The High Line in the Chelsea neighborhood of New York City is a modern urban park; this former elevated train line was renovated to various gardens and landscapes to give the city a greener feel. At the base of the south end of the High Line in New York City lies Chelsea Market, a modern “indoor mall” of retailers, grocers and eateries. This bastion of gastronomy includes eat-in and take-out establishments that are traditional yet progressive and trendy. Quite trendy I might add. That is why this is the perfect place for anybody seeking new and innovative fare without the high price tag of many Manhattan restaurants. The market itself is completely indoors and occupies the bottom floor of the building that houses tenants MLB.com, Oxygen Network, Google and Food Network. The visit to this market was compliments of our friends Eric and Dana living in North Jersey; by Dana, I meant Chef Dana of "Hell’ Kitchen." It would be difficult to find a better food ambassador for this particular journey.
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| The interior of Chelsea Market |
The first stop was Takumi. Takumi is a taco food truck that mated Japanese ingredients with the style of Mexican street food. Our selections included a Sapporo braised short rib taco and a spicy tuna taco. The meat of both tacos were spot-on but the tuna taco included a crunchy shell that perfectly blended the textures of the big-eye tuna, avocado and spicy mayo.
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| Short rib and tuna tacos |
The next stop was Beyond Sushi which specializes in vegetarian sushi. The hand-made rolls have all the colors and accoutrement of Japanese sushi rolls minus the fish. Most any roll on the menu seemed intriguing, but our choice was the Spicy Mang. This roll consists of black rice, avocado, mango, English cucumber, spicy veggies and a side of toasted cayenne sauce. Fresh and tasty, this particular selection lacked complexities of sushi rolls made with the same meticulousness.
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| Spicy Mang roll at Beyond Sushi |
The last stop on my tour de Chelsea was Lobster Place. This is undoubtedly the most impressive seafood market I have visited. This place is not about size and quantity but variety and quality. It includes fresh catch from all over the eastern seaboard, United States, and seas of the world. Uni and sushi-grade tuna (I learned about the existence of tuna belly which I plan to dabble in the first chance I get) are all available for any consumer. Everything has a beautiful, fresh display. It can put most any other seafood shop/stand to shame. Aside from retail, Lobster Place offers a diverse menu of seafood soups, sandwiches and hot dishes. Most striking amongst the consumers were the freshly steamed whole lobsters which you can purchase by weight of the crustacean. The lobster roll, however, was our choice on this pitstop. Served with celery, scallions, lemon and mayo, the lobster meat was tender and buttery. I must admit that I am no aficionado of lobster rolls so this will basically serve as the standard.
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| Lobster Roll |
The three stops in Chelsea market were a mere sampling of the variety available. Other food stops include Los Tacos (authentic Mexican from family recipes of the owner), Fat Witch Bakery (all things brownie and sugary delights) and the Doughnuttery (cranking out fried dough from a little mechanical deep frier.) There is something for most everybody in a unique environment and any time of the work day. Chelsea Market can be the perfect excuse to walk the High Line. Walking the High Line can also be the perfect excuse to visit Chelsea Market. Take your pick, it’s difficult to lose.
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