The market will be held Saturdays from 9 am to 2 pm at the pedestrian Garden Street Mews in Hoboken, located between 14th and 15th streets, off Washington Street.
“Street food is hot, and I’m a big fan of burgers and fries,” says Pino. “It’s Americana. Easy good food that tastes great.”
Although the trendiness may be waning of mega-burgers with uber-price tags, topped with things like foie gras and served on gold-dusted buns, Pino feels that a good old-fashioned burger, priced right, will never go out of style, and “in the city, not everyone has an opportunity to barbeque or grill,” he says.
Pino’s six-ounce burgers are made with either pure Black Angus beef, or a special beef sirloin mix and will sell for $5.75 to $7.75. He feels that all a good patty needs is some salt and pepper before hitting his flat-top griddle. “Don’t mask the flavor of the burger,” he advises.
PHOTO CAPTIONS, from top down: the American Cowboy, the Big Boy Bleu, the Kentucky, the Surf and Turf
Another Pino tip is to make sure your grill is as hot as you can get it before the meat hits the flame. “You really need that hard sear,” he says. Keeping the heat up will help the juices stay inside the meat.
All FlipSide burgers will be served on brioche buns from Eli’s Bread of Manhattan. Toppings and styles will include simple American cheese on the "Cowboy," cheddar and pulled pork on the "Kentucky," chorizo sausage and guacamole on the "Oaxaca," and lobster salad on the top-of-the-line "Surf n’ Turf."
On the short list of additional items are interesting spiced fries, like cilantro-lime, Old Bay, and Gorgonzola for $2.50; and $3 gelato sandwiches.
Early birds at the market will be able to order breakfast egg sandwiches starting at $4.50. Everything can be enjoyed outdoors at a communal dining area, “Where you can sit and relax with your dog and your kids,” says Pino.
The Saturday family market runs in addition to the long-standing Hoboken farmer’s markets on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and Pino also serves as the new market’s ‘culinary curator,’ responsible for securing a wide variety of top-quality vendors to selling produce, flowers, organic baked goods, honey, cheeses, candy, ice pops, dog biscuits and more.
The market will run June 2 through October 20 or later, weather permitting.
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SUZANNE ZIMMER LOWERY is a food writer, pastry chef and culinary instructor at a number of New Jersey cooking schools. Find out more about her at suzannelowery.com.