The best of Smorgasburg 2016: 5 new food vendors you have to try

We’ve had a hesitant start to spring, but the season is about to get a sure step in the direction of sunny days to come with Smorgasburg returning for its first outdoor weekend of the year.

Beginning April 2 and every Saturday through fall, the Brooklyn food market moves out of its winter digs at Industry City to East River State Park, at Kent Avenue and Seventh Street. On Sundays, the market returns to Prospect Park’s Breeze Hill. The market is open 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. both days.

Out of the more than 350 would-be food vendors who auditioned since last November, the 25 successful applicants gathered for a taste of things to come at a preview evening on Wednesday. Here are the five not to miss.

2nd City Beef

Two Chicago boys left the Windy City 10 years ago but haven’t found anything to compare to the “damn good” Italian-style beef sandwiches that are “everyone’s favorite” back home. Their take on the French Dip, with beef roasted and braised for six hours in Italian seasoning, then warmed in its juices before being piled into a soft hoagie roll with a lashing of spicy giardiniera, is bound to make some converts here, too. Saturday only

Kotti Berliner Street Food

The doner kebab that made its way from Turkey to Germany has undergone a lot of changes at the tastes of Berlin’s street meat set. For one thing, they’re very partial to sauces and, interestingly, corn and edamame (if they’re not your thing, the sandwiches are totally customizable). The traditional doner fixings are also present, along with clouds of fresh feta and better meat than you’ve ever eaten off a skewer — or grilled vegetables, this is 2016 — served on either foccaccia or a pretzel bun. Sunday only

Tramezzini NYC

“It’s a very old sandwich,” says Filippo Paccagnella of his Venetian tramezzini. The thin, pale pockets are made of double-yeasted dough finished with olive oil that yields an unnaturally soft bread, so light the texture is like biting into a bubble. Paccagnella intends to bake it fresh to order at Smorgasburg. But the focus, he insists, is meant to be on the high-quality ingredients he imports from Italy like speck and Grana Padano.

Wowfulls

This ice cream cone made with an actual waffle seems custom created for the Instagram age, but it’s actually direct from the streets of 1950s Hong Kong. Wowfulls will have a plain waffle along with one special flavor like red velvet or green tea each week, rolled around vanilla ice cream and toppings like chewy mochi, mint chocolate chips and Fruity Pebbles dust. Serving suggestion: Allow the ice cream to melt, turning the crispy waffle fluffy again.

Rubyzaar Baked

The 15-year veterans of Union Square’s holiday market have heard your pleas and are officially making their handmade, outside-in cookies available year-round. The rock ‘n’ roll, soul and other music-inspired creations like the Midnight Train to Georgia (peaches, pecans, maple, dark chocolate) are all here — and baker Sarah Rubin has created Rice Krispies versions, too, along with egg creams using homemade syrups.