I had heard people talking about it, I had seen pictures on Instagram, but I had never actually visited the Holy Food Mecca that is Smorgasburg...until this past weekend. And I’m here, much more enlightened (and about 5 pounds heavier) to tell you the story.

Growing up one hundred percent Italian, food has a special place in my heart. Therefore, it wasn’t much of a struggle to get me to go to Smorgasburg. For those of you who aren’t familiar, Smorgasburg is essentially a food festival held every Saturday in Williamsburg, Brooklyn and every Sunday in Prospect Park, Brooklyn in the summer. Hosting 100 food vendors, there’s bound to be something for everyone and the good news is that it’s completely free to get in! This past Sunday, I visited the Prospect Park location, which is set up in a circle that you can walk around. Each vendor had a menu about four to six items long and some of them offered beverages. The food selection was quite diverse, spanning from breakfast options to noodle bowls to giant doughnuts. They even had one booth where they carved out the middle of fruit and put juice in it, and you bet I waited on that line to drink out of a pineapple.

In terms of organization, it definitely did get crowded but there was space not only in the middle of the park, but also in the surrounding area to sit and eat. Many visitors brought picnic blankets and set up camp in the shaded areas. Most of the booths had a line where visitors would place their orders and then a separate area where they would wait for whatever they had just ordered. A few of the lines got very long but moved surprisingly quickly. For as many people that were there, the process of ordering and getting food was very streamlined. The crowd ranged from teenagers to families with strollers, which tells me that no matter how old or young you are, if there’s food involved, you’re usually down. Smorgasburg is also the perfect opportunity to try a food that you don’t typically go for. The portions are small, making it the ideal place to sample. Get yourself a Chinese breakfast classic- quail eggs on a skewer at the BrunchStreet booth. Or opt for some mushroom coffee at Four Sigmatic. Finish off your (insert however many courses you decide here) meal with a carved mango on a stick or ice cream sandwiched between two churro buns.

For those of you who aren’t native to the east coast, don’t panic! There is a Smorgasburg every Sunday at the Alameda Produce Market in Downtown Los Angeles that features booths local to the area. Whether you’re dropping by for a quick bite or spending a few hours lapping the place like myself, Smorgasburg is definitely a worthy stop on any summer bucket list.