In the Heat of the Night:
The Greenmarket Celebrates Its 37th Birthday
Blair Wilson
P&H Soda saved me from dry mouth with their delicious, house made orange seltzer.
Sweltering in a corner of Union Square, I’m in confused awe of Hearth’s blueberry trifle. Some mysterious force has kept a blob of dense mascarpone cream perfectly chilled and firm atop a pile of oozing blueberries and lemon cake, as though it were surrounded by a protective ice-shield. Hearth must have made some pact with the devil that Craft Bar passed up. Their blueberry trifle is dying on the plate right next door.
Hearth’s blueberry trifle with mascarpone cream and lemon cake miraculously survived the heat.
It’s 94 degrees at 7 o’clock -- p.m. -- and I’m grazing flesh in Union Square with hundreds of aggressive foodies who, like me, are insane enough to brave the heat to hunt down a few delectable morsels. Tonight, Union Square’s Greenmarket is celebrating its 37th birthday with its first nighttime market, featuring small plates ($4-$8 each) from restaurant-vendors like Back Forty West, ‘Wichcraft, Hearth, Tocqueville, and Craft. What separates the good, the bad, and the melted tonight is each dish’s fortitude against the relentless heat.
The crowds came despite the heat for Union Square Greenmarket’s 37th Anniversary Celebration.
The most memorable dish of the day is Back Forty West’s sour cherry crumb pie. Its sweet filling and sugary crumble topping is cut by the sublimely sharp tartness of the cherries. And the remarkably perfect crust -- buttery, flaky, yet firm -- somehow holds up against the goo. Too bad I can’t say the same for their disappointing BBQ sliders, in desperate need of some sauce. Their bone-dry buns leave me searching frantically for something to drink.
Back Forty West’s sour cherry crumb pie was the most memorable dish of the night.
I practically mow down a small child in my rush to the P&H Soda stand, where I grab a seltzer infused with their house made orange syrup. Refreshing, cold, not too sweet.
Slowing down, I split a few less memorable plates with my friends -- Union Square Market’s over-salted clam linguine, Telepan’s tasty, but too greasy, eggplant ratatouille, Tocqueville’s resilient quinoa and roasted beet salad.
Tocqueville’s quinoa and beet salad with candied walnuts and lemon verbena was flavorful and colorful.
Just as I can’t eat another bite, I catch a glance of Hearth and Terroir’s Freekah Salad with snap peas, radishes, cucumbers, and mint. How could I have been so neglectful as to have bypassed such an refreshing looking dish? Heat stroke, I guess. Meanwhile, I’ve spent $57. There go my dreams of collapsing into a cab and being whisked home. With a stomach at capacity and a wallet woefully drained, I descend into the subway back to Brooklyn.
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