Every Sunday, the Brooklyn Flea Market sets up in Dumbo right underneath the Brooklyn Bridge. Why is it so awesome? Let me count the ways!

For one thing, some of the clothing there is unbelievably marked down. I got a great — I think it’s great — cardigan for $20, but I recently spotted a very similar one in a vintage store in SoHo for well more than 20 (as in, add another zero). While you’re going to run into the occasional and inevitable Overpriced Item Nobody Would Have Any Use For — i.e. a card holder made out of old newsprint for $20; an admittedly cute but not-worth-$100 woven straw messenger bag — for the most part, it’s deals, deals, deals underneath the bridge. A couple booths take credit cards, but come with cash. Lots of cash.

And then there’s the food! Guys and gals, there’s an on-site bakery with the most delicious croissants for two bucks (they’re huge and worth the money). There are lobster rolls for $14, and while I eschewed them, I did have lobster grits for eight bucks. They were filling and delicious. And filled with lobster! Not like when you order lobster bisque at Bennigan’s or some stupid restaurant with a shred of shellfish in there the size of a nickel.

If you want to shell out money for dessert as well, you have options: gourmet pickles (that were surprisingly amazing — they offered plenty of free samples), ice cream carts with fudgesicles that practically smelled like summer, and a taco truck will satisfy your sweet tooth. Okay, tacos are not dessert food, but whatever, you get the idea.

And there are so many nifty antique statues and old records and bikes and interesting/weird/fascinating people there! I only spent maybe an hour and a half at the flea market last Sunday, but I’ll definitely be back this Sunday. With cash.

Photo by Flickr user revengingangel used under a Creative Commons license.