Cooking, Eating, Food, Travel, United States

Chelsea Market in Pictures

After a two night hotel stay in Times Square, I wrote New York City off as a place I could never live.  The people, the traffic, the gross over-commercialization, really bad food stands, the honking, comedians trying to get me to buy tickets, the construction, the people.  Yes, I listed people twice – throngs of them (tourists and business folk alike) shoving back and forth and heaving through crosswalks was way too much humanity in a condensed space for me.

Seriously, who would live here, let alone visit?  No thanks.  That energy that everyone raves about just pissed me off.  I felt the urge to scream and run away.  Run until the green space of Central Park, run until LaGuardia and a flight back to Charlotte.  But I couldn’t.  I had a family wedding to attend.  Surely there must be something endearing about this city visited and lived in by so many.

I found that endearing something in the Chelsea Market.

A fellow foodie co-worker told me I had to add Chelsea Market to my itinerary.  If New York City is a food lover’s paradise, then Chelsea Market is a Garden of Eden within that paradise.  Located near the Food Networks headquarters in Greenwich Village, she said that I might even spot a celebrity chef as their influences are abundant in Chelsea Market.  I’m not much of a celebrity spotter (with the exception of Giada de Laurentiis – her I would like to spot), but I love checking out food markets.

Chelsea Market is unlike any food market that I’ve been to.  The sheer variety would make any foodie’s mouth water.  From the decadent brownies at Fat Witch Bakery (we brought a bag home) to the fresh and exotic seafood at Lobster Shop (including an oyster bar) to the lavender doughnuts at Doughnuttery, there is something for everyone.  My personal fave was The Filling Station selling only the essentials to good cooking – natural oils and vinegars, rare salts, and craft beer.  This is only skimming the surface of Chelsea Market though, you can also find shops specializing in meat, spices, wine, nuts, various international cousins, etc.

There’s plenty of restaurants, too.  Come hungry noon or night because Chelsea Market has you fed from simple food stands to formal sit-down to dessert.  There’s something for any appetite.  I could have spent two days there eating and drinking – even with all the rest of the culinary treats NYC has to offer.

Not into food?  Chelsea Market still has you covered with artisan shops and fashion designers sprinkled throughout.  We popped into Posman Books which has a nice variety of books focused on NYC and the food scene.  I came away with New York City: A Big City and Its Little Neighborhoods which highlights various ethnic barrios in the city.  It’s definitely a book we’ll use to plan our next trip to NYC for sites outside of Chelsea Market.

My only regret with Chelsea Market was that I was unable to buy anything to cook.  We were staying in a shoebox at W Times Square with no cooking facilities.  Which got me thinking… maybe if I lived in NYC?

What is the best food market you have visited?