Julius Facenda grew up in a family of foodies who loved all kinds of food. “My dad was a foodie before there were foodies,” he said.
Among those foods were Italian ravioli, Polish pierogies and Asian dumplings. Further culinary experience taught him that tasty pockets of noodle dough stuffed with meats, cheeses and vegetables are not just Italian, Polish and Asian, but are found in cuisines around the globe.
It was his love of all types of food, including stuffed noodle doughs that led him to create D’Town Dumplings, the latest addition to the culinary lineup at the Stockton Market in Stockton, N.J.
Rather than start with ravioli like those his grandmother made (those will come later), Facenda started his new venture earlier this month with homemade Polish-style pierogies and Japanese-style dumplings called gyoza. He sold out all of his merchandise the first two weekends the stand was open.
Last week brought him to the market ahead of time so he and his staff could make more of the plump pierogies and dumplings that are delighting his customers in search of the perfect wintertime comfort food.
Why dumplings?
“Because they are delicious,” he said.
Facenda developed his own recipes for dumplings, pierogi and accompanying sauces. The pierogies come stuffed with potato and cheese or buffalo chicken, and a choice of plain sour cream, caramelized onion and bacon sour cream or blue cheese dressing.
His gyozas come in four flavors: Asian pork, shrimp, veggie and cheese steak. Accompanying sauces are spicy chili oil, sesame soy sauce, truffle soy sauce and a spicy red pepper relish.
While Facenda is turning out his two kinds of dumplings, he also is making plans and developing recipes for additional stuffed noodles including Italian gnocchi and ravioli and Siberian pelmeni.
“We have a million more flavors coming,” he joked, including breakfast pierogies, which are in the works.
The addition of D’town Dumplings is the latest of changes made at the market by owner Steven Lau. The market also offers artisanal pizzas from Market Pizza, fresh seafood including a raw bar from Metropolitan Seafood, barbecue from BBQ 434 and Mexican food from El Mariachi. The market also is home to the Farm Café, which serves breakfast and lunch from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily.
Lau is in the process of expanding the number of vendors and hours of the market. He also is the owner of the Salt House restaurant in New Hope.
D’TOWN DUMPLINGS
Stockton Market
19 Bridge St., Stockton, N.J.
dtowndumplings.com
Hours:
noon-8 p.m. Fri., 9 a.m.-7 p.m. Sat., 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Sun.
Cost:
$10-$11 for 5 to 6 dumplings or pierogies.
susan.yeske@gmail.con
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