Smorgasburg Stalls to Try in Jersey City

For those of you who don’t know what Smorgasburg is, you’ve been missing out! It’s an open-air food market with locations on the east and west coasts. The food stalls are typically very unique, with innovative flavor combinations, providing a one-stop destination for a variety of cultural eats.

Luis and I have been to the ones in Brooklyn and FiDi, but we were most excited for their new location this year: Jersey City, NJ! Due to Covid, we haven’t ventured into NYC for the past year, and I’ve been working remotely from Central NJ. We’ve been craving the snackable bites that Smorgasburg is known for. Yes, the foods are a little pricey, but we always find them well worth it. There is something to be said of the experience too. At a food market, you can openly walk around to stare at everyone’s food before deciding what you want to order. After you find your first target, you wait in line anxiously as you scout out your next delicious bite. Smorgasburg locations are often near parks and harbors too, so you can enjoy your food with relaxing, scenic views.

Check out what stalls we tried and what our top pick is!

5. Destination Dumplings – Sisig Dumplings

Destination Dumplings often tries out new flavors, so we were stoked when we saw a sisig one filled with charcoal-grilled pork belly and topped with chicharonnes. We had high expectations for this one, but it just fell flat. They tasted bland, and we won’t be ordering these again.

4. King of Meats – Pulled Pork & Gouda Mac and Cheese

Maybe it’s because I’m not a huge pulled pork fan, but this didn’t make the top of my list either. When I have pork, I crave a nice mix of lean and fatty pieces regardless of how it’s cooked. There were a few good pieces of meat and the BBQ sauce was pretty tasty, but overall a little dry for me. Same for the mac and cheese. Likely just preference again, but I prefer my mac and cheese a little less congealed. I would try this stall again though but maybe for another cut of meat.

3. Bona Bona Ice Cream – Chocolate B-Dough

When I saw Bona Bona Ice Cream on Instagram, it was on the top of my list. I got the Chocolate B-Dough, which is chocolate ice cream with brownies and cookie dough. The cool thing about Bona Bona is that they toast a marshmallow on your ice cream with a blow torch. The sugar cone was also super crunchy, just the way I like it. The flavor I chose was a little rich, but overall a superb foodie invention that you must try!

2. Fedoroff – Cheesesteak

This cheesesteak doesn’t look like much but it was SO GOOD. The beef was juicy and tender, the bread a nice soft complement, and the perfect amount of cheese sauce to tie it all together. This was surprisingly one of our favorite bites of the day. We almost ordered another one!

1. Destination Dumplings – Spicy Bao Buns

Funny enough, we started and ended with Destination Dumplings on this list. The sisig dumplings may have disappointed, but these spicy bao buns were bomb! They actually got our order wrong too – we ordered one spicy and one regular but they gave us two spicy ones. We weren’t mad about it. They packed a punch and made up for the lack of taste in the sisig dumplings. Absolutely cravable, these juicy baos are a must get.

Have you been to Smorgasburg lately? What are your favorite stalls? Sound off in the comments, so Luis and I can try other great eats next time. 🙂

<3 Kris

Pro Tips:

• No matter the location, get there early if you want to find decent parking or avoid crowds/long lines.
• If you’re someone who likes to have a game plan like me, take a lap around the market first to get a lay of the land. You don’t want to fill up at the first two stalls you see before noticing another five you really want to try on the other side of the lot.
• Follow Smorgasburg on IG to find out which stalls will be at certain locations ahead of time.