees. Baked goods include assorted Mexican cookies like the marranito (a cookie in the shape of a pig).
Courtesy, North 3rd Street Market
Regina’s Grocery
The market arm of this Lower East Side sandwich shop is a primo pit stop for Italian meats and cheeses on freshly baked bread. Its stacked sandwiches pile on traditional ingredients and are named after owner Roman Grandinetti’s family members: there’s the Uncle John (prosciutto and mortadella), the Roman (smoked chicken, mozzarella, broccoli rabe) and the Grandma Lucy (tuna and olive spread), to name a few.
Sweet Road Bevs
For a bit of green in your diet, try the market-exclusive Sweet Road Bevs. The menu offers cleansing elixirs like seasonal health tonics, as well as freshly pressed organic juices and delicious smoothie blends. Go for a blueberry lavender lime “drinking vinegar” or a green juice made with spinach, cucumber, mint, green apple and ginger. What’s available changes based on what is in season—an excuse to visit often.
Tita Baby’s Panciteria
Restaurateur Nicole Ponseca (Jeepney, Maharlika) brings Filipino street food to Williamsburg. The stand is full of surprising delights—think jackfruit barbecue skewers, lumpia and a Filipino version of salmon and lox—and a few variations of its signature item, stir-fried pancit noodles.
