After brunch at Barmarché in NoLiTa (which, as of late, we’ve confirmed as serving our favorite Eggs Benedict), we walked south through Chinatown and over the Brooklyn Bridge to One Hanson to check out the Brooklyn Flea on its first day at its new home for the winter–the historic Williamsburgh Bank!

The place was packed, both with vendors and visitors, and there was a fantastic assortment of goods set up in the large, marble-filled main room.

Vintage clothes, antiques, and ephemera were sold alongside wares from new designers, all to be found among the teller booths, along the main floor and mezzanine, and around the bank vault on the lower floor. We immediately found a framed postcard of the Flatiron from near the turn-of-the (previous) century to bring home and, later, we picked up a gilded French-Empire frame–painted wood and gold.

In the vault itself were food vendors–not all of the usual suspects that appear in Fort Greene on Saturdays or in DUMBO on Sundays, but many favorites: papusas, fish tacos, lobster rolls, asian-inspired hot dogs, McClure’s pickles, nu chocolate, and a few others. One makes his or her way through the thick doors of the vault to find steam rising from fresh-brewing coffee and the mixing aromas from the various stands. I tried a lobster roll from the Lobster Pound, and Aron had a Chinese-style hot dog made with the additions of pork belly and plum sauce (other varieties were inspired by Vietnamese, Japanese, Thai, and Korean cuisines). My lobster roll was one of the best I’ve ever had: so fresh and sweet with a super-buttery toasted bun. And Aron’s was great, too. We shared a carrot cake cupcake (and Aron also had a raspberry cookie) to finish.

Of course, as wonderful as the flea always is, the best part was the setting–particularly the tile-mosaic map of Brooklyn that seemed to headline the venue.