New York has become a food-hall town, with perhaps more of these collections of food and dining stalls than in any other city in the country. This season, there will be some showy additions, as operators are increasingly selective as to who gets to set up shop.
Doris Huang has filled her shiny cobalt-and-gold food hall with a cross-section of options including Huli Huli for Hawaiian fare, like huli huli chicken (but no poke); Papa Poule rotisserie chicken from the Maman group; Nansense for Afghan specialties; Little Tong Noodle Shop from Simone Tong (who is also opening a restaurant, Silver Apricot, this fall); Mani in Pasta for pizza and Roman items; and Beach Bistro 96 with Brazilian bites from Rockaway Beach. The stalls surround a big gilded bar for wine, beer and cocktails.
The Deco, 231 West 39th Street (between Seventh and Eighth Avenues), October.
8SIA
The stalls in this new two-story space all serve Asian food, as the name implies, with a focus on street food. The bright stands, assembled by the developer Chi Zhang, are Yaso Noodle Bar, with pan-fried bao, soup dumplings and noodles from Shanghai; Rice-On! with bowls, rolls and sushi; Curry 42, for foods from southeast Asia; Debutea, for bubble, fruit and cheese tea; and upstairs, Bee Patterns for egg bubble waffles with gelato.
8sia, 220 East 42nd Street (Second Avenue), September.[Click here to read more from our restaurant preview.]
The Market Line
The dozens of bright stalls in the new Essex Market, which opened in May, are not enough for the enormous Essex Crossing development on the Lower East Side. This fall, the Market Line, with another 30 vendors of prepared food and fresh ingredients, including some restaurants, will open in the lower level. Coming are Schaller & Weber for sausages; Tortilleria Nixtamal’s Mexican foods; Que Chevere for Puerto Rican food; the Grand Delancey Beer Hall, where imbibers can order food from other kiosks; and Essex Pearl, a fish market, with a restaurant. Many of the tenants are from the Lower East Side and Chinatown. Rohan Mehra — a principal of Prusik Group, a developer and a founder of the market — said Market Line will complement, not compete with, the Essex Market upstairs. By 2021, Market Line will triple in size to make the whole thing one of the largest city markets in the world.
The Market Line, 115 Delancey Street (Essex Street), October.
World Artisan Market
This food hall in Astoria, Queens, diverges from the usual formula, with no communal area for a group of dining destinations. Instead, each stall is self-contained, with its own seating. “I didn’t want that cafeteria style,” said Stephen Lysohir, whose company, EJ Stevens Group, is developing the 16,000-square-foot space. So far, he has signed Elevenses, a French-Scandinavian bakery; and Sotto La Luna, an Italian restaurant and gelato stand. He plans to add others, none of which are chains, to represent regions like Africa, Asia and the Mediterranean. A 2,000-square-foot outdoor seating area is also planned.
World Artisan Market, 34-39 31st Street (35th Avenue), Astoria, Queens, November.
The Chelsea Local
Chelsea Market, one of the city’s first food halls, is expanding Chelsea Local on its lower level. There will be a new store, Black Seed Appetizing, from Black Seed Bagels, with smoked fish in sandwiches and by the pound, tinned seafood, salads and pastries. Pearl River Mart, which has a large space on Chelsea Market’s ground floor, will open a food outpost on the lower level, selling Asian items, mostly groceries and frozen food; Las Delicias Patisserie, a gluten-free bakery at the Union Square Greenmarket, will open its first shop; and Dickson’s Farmstand Meats will move from the ground floor to a much larger space downstairs.
Chelsea Local, 75 Ninth Avenue (15th Street), September.
