Queens Night Market is Back, and Looking for Vendors

Last year, the  Queens International Night Market debuted in Flushing Meadows with 40 food vendors a night and an average of 6,000 guests each Saturday coming to celebrate the delicious diversity of the borough. This year they’ll return with even bigger plans, including 50 to 60 vendors a night according to organizer John Wang.

The market will be open on Saturdays from 6 to midnight, beginning April 23rd and running through August when the U.S. Open takes over the park. They are still accepting applications for vendors, and you can apply online here. The application stresses that while there are no restrictions on what can be sold, they “want you to share your cultural influences with our visitors and to be willing to share the story behind what you are offering or selling and why it is important to you and your heritage.”

To read more, click here.

Fast Casual + Hawaii = Wisefish Poké

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In a true sign of the chain’s enduring influence even in it’s downfall, you can now find a “Chipotle of” nearly every cuisine, from salad to curry to falafel and back again. So the opening of fast casual “Chipotle of Hawaiian” Wisefish Poké yesterday should come as no surprise to anyone, although poké itself might be a dish non-Hawaiians are less familiar with.

Traditional poké is a raw fish salad extremely popular in Hawaii. It’s most commonly made with yellowfin tuna but also available with salmon, octopus or shellfish and dozens of seasoning combinations. At Wisefish you can construct your own bowl from bases of rice, zucchini noodles or mixed greens and toppings like crab salad, wasabi-avocado cream, and citrus-ponzu sauce. The fish is responsibly sourced from vendors like Greenpoint Fish & Lobster Co, and aims to be un-selfconsciously fresh and healthy. All told, this seems like a great moment for a concept like Wisefish: fast casual bowls are as popular as ever, and mainland Americans have already fully embraced raw fish. Poké provides just enough of a twist to get the lunch crowd out of their usual routine.

Check out Wisefish Poké at 263 West 19th St.and read more here.