Our favorite Flatiron food festival Mad. Sq. Eats is back for spring with veteran and rookie vendors alike serving up delicious food from all culinary genres.
Now in it's eighth year, the semi-annual gathering of small local food vendors is put on in the Spring and Fall by UrbanSpace and the Madison Square Park Conservancy.
The festival is located just off Madison Square Park in Worth Square and this year's Spring selection is open until May 28th, 2015.
Here are some great selections from this year's Spring vendor lineup.
Gansevoort Market mainstay Bangkok Bar showed up with all local ingredients to make real pad Thai curries and traditional favorites.
The Kuay Tiaw is a perfectly cooked al-dente pad thai noodle dish with chicken, chives and egg, mixed with a spicy tamarind sauce. Excellent taste and great texture with the peanuts sprinkled on top.
Local favorite BBQ joint Hill Country came all the way down from 26th St. with their meats smoked low and slow over Texas Post Oak.
The sliced brisket with house-made pickles came with a slice of white bread and a side dish. Mouth watering juicy brisket with bits of burnt ends in each bite accompanied by savory beans on the side.
Mad. Sq. Eats newcomer Uma Temakeria served fresh sushi hand rolls (temaki) with flair.
The Wasapea included Albacore tuna, carrots, wasapea pesto and special sauce. Refreshing fresh tuna blended amazingly with the savory sauce and the crunchy sesame surprise.
Smorgasburg and Chelsea Market's Takumi Taco showed up with Japanese inspired Mexican food and many of their most popular tacos.
The Spicy Tuna Taco was filled to the brim with delicious sashimi-grade tuna, a spicy mayo, an jicama all within a crispy gyoza taco shell. Light and refreshing, with all the flavors of a sushi roll in a convenient taco form.
Veteran purveyors Arancini Bros. brought back their deep fried arancini balls that have a modern take on the Sicilian classic street food.
The vegetarian Bianco Verde arancini ball has a delicious basil-pesto and mozzarella blend surrounded by risotto and hidden away inside of a deep-fried crispy exterior.
Midtown's Mexicue setup shop with their unique blend of Mexican food and American BBQ.
The Smoked Chicken Slider was out of this world. Tender and smokey meat with arugala, pico de gallo, a creamy chipotle sauce and cotija all between a fresh slider bun.
Hong Kong StreetCart was there with all of their favorites.
The Cold Spinach Peanut Noodle dish slathered the green spinach noodles with a thick, tasty peanut sauce that was simultaneously sweet and savory.
Red Hook Lobster Pound came out all the way from — you guessed it — Red Hook, Brooklyn with fresh Maine lobster served many different ways.
Their Maine Lobster Roll is a 1/4 of fresh Maine lobster in a grilled split top bun, tossed in a delightful lightweight homemade lemon mayo.
Nomad's Ilili Box walked down the street and opened up a booth with their fantastic Eastern Mediterranean cuisine.
Their Brussels Sprouts side dish is fantastic cold salad with roasted brussells sprouts, sliced grapes, fig jam, sherry vinegar and a delectable walnut mint yogurt. You don't want to miss this dish.
West 27th's Bombay Sandwich Company was there with their signature health-minded Indian inspired sandwiches and smoothies.
The Chana Masala Sandwich was a knockout combination of flavor. Slow cooked chickpeas topped with mixed greens, pickled onions and homemade date chutney on a tasca ciabatta roll. We made it even better by covering it with their super-spicy orange hot sauce.
Nomad's Belgian-inspired meat and beer spot [The Cannibal]http://www.cannibalnyc.com/) had a selection of sandwiches, beer and other goodies from their menu.
The Pigs Head Cuban sandwich was a delicious combination of tender pig's head, Vermont ham, pickles and melted gruyere all on a grilled flat bun.
Local Cali-Mex chain Calexico set up shop on the South end of the market with their entire menu of Southern Californian tacos, burritos and bowls.
The Baja Fish Taco was everything you want one to be: crispy fresh beer battered fish, a spicy slaw, generous heaping of mango salsa, and a delicious chipotle "crack" sauce.
Korean Barbecue truck & pop-up kitchen Fire Belly Korean BBQ (formerly Seoul Lee Korean Barbecue) was offering their traditional Korean flavors in a non-traditional Mexican format.
The Spicy Pork Nachos took tender marinated pork and mixed it together with scallions and their fire belly spicy aioli all over fresh blue and yellow corn chips.
Last but not least, Melt Bakery was there assaulting very-full patrons on the way out with the irresistible pull of homemade ice-cream sandwiches.
The Lumberjack ice cream sandwich may just change your life, with two amazing soft oatmeal bacon cookies paired with a sweet maple ice cream.
These are just a small handful of the vendors at this year's Mad. Sq. Eats Spring Food Festival. Be sure to check out the event page for the full lineup of this year's participating restaurants and chefs.
Di Coneybeare
Contributing Writer
Di is an emergency physician in NYC who enjoys exploring the City with her hubby and their dogs. She is especially interested in the City's food and drink scene.
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