Mighty Quinn's is Open

Mighty Quinn's opened yesterday in the former Vandaag space at 103 Second Avenue. It's the fifth restaurant of 11 to open from our Taste of Tastes to Come.

The barbecue here is the work of Texas native Hugh Mangum, who started serving his Texalina Barbecue at Smorgasburg. His is a hybrid of sorts, inspired by the barbecue traditions of both Texas and the Carolinas. Mighty Quinn's offers a traditional menu of brisket, pulled pork, smoked sausage, ribs, wings, and chicken. From the restaurant's website, "We cook our barbeque the old school way, with plenty of wood and time, adding just the right amount of salt and spice to let that lovely marriage of process and product evolve into something transcendent."

The website also explains, "Mighty Quinn’s is the first authentic barbeque experience in a fast casual setting." Part of the setting is provided by tables built from century-old wood planks salvaged from the recent Puck Building renovation. The Puck Building was built in the late 1800s and is one of the city's oldest landmarks.

There's no bourbon at this barbecue spot, but a total of 16 beers are available on tap and in bottle. Mighty Quinn's is open for lunch and dinner seven days a week and late (2am) Thursday - Saturday.

Mighty Quinn's | 103 Second Avenue (6th Street) | 212-677-3733 | www

Sunday - Wednesday 11am - midnight, Thursday - Saturday 11am - 2am

Orkin Raises Funds for Sandy Relief One Cup at a Time

[photo; laura togut] nakamura draining noodlesIvan Orkin was at Smorgasburg over the weekend helping to raise money for Hurricane Sandy relief. Together with Shigetoshi Nakamura of Sun Noodles in New Jersey (where Orkin will source the noodles for his ramen restaurant when it opens soon in Manhattan), Orkin sold $10 cups of shoyu ramen on Saturday. All proceeds went to the Brooklyn Recovery Fund, which is a pooled fund that aims to provide support to nonprofits in Brooklyn that are working with Hurricane Sandy victims.

On the menu? A version of Shoyu ramen: shoyu, pork broth, toasted whole wheat noodles, fish powder and grated Parmesan(?!), braised pork, and scallions. Everyone who purchased a cup of ramen got an extra packet of noodles to take home. [Serious Eats, Fork in the Road]

Everybody's Working for the Weekend

This past weekend marked the start of Brooklyn's favorite outdoor markets.  The Brooklyn Flea is now open on Saturdays from 10am - 5pm in Fort Greene, at 176 Lafayette Street, on Sundays it moves to the East River Waterfront in Williamsburg btwn North 6th and North 7th.  Smorgasburg, Brooklyn Flea's food market, will be open from 11am to 6pm on Saturdays, also in Williamsburg.  Here's a look at the smorgasburgoodies.

The Dekalb Market, at 138 Willoughby Street, also kicked things off this past weekend with food, music, art, Easter eggs, and $1 mimosas.  Easter eggs and $1 mimosas aside, Dekalb Market will be open every weekend from 8am - 6pm.  Take a gander.