If any building in New York City could house a spacious food hall, it’s the Starrett-Lehigh Building. The Olly Olly Market, opening Wednesday, eats up 17,000 square feet on the ground floor of that blocklong 1931 International-style structure in Chelsea. Assembling and running the food hall is the responsibility of a Chicago hospitality company, 16” on Center (16 OC), owned by Bruce Finkelman and Craig Golden. They have tapped a collection of individual operators, including local businesses like Forsyth Fire Escape, purveying innovative scallion pancake burritos filled with slow-roasted pork, fried queso blanco and guacamole. There’s also the Chicago chef Noah Sandoval with Pizza Friendly Pizza; DdoBar, an interactive chef’s counter for Korean stuffed inari pockets from the owners of Joomak Banjum; and two bars, Avant and Apres. Art frames the booths and is also installed throughout. The market is open Monday through Friday.
Olly Olly Market NYC, 601 West 26th Street, ollyollymarket.com.
Quality Nonalcoholic White Wine
Sauvignon blanc rules in the Marlborough region of New Zealand, where you can find world-class wines. Now a nonalcoholic version offered by Giesen Group of New Zealand, a decades-old winery, in the region on the north tip of the South Island, is available in the United States. Their nonalcoholic sauvignon blanc has refreshing acidity, braided in with notes of citrus and herbs. Less typical among nonalcoholic whites is pinot grigio, and here, too, Giesen succeeds with a wine that delivers nice minerality and a scintilla of tropical fruit. “Wine” at lunch? Go ahead.
Giesen 0% New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, Giesen 0% New Zealand Pinot Grigio, $16 for 750 milliliters, Boisson.co.
Roes of All Kinds at Grand Central Market
Marky’s, the Florida-based caviar company that opened a boutique and a restaurant, Hūso, on the Upper East Side and a store in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, now has a well-stocked counter in Grand Central Market. It’s open daily to sell sturgeon roes, including beluga that the company farm-raises in Northern Florida, the only beluga legally permitted to be sold in the United States. In addition to fish roes ($25 to $830), it also carries smoked fish, foie gras, truffles, blini and other delicacies.
Marky’s Grand Central Market, 89 East 42nd Street, 954-937-8445, markys.com.
Work Through the Ukrainian Table
In the new Ukrainian cookbook “Budmo!” — meaning “cheers!” — the author, Anna Voloshyna, covers not just Ukraine but also most of Eastern Europe in her survey of foods typically found on the Ukrainian table. Borders are notably porous when it comes to food, and politics doesn’t figure in this account. (The book was written before the war.) Ms. Voloshnya, 31, who left Ukraine in 2011 for San Francisco, became a food photographer (she shot the photos for the book), blogger and chef. Stock up on sunflower oil, dill and smetana (sour cream), and you’re ready to cook. There are plenty of cold salads and spreads, but the hearty hot dishes like whole pot-roasted cabbage and many dumplings make the book timely for fall. Oladky, or thick pancakes, suit a holiday breakfast; in summer, add blueberries. A few recipes, like forshmak (chopped herring), kremzlyky (latkes) and buckwheat dumplings that suggest matzo balls (they’re made with club soda) are familiar on the Jewish table. She credits her mother, Victoria Novikova, who is still in Ukraine, with several dishes, including an impressive pork shank braised with sauerkraut, and an unusual cake made with custardy pastry cream sandwiched between flat layers of pâte à choux.
“Budmo!: Recipes from a Ukrainian Kitchen” by Anna Voloshyna (Rizzoli, $39.95).
Baked Doughnuts Perfect for Fall
Mini-doughnuts called BlissBombs are baked not fried, almost putting them in cupcake territory. Tarran Hatton, who was a recipe developer for Milk Bar, created them two years ago with Dan Stevens, who runs this Manhattan company. This fall there are three new doughnuts, all worthy of the autumn table or gifting: ginger-apple cider, cranberry-orange (topped with dried cranberries and candied orange peel) and pecan-pumpkin pie with chocolate glaze.
BlissBomb Mini Donuts, $49 for 12 shipped (in excellent packaging); $2.50 to $2.75 for pickup at 335 West 38th Street, 917-936-6251, bliss-bomb.com.
An Advent Calendar for Tea Devotees
Keeping track of the run-up to Christmas calls for an Advent calendar, a tradition that is said to have started in Germany in the early 20th century. Starting Dec. 1, a little door on the calendar is opened each day until Christmas to reveal a devotional message, and maybe a treat. In recent years the treats have become extremely elaborate and can include tiny bottles of wine or spirits, small cakes, puzzles, socks, jerky and even items for pets. Tea Forté, a high-end tea company, offers a tree-shaped calendar housing each tea in the company’s signature triangular package. The varieties include Earl Grey, English breakfast, ginger lemongrass and African solstice.
Tea Forté Warming Joy Advent Calendar, $60, teaforte.com.
