The Best Gourmet Food Markets in New York
I visited the best gourmet food markets on a trip to New York City in November 2021. Some are grocery stores where you can shop for gourmet foods to your heart’s content. Others are outdoor farmer’s markets, where beautiful seasonal produce abounds. Gourmet markets with food stall vendors also made the list because they’re great for sampling everything from sandwiches to soup to sushi. As long as you love food there’s something for everyone on this list. Enjoy!
— Kalustyan’s —
Kalustyan’s
This store is absolutely wonderful. They have a little bit of everything: spices, teas, dried goods, frozen foods, and imported specialty items. Rows of colorful hot sauces adorn shelves near the cash register. In the cold case downstairs you’ll find big blocks of creamy feta stacked next to delicate spheres of flavored labne. Shelves of English fruit jams face off against stacks of Japanese sauces. Italian fennel crackers, jarred Calabrian chilis, and bags of dried mushrooms adorn the shelves. Kalustyan’s is like Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory for the adventurous home cook.
The owner of Kitchen Arts & Letters, which is a wonderful cookbook store, suggested I visit Kalustyan’s. “You’ll walk out with more than you planned,” he said with a knowing smile. And when I stood in the checkout line at Kalustyan’s two days later I heard a man utter that *exact* same phrase. I glanced down at my own overflowing shopping basket and realized I was also about to stagger out with more food than I’d planned. This place is fabulous. You’ve been warned!
I bought as much food at Kalustyan’s as my suitcase can hold without ripping. That poor zipper is ready to pop! I got two bottles of dried yuzu flakes, which smell delightful. I bought a package of mole negro and mole rojo. Given how much time and skill goes into making mole I really appreciate the convenience of packaged sauce. I got passion fruit curd to spread on toast and maple syrup bottled in Brooklyn. Two small packages of miso and pickled plum paste made it into my bag as well. Next time I visit Kalustyan’s I’d like to try their homemade labne and baklava. Yum!
— Despaña —
Despaña Brand Foods
Despaña is a small but well stocked Spanish market. The second I stepped through the door, a cheerful employee walked me through the many delicacies they offer. Despaña sells canned seafood like top notch tuna and anchovies. Glossy glass jars with white asparagus and piquillo peppers grace the shelves. High quality olive oil, savory sweet crackers, and sweet and spicy paprika ensure you will have plenty to cook with. There was a case of cured meats and another filled with cheese. A counter in the back sells bocadillos, which are sandwiches made with Spanish bread. You could grab a snack, relax at the dining table, and then do some shopping. Sounds nice, right? Next time I visit Despaña I think I’ll do just that.
Ok so here’s my Despaña haul… I bought a wedge of Manchego with a “protected origin” stamp. Much like Italian Paramigano Reggiano or French Champagne, place names like these signify quality and, as a result, have become protected titles. I bought sweet pimentón (paprika) because it’s used in so many dishes. And I got spicy Iberico pork sausage, sweet roasted piquillo peppers, and a jar of tuna for snacking. I absolutely love tuna. My grandmother used to make me tuna sandwiches so tuna is a nostalgic taste for me. The cheerful employee who suggested the tuna and peppers said I could serve them together atop sliced bread — so that’s exactly what I did. And I loved it! The meaty tuna was perfectly offset by the soft sweet peppers. The tuna is so good I could eat it straight from the jar. If you appreciate high quality oil packed tuna I think you’ll enjoy this particular brand. But if you don’t like tuna… then leave the fancy Spanish tuna for the rest of us! 🐟🐟🐟🐟🐟
— Murray's Cheese —
Murray's Cheese
As we walked past Murray’s Cheese shop I caught a faint whiff of cheddar upon the breeze and yelled, “STOP! We need to go in.” The moment I opened their doors the sweet, sweet smell of stinky cheese filled my nostrils. The cheese smell was so strong that my first thought was “I bet their neighbors hate them.”
I spotted some old favorites such as Harbison, a soft ripe cheese made by Jasper Hill Farm in Vermont. Harbison cheese was one of my favorite food items of 2020. Murray’s Cheese shop has beautifully arranged cheese boards with rosettes made of pepperoni. I was captivated. Other tasty things such as salted egg chocolate caught my eye. Plus there was Jenny’s ice cream. What more could you want?
Wait did you say you want “lactose free” milk? Never! Ah, I love cheese. It’s one of the finer things in life.
— Union Square Greenmarket —
Union Square Greenmarket
Union Square Greenmarket is a well located market with great suppliers. As we strolled through the stalls I spotted familiar names such as East Hollow Cider and She Wolf Bakery, which my sister swears is the best bread she’s had in New York. In truth, I chose to visit Union Square Greenmarket thanks to Instagram. I follow several farms that regularly sell at Union Square Greenmarket and their produce always looks unique and fresh. During the summer Chef Flynn McGarry documented the fresh produce and gorgeous flowers he purchased for his restaurant Gem. If you love farmer’s markets I definitely recommend checking out the Union Square Greenmarket’s Instagram account.
Since we visited New York during Thanksgiving week, there was a small Holiday Market near Union Square. Rows of quaint stands sold little nicknacks like these felt ornaments. Aren’t they cute? I’ve always found felt ornaments practical because, unlike delicate crystal ornaments, they won’t break when dropped. I especially liked this fuzzy Metro card. What do you think a subway employee would say if I showed them this ornament and said my subway card didn’t work properly lolololol 😂 I won’t do it I swear. But I’m tempted…
— Deluxe Food Market —
Deluxe Food Market 德昌食品市場
I opened the door to Deluxe Food Market and immediately spotted fresh pig ears on one side and Lactaid on the other. “We’re jumping right in!” I thought with a grin. I tried pig ears for the first time at a “Sichuan food and trap music” event at the 2018 Melbourne Food and Wine Festival. The punchiness of Sichuan food and trap music paired really well. And, in my opinion, no one has cooked up a better meat salad — or theme — since.
As I walked down the long, narrow aisle at Deluxe Food Market I checked out the fresh seafood, meat, and greens. Up a small flight of stairs there’s an array of hot prepared food on one side and a bakery on the other. This part of the market was full of intoxicating smells, shiny barbecued duck, and pillowy white buns. It was also very lively. Based on the large number of elderly people chatting happily, I bet this market is as important for socializing as it is for grocery shopping. I was thiiiiis close to buying a fluffy bun but had dinner plans at a Malaysian restaurant and didn’t want to spoil my appetite. I keep thinking about that barbecue duck though, so next time I visit New York I’m coming back for that!
— Chelsea Market —
Chelsea Market
Chelsea Market is popular for two reasons. One, it’s charming. And two, it has good food. Chelsea Market is also a great place to sample wildly different foods. Where else can you hop from tacos to bratwurst to sabich? Out of all the tasty things I’ve eaten at Chelsea Market, my favorite is a rice and fish egg bowl. When in New York I always made a special visit to the sushi counter at Chelsea Market just for that dish. Alas, that particular bowl is no longer on the menu. Thankfully Lobster Place still serves similar rice bowls so my sister and I shared a bowl topped with salmon and tuna. It was decent but it didn’t measure up to the fish egg bowl. On the bright side this is a great reason to try other things on the menu. Who knows? I may find a new favorite! Oh and if you love oysters definitely check out the oyster bar.
After lunch we poked around and found Chelsea Market Baskets, which sells specialty foods like chocolate. They even had honey from Walla Walla, Washington! It’s always nice to spot products made close to home. Across the hall is a small bookstore with a modest selection of cookbooks. We also spotted a weird futuristic photo machine that can scan your body and pop out a very small (and scarily accurate) figurine of you. What?! My first question is: who needs a tiny figurine of their own body??? Like where would you even put that? My inner cynic found this machine gimmicky and touristy. Until I peered inside and found a guy taking a family photo with his two dogs. It was so wholesome and adorable that it melted my little grinch heart. I took a sneaky photo of him so that you can appreciate how cute they are. And now I kind of want a figurine of myself with Milou and Margot… and this is why half of the Instagram ads pushed to me include a dog. The algorithm knows I’m roughly 90% more likely to buy something if there’s a cute dog in the photo.
Oh and you can’t leave Chelsea Market without stopping at the Seed + Mill stall tucked into a back corner. Ask for a free sample of halva and then get tahini soft serve to go. If you have room in your luggage don’t forget a jar of their tahini. I use Seed + Mill tahini at home because it’s the best I’ve found in the US. If you’re a tahini lover then their stall is definitely worth a trip to Chelsea Market.
— Dekalb Market Hall —
Dekalb Market Hall
Dekalb Market Hall looked nothing like I expected. After wandering around the block 1.5 times looking utterly confused, I realized the market was located *inside* a mall in the basement. This mall had stores like Trader Joe’s, Lululemon, and Casper so you know it’s a bougie Brooklyn mall. Bet you can’t say “bougie Brooklyn basement” five times fast heheheh. I tried, I failed.
At the base of an escalator into the basement is a stall that sells “Jewish Barbecue.” To its right is a blinking neon sign with little dancing pirogies. Both of those stalls are a good place to start but the market has even more to offer. My first instinct was to try a noodle soup but a long line of people waiting for jerk chicken at Likkle More Jerk convinced me otherwise. I ordered jerk chicken with rice and cold slaw, which was chopped carrots and cabbage. The jerk sauce left my lips burning pleasantly, which to me means it has the perfect amount of heat.
While I ate I overheard a family discuss their plan to eat at the Dekalb Market and then go upstairs for a movie in the mall’s movie theater. As someone who once sneaked an entire rotisserie chicken into a movie theater and ate it with my bare hands, their plan sounds good to me. I’m not sure I’d make a special trip out to Brooklyn just for Dekalb Market, but if I were in the neighborhood I could definitely go for dinner and movie.
— Essex Market —
Essex Market
This market has a lot of potential. With time I think it could become as fun and lively as Chelsea Market. However, it’s not there yet. The location is good, so points for that. The vendors seem decent. However, the market was overly quiet when we visited. It didn’t have the lively bustling quality of Chelsea Market. Many stalls were dark and some were completely devoid of a vendor. The market felt a bit half-baked to be honest. For example, a sign downstairs said something to the effect of “Please be patient with us while we make changes.” Of course I can sympathize with that. These past two years have been full of changes for everyone. Businesses have had to make huge adjustments.
Speaking of businesses, did you know that The New York Times named Dhamaka one of “New York’s Top 10 New Restaurants of 2021”? Dhamaka’s bright colorful space is located inside of Essex Market. However, although their food looks delicious, I heard from a reputable source that Dhamaka was solid but not outstanding. That leads me to wonder whether Dhamaka, much like its host Essex Market, may need a little more time in the oven to develop before I return to chow down.
— Eataly —
Eataly
Ah, what to say about Eataly. In theory, I should like Eataly. It has pasta and cheese and wine. All good things. However, my overarching impression is that Eataly is cold and corporate and its employees seem sad. If good Italian American food is what you crave, skip Eataly altogether and pay a visit to Misi in Brooklyn. At Misi, you’ll eat gorgeous bowls of hand crafted pasta served in a charming candlelit restaurant. At Eataly, you’ll eat tepid tagliatelle at a cramped bar beneath florescent lights. At Misi, your pasta will be salted with bottarga and flakey sea salt. At Eataly, your pasta will be salted with the tears of miserable employees. Take your pick.
