Don’t miss your chance to indulge in all the flavors of the Uptown Night Market as the festival hosts its season finale this week! On October 12th from 4:00pm to 10:00pm, food trucks, vendors, and live performers will convene beneath the historic Riverside Drive Viaduct at West 133rd Street and 12th Ave for a culinary and cultural festival celebrating local small food businesses. Here, meet 6 of the vendors who will share their foods this Thursday!
Untapped New York Insiders will be treated to a special guided tasting tour of the market where we’ll sample foods from the mouth-watering vendors you can learn more about below! Not an Insider yet? Become a member today and get your first month free with code JOINUS. As an Insider, you have access to member-exclusive in-person and virtual experiences as well as access to our archive of more than 200 on-demand virtual webinars!
Uptown Night Market Tasting Tour
1. Mia’s Cocina
Starting at the age of 6, lifetime Loisaida resident Maria Bido acquired a taste for traditional Puerto Rican dishes from her grandmother. The authentic cuisine included a combination of the flavors of Sofrito and Adobo coupled with an extremely intricate variety of plates. Today, Maria is the owner of Mia’s Cocina, where she carries on the tradition of those meals she fell in love with during her childhood. Started during the COVID-19 pandemic, the company is dedicated not only to creating delicious foods but also to ensuring that the recipes and flavors are kept alive through the new generations. To pass on this culinary knowledge, Maria conducts in-person cooking classes in collaboration with the Loisaida Inc. Community Center and the Essex Market. These classes, usually held twice a month from September through June, are hands-on experiences where clients put on an apron and a pair of gloves and make a meal together. While cooking, Maria speaks about the history and the culture behind the food and tells stories about the recipes. After the meal is made the clients sit and enjoy the fruits of their labor and eat. The recipes are then emailed to the clients after class so they may continue to make them for their friends and family.
Maria caters Puerto Rican food for corporate events, weddings, sweet sixteen’s, baby showers, housewarming parties, or any type of event that requires a delicious meal. She can often be found at NYC food festivals where she enjoys meeting and connecting with people through the food that is being served and enjoyed. Whether it’s at a festival or a cooking class, Maria is always grateful to bring joy to people by having them taste the food and love it or by the food causing them to reminisce about family members’ recipes.
2. HAAM (Healthy As a Motha)
Healthy As a Motha serves 100% plant-based Dominican and Trinidadian cuisine that is a unique addition to the culinary landscape, offering a diverse array of flavorful and nutritious plant-based dishes that proudly showcase the owners’ cultural heritage. Yesenia Ramdass, the owner, founder, and executive chef’s mission is to provide a sustainable and ethical dining experience that caters to a wide range of customers, including vegans, vegetarians, and flexitarians. With this mission at heart, just three years ago the owner and her family hit the ground running in the streets of NYC covering a wide array of markets such as Uptown Night Market, Vegan Night Market, and many more, nurturing connections and building relationships.
Now, HAAM is preparing to open the doors to its first brick-and-mortar restaurant named HAAM. The restaurant name ‘HAAM’ isn’t just a word; it’s a heartfelt acronym that embodies its essence. ‘HAAM’ stands for ‘Healthy As A Motha,’ a concept deeply rooted in Yesenia’s journey as a mother to three incredible plant-based kids. It’s a tribute to all parents who, like Yesenia, aspire to provide the very best for their children. The food reflects this commitment to health and well-being, making every dish a testament to the love and care that parents bring to the table. The new restaurant is expected to open Nov 1st, 2023 in Williamsburg, Brooklyn NYC.
3. Angie’s Delightful Bites
Angie’s Delightful Bites is a woman-owned family business established in 2020 amid the historic pandemic. Angie creates tasty blends to bring excitement to every bite. Angie’s specializes in uniquely flavored empanadas which come in various sizes. Inside, the ingredients are based on Angie’s Puerto Rican heritage as well as flavors and spices from Caribbean and Italian cooking traditions. They are stuffed with everything from meats and seafood to veggies. Angie’s homemade recipes and blends are sure to be a culinary experience you won’t soon forget!
4. Amazonia Arepas & BBQ
At the Amazonia Arepas and BBQ tent, you are in charge of the culinary creation. Start with your choice of protein, Peruvian chicken, or Brazilian picanha (top sirloin), then pile on the toppings: cheese, spice sweet plantains, and avocado. Can’t make up your mind? Try a sampler! Wash it all down with a refreshing Venezuelan lemonade.
5. The Brownie Bar
The Brownie Bar is a family-owned and operated dessert food truck and café specializing in handcrafted, artisan brownies, ice cream, and other chocolate desserts including gluten-free and vegan options. Established in 2016, owners Lai and Gustavo Barboni used their extensive experience in the restaurant and hospitality industry to create an original yet familiar mobile dessert idea: elevate the humble brownie to gourmet status. Using all her pastry skills, Lai took months to develop a recipe that would satisfy everything you look for in a brownie- chewy, rich and fudgey, sweet, but balanced, and most importantly, chocolatey! Once she had her base brownie she then developed original flavor variations including boozy cocktail versions with help from her husband, Gustavo, who just happened to be a bartender and master mixologist.
Only top-quality ingredients are used to make their brownies, blondies, sauces, and homemade ice creams including 100% cacao Belgian chocolate. In doing so, they filled the gap for gourmet dessert options in the growing food truck industry where they are committed to providing customers with a delicious and memorable experience. You can find The Brownie Bar food truck at festivals, pop-ups, and food truck events in northern New Jersey and throughout the Tri-State area. They also cater parties, weddings, and corporate events. Their base of operations is The Brownie Bar Café located at 423 Main Street, Ridgefield Park, NJ.
6. ChicTreatz
ChicTreatz is a custom cake provider dedicated to creating specialty cakes, pies, and pastries for every occasion. The woman-owned business draws on its founder’s Panamanian and southern American family background to combine both flavors and culture to create delicious food and desserts. Their goal is to bring your vision to light with delicious, natural, and unique customization, so they prepare all of their treats with fresh locally sourced ingredients. ChicTreatz now offers gluten-free and vegan options too!
Uptown Night Market Tasting Tour
Next, check out 5 Open-Air Night Markets in NYC