Zombie post today while I am in San Francisco!
Food halls are a big deal now in New York. I hadn’t been to one (and I was not keen on the idea) but if you’re a person who loves food, you must give it a whirl when in the Big Apple. As it turns out, Chelsea Market is a more upscale, complex and crowded version of the dreary “food courts” one finds in every shopping mall. A food court with good food, one might say.
The market when it is NOT crowded. I have no idea when that might be.
But I may be passing too harsh a judgment. I enjoyed the stores, like the Chelsea Wine Vault, which has a lovely atmosphere and a tempting selection of Irish whiskeys. There are bakeries, spice shops, a cheesemonger’s.
Mmmm. Come to mama.
There are even a few sit-down restaurants, like the Green Table, where we stopped for lunch. The Green Table bills itself as a “charming organic eatery” with beers and wines that are “sustainable, organic and biodynamic.” Okay. But I would not call this place vegetarian friendly, not when they offer dishes like this:
The deviled egg plate. One of the eggs had “guanciale” on it, which is a cured meat. It could not be substituted. So if I wanted deviled eggs, I had to make do with three. The butternut squash egg was quite good.
The LSH had this simple lentil soup with carrots, which was fresh and delicious.
This was a tasty dish of grains and greens with (if I recall correctly) a maple cider reduction. Pleasing, but pricey (the mains here run from $18-25).
I had this dainty portion of mac and cheese with goat cheese, colby, cheddar and parmesan. It delivered a good sharp flavor and a kick of cayenne.
We indulged ourselves with dessert–“donuts” with a creamy sauce and tangy citrus. This was a succulent combination, and the coffee’s good.
So would I go back to Chelsea Market? Probably not, especially after the electricity went out while I was in the ladies’ room, leaving us in TOTAL darkness for a few moments. I would not like to be in such a crowded space if that happens again. But I would be open to trying Eataly, Mario Batali’s mega-Italian emporium at 23rd and 5th.
Focaccia at Eataly. Click for photo source.
Linnet Moss 
That meal sounds a bit below par, I will never forget being in Paris with the Yak and their disdainful presentation of stuffed eggs to him. Blech. However, I have always as wanted to eat at a Mario Batali food venue.
Yes, we went to Otto Enoteca Pizzeria in Manhattan, one of his more modest venues, and built to accept crowds from tour buses, but I thought the food was excellent.
That lentil soup does look delicious! Would love to swap that for the huge huge batch of soup I made this week, and which turned out horrible. It was an experiment 😦
Oh, too bad! What kind of soup was it? It is hard to ruin soup, but I have on occasion ruined a lentil soup by overcooking it until the lentils turned to sludge.
Hard to explain. I bought a fancy pre-mix labelled “Thai soup”, with quinoa and all sorts of bits. I thought if I mixed that in with a base of (home-made) cauliflower-leek soup, it would turn out nice. It didn’t.
Oh no, and you lost your lovely homemade soup. Cauliflower and leek sounds delicious.
I walked through Chelsea Market the other day and all I was thinking was that I needed to get out of there….
Yes, it is claustrophobic. And always crowded.