:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/59632497/Screen_Shot_2018_05_04_at_2.52.01_PM.0.png)
After a couple weeks of ticketed preview nights, Queens Night Market — the summer-long, free-to-enter outdoor weekend food and art bazaar in Queens — reopens to the public this Saturday for its fourth season of affordable bites across a sprawling spectrum of cuisines.
The nighttime market is known for its wide selection of dishes, and this year’s list of confirmed vendors reiterates that variety, with bites like puffy Hong Kong-style egg waffles from Eggloo, crispy Trinidadian shark sandwiches from Caribbean Street Eats, Peruvian ceviche from Inti Sumaq, and Taiwanese popcorn chicken from Bstro. There are also sweet summer treats like mochi, shaved ice, bubble tea, and ice cream (including fried ice cream).
New to this year’s market are Thai roasted crickets from Bold Foods, Italian porchetta from La Salumina, Wenzhou-style chicken feet and lotus root skewers from Hercheers Paopao, Sudanese samosas from Samosa NYC, and sai ua, a Thai sausage from Warung Roadside.
Open every Saturday from 6 p.m. to midnight, the Queens Night Market takes place outdoors at the New York Hall of Science in Flushing Meadows Corona Park. When it started in 2015, the market mandated a $5 cap on all dishes, branding itself as an affordable cultural event and standing out against other similar outdoor food markets like Smorgasburg, where prices can sometimes be as high as in brick-and-mortar restaurants. But even Queens Night Market isn’t immune to price hikes: Now, most vendors at the market stick to the $5 cap, but some have started selling dishes for $6.
Every Saturday night also features live performances, and the first lineup includes a jazz band that specializes in music from cartoons including early Disney films as well as modern animation, along with a Brooklyn-based cumbia and reggae group. Admission to the market is free, and it kicks off tomorrow at 6 p.m.
