The best of Long Island City Flea and Food

• Artist Eva Weiss named her clothing company after Dutch Kills, which straddles LIC and Astoria around 36th Avenue. Weiss said she was inspired by her neighborhood for her custom-made designs on shirts. “This is kind of my tribute to Long Island City,” she said. A resident of Dutch Kills for 22 years, Weiss said Queens was once the “stepchild” borough, but that things have been changing in recent years.

  There’s still a lot of “Queens pride,” she says. “The best part about doing this is that people walk up to my booth and say ‘I’m from Queens,'” Weiss said. The logo and designs have been in such demand that she offers a discount for people who buy more than one. For more information, go to dutchkillsklotheing.com.” data-id=”110671127″ data-link=”https://amnewyork.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/21909_image.jpg” class=”wp-image-1.10671127″/>

• Deepti Chhatwal first started selling Indian clothing and jewelry at LIC Flea when the market started three years ago. All of her products are hand-made in India, and she does custom fittings for clothes as well. Chhatwal also offers plus-size Indian clothing, something she says is harder to come by.

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• Astoria’s Butcher Bar, which serves locally-sourced, grass-fed organic meat, has an outpost at LIC Flea, complete with smoked barbeque. The LIC flea outpost — which has been at the flea market for three years — offers barbecue brisket, pulled pork and small hot dogs. A manager comes to LIC Flea on Friday to start smoking the meat, and they have someone sit with the meat overnight while it smokes.

  “We believe in simple meats, simple techniques and hard work,” said Manny Nicolaou, manager of the LIC Flea location.

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• You don’t need to go to France for a French-style macaron. Woops! started with the goal of “bringing the joy of the French macaron to NYC,” said Esteban Acosta. Woops! started in the Bryant Park holiday market two years ago and has since expanded to LIC Flea and Food. “The vibes are great, the people are great,” Acosta says about the market. They offer gelato macarons as well, a must-have on hot days.

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• More & Good Soda, a Beacon, N.Y.-based soda company, makes soda from locally-sourced and organic ingredients. More & Good has brought their sodas to LIC Flea since it started three years ago. The syrups and bitters are for sale, and customers can take a taste of the soda syrup mixed with seltzer.

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• LIC Flea and Food isn’t limited to, well, a flea and food market. The market makes the most of its location on the Queens waterfront with corn hole and kayaking along the waterfront. “I honestly think the waterfront park in Long Island City is the most beautiful park in NYC,” says LIC Flea and Food President Joshua Schneps.

  In addition to the waterfront activities, there is also live music by the bar.

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• For those who want to wash their food down with something stronger than just water, there is a bar at the market. There’s a twist, too — the bar only offers beer from breweries that brew in Queens. “We’re like an all Queens beer garden,” said Schneps.

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Long Island City Flea and Food started three years ago, just off Queens Waterfront Park (although the park wasn’t even completed then). Now bustling, the flea market is open Saturday and Sunday in the spring and summer and offers a family-friendly day that can only be experienced in Queens.