I guess the new trend in New York is opening marketplaces with a wide range of food stalls. We had Chelsea Market, the Food Court at The Plaza or the Gotham West Market to name a few; now, we have the Gansevoort Market, freshly opened in October 2014. Located in the heart of the Meat Packing District (MePa if you want to sound trendy), it welcomes a bunch of different cuisines, from American to French to Thai, without forgetting Italian, Lebanese, Mexican, Japanese, and I am sure I missed few...
We went to few of those, but only for the blog of course (it is so hard to be a food blogger, right?). Here is what we tried:
Bruffin Café (American):
The café took the name of their creation: the bruffin, a brioche muffin that is declined in many flavors corresponding to the country they represent. For instance, the French bruffin showed below is made with bacon, brie and gruyere.
The American is made with buffalo white chicken, hot sauce and blue cheese.
It is a nice creation, that probably emerged after the cronut craze. The French bruffin was delicious and reminded me a bit of a twist on a quiche, of course mainly because of the bacon and gruyere.
Jodi also went for their coconut bar, but it was just ok, and it is the first time I see her not finish something with coconut...
Crêpe sucre (French):
Who does not love crêpes? Not me for sure and I was pretty excited to try it. They have sweet and savory crêpes, some fairly traditional like the ham, gruyere and egg. Prices are a bit high (the ham, gruyere and egg is $12), but it reflects the overall prices in the market. Also, if the crêpe is good, it might be worth it!
I tried their butter and sugar crêpe that was quite good and had a perfect amount of butter and sugar in it. I had powdered sugar, but know that you can go for some exotic one: coconut, cinnamon, lavender...
On the savory side, Jodi chose one of their specials, made with mushroom, ricotta and truffle (oil I guess). I thought it was pricey and did not deliver. The crepe itself, made with buck wheat was good, but did not have this slight crispiness that an authentic one would have. I think she should have gone for the classic ham, cheese and egg that seems to be yummy. Next time...
Ed's Lobster Bar (seafood):
The first time we went to the Gansevoort Market, I could not rest having a lobster roll: I simply love this elegant sandwich.
For close to $20, you get a roll and some homemade potato chips. The lobster roll was really good, with nice chunks of lobster that was not smothered in mayonnaise, letting the lobster be the star of the dish. And the roll was heavenly buttery, because of the generous brush of butter inside it...
Sushi Dojo Express (Japanese):
My friend Kenta from Tabelog US, a great review site that is quickly expanding, is always posting photos taken at Sushi Dojo, a Japanese restaurant located in the East Village. So we decided to try their express version at The Gansevoort Market, although we understood, just looking at the size of the kitchen that the menu would be limited. And it was... If you are vegetarian, this is not a place for you as we did not see any vegetarian dishes on the menu.
Jodi got the tuna roll and I got myself the sushi box, that had 8 sushi composed of yellowtail, tuna, eel, sea bass and salmon.
The fish was fresh and I really enjoyed it, especially the eel. However, the sushi set was a bit pricey as, for $24, they do not offer a soup and salad as lots of Japanese restaurants do for lunch. I was also surprised to see that they did not offer any water or green tea with our meal!
Pig Guy NYC (BBQ):
I love BBQ and was thrilled to try The Pig Guy NYC. In their menu, they propose some classic BBQ dishes: pulled pork, chicken or brisket, as well as some unusual ones, such as the chorizo dog.
I went for the smoked brisket with five cheese mac and cheese. When I saw that the mac and cheese had five different cheeses, I was thinking that it would certainly be fantastically gooey. Unfortunately, it was dry...I think it is because they prepare it early and heat it all day long, buffet style. The brisket, however was delicious: juicy, melting in my mouth. I would definitely go back to it!
Luzzo's (Pizzeria):
Luzzo's is my favorite neapolitan pizza in New York and I was thrilled to see then at The Gansevoort Market. There, contrary to their restaurants, they serve pizza by the slice. The first slice we tried was the veggies pizza, that was good, but I thought some of the vegetables were bland.
The best for me is the Margherita made with mozzarella di buffala. That is a slice (or pizza) I highly recommend.
Cappone's Salumeria (Italian sandwiches):
Cappone's is definitely a place I will go back to: we had their signature sandwich there, called The Cappone, that was phenomenal. I mean, they have plenty of yummy sandwiches, and their selection of breads is fantastic.
So, back to their signature sandwich, The Cappone. It is made with capicola, soppressata, salami, provolone, arugula and hot peppers (we asked without). For the bread, we went for the rustic.
This is a huge sandwich and I admit that half was enough for me! For $15, it is definitely a good deal! And that bread...Delicious!
Champion Coffee (...coffee shop):
Last but not least is Champion Coffee, where you can enjoy a coffee or tea. I got myself a double espresso, that I found a bit too bitter and pricey...
The Gansevoort Market is definitely a place to know, especially if you like to try different cuisines. I love these kind of places where one can discover some amazing dishes. My favorite is definitely Cappone's Salumeria and Ed's Lobster. But the brisket at the Pig Guy NYC is worth the trip. And do not forget Luzzo's...
There are still couple of places I did not try yet, but I will sure be back!
Enjoy (I did)!
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