With dozens of places to eat, a flea market, and a bookstore, I could stay at Chelsea Market forever and be pretty happy. So whenever I go into NYC, which is basically every weekend if I can afford it, I usually end up going to Chelsea Market for dinner.
It has the answer for basically every craving I will ever have. Tacos? Check. Peanut butter and jelly? Check. Tacos that are actually sushi? Double check. With all this wonderful place has to offer, why would I go anywhere else?
And since I have become a sort of self-proclaimed expert on all things Chelsea Market, I decided I should spread my knowledge. Here is my personal guide to getting the most out of Chelsea Market:
Step #1: Be Adventurous With Your Main Course
While our favorites are our favorites for a reason, it’s good to mix it up every once in a while. If you’re looking for the culture mash-up of your dreams, go no further than Takumi Taco.
Takumi Taco is basically what would happen if sushi had a baby with a taco. You can get some Mexican dishes, like their carnitas, but you can also get burritos with your choice of protein. Protein choices include Japanese curry beef, carnitas, sapporo braised short rib, and spicy tuna.
If you’re craving more traditional Mexican food, check out Los Tacos No. 1. Los Tacos is hailed as one of the best taco places in New York City (it’s also my personal favorite) and it’s not hard to see why. You can’t go wrong with anything on their menu but if you feel like branching out, get some grilled cactus on your taco. The texture will feel a little weird but it’s delicious.
A warning: there is always a long line. Luckily, the workers have taco-making down to a science and the line goes pretty quickly. But if you’re not willing to wait, you might want to eat somewhere else.
Step #2: Two Main Courses Are Better Than One
I am personally a huge fan of ordering more than one main course. Whenever there’s a lot of different food options, I can’t ever just choose one and Chelsea Market is no exception. For your second main course, I would recommend Giovanni Rana Pastificio & Cucina.
You can either eat in their restaurant (which is a plus if you want some guaranteed seating and aren’t bringing in any other food) or order from their to-go bar.
I personally love their to-go bar, it’s just sort of fun. They have every kind of pasta you could dream of and you can choose your sauce and any other toppings you might want. Even better, one of the toppings you can choose is bacon bits.
In my opinion, you can never go wrong with cheese ravioli, pesto, and some bacon bits. And, to top it all off, every order comes with a piece of their delicious bread. To be honest, I don’t really know what’s in it (some kind of Italian seasoning?), but it’s amazing so I don’t really feel the need to find out.
Also, one of the things I love most about getting multiple main courses is that it’s easier to share. Do you have that one friend that always asks for a bite of whatever you got? If you get two main courses, it’s easy for you guys to share so no one misses out on any delicious food.
Step #3: Milkshakes Make Everything Better
Ah, milkshakes. Dessert but in a form that’s more socially acceptable. Some of the best milkshakes I’ve ever had have been at Creamline. While I also love their griddled peanut butter and jelly (the peanut butter gets all runny and it’s just heavenly), their milkshakes edge the sandwiches out for first place.
Not only do they have a bunch of amazing flavors ― honey, cookies and cream, peanut butter, and coffee along with the typical flavors ― the milkshakes are also one of the creamiest things I have ever encountered. Besides, a milkshake is the perfect way to have dessert but pretend that it’s just as good for you as water.
Step #4: Get All the Desserts
In my mind, there is no such thing as too many desserts. Why stop at just one? While I totally understand if you’re someone who says “I already ate a bunch of tacos and a milkshake, I don’t need more food,” I still think that everyone’s life can be improved by some dessert.
To start off our dessert round-up, there’s the deep-fried Oreos at Creamline (yes, they’re so amazing I decided to feature Creamline twice). I don’t think any other explanation is required after the words "deep," "fried," and "Oreos."
Next is L’Arte de Gelato, which I consider a sort-of underdog. Sure it has gelato and everyone loves gelato, but it’s also near the back of Chelsea Market so I never see as long of a line there as there are other places. Luckily, even though it’s in the back, it’s actually not that far of a walk so eat your gelato-loving heart out.
Finally, there’s the Doughnuttery, which is my personal favorite. At the Doughnuttery, you can get little bunches of mini-donuts with whatever flavoring you want. You can get donuts covered with all kinds of flavors like Mulled Apple Cider (fall spices, apple, and orange zest), Paris Time (lavender, pistachio, and vanilla), and Speckled Strawberry (strawberry, lemon thyme, and sprinkled).
Step #5: Pick Up Some Groceries For the Rest of the Week
Now that you’ve eaten everything you could handle, Chelsea Market can help you make some meals for yourself as well. They recently opened the lower level of the market, called Chelsea Local, where patrons can buy their groceries. There’s plenty of food and produce to choose from and there doesn’t seem like many things you wouldn’t be able to find.
Bonus Step #6: Stop by Posman Books and/or Artists and Fleas
While Chelsea Market offers a lot by way of food, it also has a few non-food vendors. My absolute favorite of those is Posman Books, which makes sense because I love bookstores above all else. Artists and Fleas, for those of you who haven’t heard of it, is a collection of flea markets. There’s two others in Manhattan, in Williamsburg and Soho, and one in LA. There’s a huge variety in the vendors and there’s always fun things to be found.
In the end, it doesn't matter what you're looking for when you go to Chelsea Market. There are so many great options that you can never really go wrong. No matter what, everyone will leave happy.