[Photos: Kristen Swensson]

Spanning the mile of Atlantic Avenue between Cobble Hill and the Flatbush terminal, the Atlantic Antic is Brooklyn's way of saying hello to the autumn. One of New York's biggest street fairs, it goes down every October and features hundreds of local businesses.

But mostly, people come for the food.

Nestled between the jewelers and gospel choirs are countless booths serving a hugely diverse selection of dishes from all over the globe. Besides the regular sausages, "mozzarepas," and zeppoles, the Antic boasts Halal soul food, Trinidadian stuffed roti, and Bedouin Tent's spicy, divine lambajin pitza. Sonia Gordon's local Caribbean favorite, Stir It Up, was among those dishing out savory standards this year, including jerk chicken and cod fritters.

Dessert purveyors tend show up en masse, as well, and 2009's Antic teemed with sweets. Boerum Hill's Blue Marble Ice Cream represented, offering organic scoops in blackberry, butter pecan, cookies 'n' chips, and blueberry pomegranate sorbet. A block away, Atlantic Avenue's own Betty Bakery brandished dozens of cupcakes in various delectable flavors. And while local joints dominated, home-based caterers manned several booths, too. Cakemakers Brown Sugar Desserts stuck out in particular, thanks to pastry chef Jessica Chong's gorgeous spread, including a massive, rich German chocolate cake.

Also worthy of note were the offerings from Bullfrog Eats, a fairly new company began by French Culinary Institute graduate Cameron Stern and two classmates. Made with 90% organic ingredients, their treats were sophisticated and sweet without being cloying. I wolfed a fluffernutter brownie with maple and dulce de leche drizzle, and had a hard time leaving the booth afterward. (Damn you, Weight Watchers.)

The Antic wraps at 6pm, so it's just good strategy to grab some dinner before heading home. For that, there's Pizza Moto. A side project of Lunetta's Dave Sclarow, PM specializes in margherita pizza, cooked in a portable brick oven. All the dough is handmade, and everything is assembled right in front of fairgoers. The only drawback: a huge line.

Sadly, 2009's Atlantic Antic is behind us. But Brooklynites can look for it every year, usually in the first or second week of October. And with food like this, why wouldn't you?