Wandering through the near-empty halls of the old Nabisco factory — where Oreos were invented — one could drop in on a butcher, an upstate dairy, a kitchenware concern, a shop selling groceries from Italy, an amazingly diverse fruit and vegetable stand, a Thai food store, and a bakery whose excellent loaves you could see being made through large plate glass windows. Planning a Sunday dinner party? This was your one-stop destination!

But as Chelsea Market grew into a tourist mecca, attracting gawkers more than serious cooks, a gradual change took place. Among the commercial establishments, old-timers disappeared, while those that remained trundled out counters peddling prepared foods. Soon, food-court-type enclaves appeared as further spaces were carved out of the complex. Today, the old Nabisco factory is a de facto food court, offering 38 distinct dining options, and those who once went there for fresh fish or a bottle of balsamic are often frightened away by the milling tourist hordes.

 

Perhaps cynically, most of the tables and chairs that once lined the corridors and made dining comfortable have now been removed, just as the number of kiosks and counters selling fast food has zoomed, meaning that there’s often no place to sit when you buy your burger or bowl of soup. There remain a couple of partly concealed seating areas, a few tables, and a stone bench here and there, but generally you must now eat standing up, sit uncomfortably on the floor, or carry your food back to the tour bus. Some vendors offer seating areas, and you might migrate toward those, except their wares tend to be more expensive.

The good news is that it’s now the best food hall in Manhattan, with a beguiling and distinctive choice of dining options. Here is Eater’s guide to Chelsea Market. We begin with the 10 best things to eat, determined after years of snacking, and afterwards give a full directory of eating establishments. Munch on!

The 10 Best Things To Eat at Chelsea Market

 

Adobada Taco at Los Tacos No. 1 — This ramshackle stall looks like something that was flown here from a beach in San Diego, and that’s more or less what the spare menu represents. One look at the twirling cylinder of dripping pork surmounted by a pineapple lets you know just what to order. Here we’d call it al pastor. This is one of the city’s most addictive tacos, and the excellent homemade tortillas keep pace. ($3.50)

 

Tingly Cumin Lamb Soup at Very Fresh Noodles – Treading on the turf of Xi’an Famous Foods, but adding some impressive notions of its own, this newcomer turns out some amazing noodles. They’re of uneven width and thickness, having been hand-pulled, hand-slapped, and hand-torn. The soup is fiery as hell and richly flavored, with a nice sprinkle of Sichuan peppercorns. ($12)

 

Nom Jeen Nam Ya at Chelsea Thai Wholesale — The erstwhile Siamese grocery has gradually 86’ed the boxed and canned goods and turned into the neighborhood’s most formidable Thai café, with some cramped table seating. The choice of dishes from several regions of the country is expansive (examine the picture menu on the wall), but our favorite lately has been this spicy soup of minced salmon in a dark broth with plenty of rice noodles. Pungent and piquant! ($11.95)

 

Hamburger at The Green Table — The Green Table is the project of The Cleaver Company, a catering outfit that was a charter tenant of Chelsea Market, and this comfortable place — outfitted like a farmhouse — was the complex’s first sit-down restaurant. The hamburger is thick and juicy and deposited on an Amy’s bun, fully outfitted with white cheddar, bacon, sautéed onions, and fermented chile aioli. A salad comes on the side. For vegetarians, the menu offers a mushroom pot pie that can’t be beat. ($19)

 

Mortadella Dog and Duck-Fat Potatoes at Dickson's Farmstand Meats — This distinguished butcher has been gradually adding prepared foods to its roster, tucking things here and there around the shop. Rotisserie chickens and sandwiches are available, but perhaps most beguiling are the gourmet hot dogs, including one known as the mortadella dog. No, it’s not speckled with fat globules, but has a mild flavor and snappy skin. To go with it, a generous order of duck fat potatoes. ($10)

 

Chocolate Fudge Milkshake at Creamline— Creamline was once the market’s dairy store, concentrating on the output of Ronnybrook Farms, with case after refrigerated case of milk products. Gradually as those cases dwindled down to a single one, obscure products like quark disappeared completely and the place transformed itself into a lunch counter specializing in breakfast. Now it’s a locally sourced hamburger joint with some stand-up seating, and the burger and fries are good, but the chocolate milkshake is spectacular, a perfect way to consume all your calories for an entire meal in hot weather. ($6.50)

 

Whole Lobster at The Lobster Place — Name notwithstanding, The Lobster Place is one of the city’s best seafood markets, offering everything from line-caught ocean fish to sea urchins, spikes and all. Not too long ago, sushi counters and other prepared-foods areas were added all over the store, making it hopelessly crowded. Still the most popular feature are the whole lobsters, offered deep in the interior, in a variety of sizes served with drawn butter. (1¼ lbs to 3½ lbs, $20.95 to $59.95)

 

Frank Sinatra at Cappone’s Salumeria — This Sicilian-themed sandwich stall was recently located at Gansevoort Market, and has moved into a sunny space at the Chelsea Market next to some standing tables by windows that face 15th Street. Available on several types of bread, the Sinatra is a behemoth sandwich stuffed with Italian tuna, eggplant caponata, and fontina cheese. Get it on focaccia, and one can feed two people. ($12.50)

 

Cherry Tart at Sarabeth’s — Sarabeth’s has become a formidable presence throughout the city, but this small pastry shop with some nice seating at a communal table is the flagship, with the bakery visible next door. You can’t go wrong with the tart of the day, which in this case is latticed cherry with granulated sugar on top for a slight crunch. The cherries are deliriously tart. ($4.50)

 

Spinach Lasagna at Giovanni Rana — Freshly prepared pasta for carryout (or for eating in, more expensively) is the forte of this restaurant just inside the 9th Avenue entrance to the market. Heavily coated with creamy béchamel, cheesy as hell, and freighted with plenty of spinach, this is one of a rotating series of vegetarian lasagnas available, and the meat-bearing version is equally good. ($12)

Directory to Chelsea Market Dining Options

A description of the shops and stalls running from the 9th Avenue end to the 10th Avenue end of the market follows. (Note: does not include fancy-pants restaurants with entrances on the exterior.) Establishments are designated no seating (NS) or seating provided (SP), and cheap (C) moderate (M), or expensive (E), depending on whether they fall into the under-$10, $10 to $25, or over $25 range.

Giovanni Rana Pastificio & Cucina — Pasta fabricator, carryout, and sit-down restaurant (SP, M-E)
Eleni’s — Cookies and cupcakes are the specialty of this bakery (NS, C)
Fat Witch Bakery — Specializing in rich brownies (NS, C)
Davidovitch — Above average-but-smallish bagels and toppings (NS, C)
Dizengoff — Philadelphia hummus specialist NOT OPEN YET
Lilac Chocolates — West Village chocolatier with a large range of bonbons and solid chocolate (NS, M)
Cappone’s — Sandwich maker formerly in Gansevoort Market (NS, M)
Seed Mill — Designer halvah in a bewildering number of permutations (NS, M)
Berlin Currywurst — German sausage wrangler NOT OPEN YET
Filaga — Sicilian-style street pizzas NOT OPEN YET
Amy’s Bread — Baked goods, pastries, sandwiches (SP, C)
Corkbuzz — Wine bar offering platters, snacks, and panini in a dining room (SP, E)
Hale & Hearty Soups — Local chain manufactures on the premises (NS, C)
Dickson’s Farmstand Meats — Celebrity butcher with sandwiches, franks, and roast chickens (SP, C-M)
Mokbar — Ramen with a Korean twist (SP, M)
Los Tacos No. 1 — San Diego style tacos (NS, C)
Creamline — Farm-to-table hamburger stand (SP, M)
Num Pang — Cambodian sandwich shop (NS, M)
Ninth Street Espresso — East Village coffee chain (NS, C)
The Green Table — Catering outfit turned sit-down restaurant (SP, E)
Cull & Pistol — Sit-down project of seafood market next door (SP, E)
The Lobster Place — Upscale seafood market turned sushi and lobster bar (SP, M-E)
Lucy’s Whey — Cheese store selling pressed sandwiches (NS, M)
Very Fresh Noodle — Xi’an and Taiwanese hand-pulled noodles (NS, M)
People’s Pops — Fresh fruit ice confections (NS, C)
Tuck Shop — Savory Australian pies, similar to empanadas (NS, C)
Liddabit Sweets — A Brooklyn originator of sea salt caramels (NS, M)
Takumi — Japanese tacos (NS, C)
Bar Suzette — Crepes made as you watch (NS, C)
Doughnuttery — Tiny freshly made doughnuts (NS, C)
Beyond Sushi — Vegan maki rolls (NS, M)
Chelsea Thai Wholesale — Siamese grocery turned noodle shop (SP, M)
Friedman’s Lunch — Casual chain vending salads, sandwiches, and burgers (SP, M)
Buon Italia — Kick-ass Italian grocery with (mediocre) prepared foods out front (NS, C)
Sarabeth — Baked goods with an English flair (SP, C)
Bowery Kitchens — Knives and sandwiches (SP, M)
Bar Truman — Calling itself an "American Brasserie" NOT OPEN YET
L’Arte Del Gelato — Real Italian-style gelato (NS, C)