NEW YORK — Former factory-turned-dining destination Chelsea Market features a diverse collection of restaurants, ranging from biscotti-flavored gelato to Indian street food to hearty New York burgers. Locals and tourists flock to the culinary hotspot every day, and the Harker upper school journalism staff visited during their trip to New York for the Columbia Scholastic Press Association Conference. 

Chote Miya

Passing Chote Miya, the smell of chaat masala and coriander fills the air and invites passersby to look inside. The restaurant offers traditional Indian street food, packaged snacks and drinks. 

We ordered a paneer kathi roll made of a roti, or flatbread, stuffed with cheese cubes, onions and masala chunks. The masala packed a pungent punch, balanced perfectly with the freshness of the house-made mint chutney served on the side. The paneer’s chewy texture contrasted well with the roti and onion’s slight crunch. 

Very Fresh Noodles

If you are willing to brave the long line, Very Fresh Noodles offers a hearty taste of the freshest hand-pulled and pressed noodles. 

When we made it to the front of the line, we ordered the mild Lai Mei Taiwanese beef noodle soup and the tingly & spicy cumin lamb dry. Topped with a heap of cilantro, the Lai Mei was a perfect mix of broth and noodles. Similarly, the lamb was tender, juicy and well-seasoned. 

Served in soup or just by themselves, the restaurant’s noodles shine in every bowl. Very Fresh Noodles knows its clientele: its noodles are deliciously chewy, and their dedication to their craft brings tears to our eyes — for their spicier options, sometimes literally. 

L’Arte Del Gelato

Looking for a sweet treat to end your day? L’Arte Del Gelato is the place for you! The colorful trays of gelato show off unique flavors like olive oil and ricotta with caramelized figs. Customers can select up to two flavors in a cup or cone with a variety of toppings, like whipped cream or nuts. 

We ordered the biscotti and coffee gelato in a waffle cone. The biscotti alone was quite mild but paired well with the richness and strong flavor of the coffee. The cinnamon enhanced the slight sweetness in the coffee, and the crunch from the waffle cone added a satisfying crunch to the dessert.

Filaga Pizzeria 

Filaga Pizzeria specializes in square pizza, a style originating in Sicily, as well as fresh focaccia bread. Pizzas are made fresh every morning, with dough proofed for up to 96 hours. 

Upon arriving, we ordered the Sfoglia di Patate pizza, a simple pizza topped with potato, rosemary and olive oil. Similar to traditional Italian pizza, it had no cheese or sauce. The pizza’s thick crust was quite hard and had no soft texture on the inside. The copious amount of olive oil overpowered the flavor of the potato, and the hints of rosemary left a bitter aftertaste in our mouths. The potatoes were undercooked, and the lack of sauce made the pizza dry. 

Mokbar

Tucked into the side of Chelsea Market’s ground floor, Mokbar provided a spin on classic Korean food. Customers eat at a bar overlooking the kitchen, contributing to the casual and speedy street food atmosphere inspired by Korea’s street life. 

We ordered their bulgogi Buns, spicy Korean fried chicken, tuna poke and bibimbap. All of the dishes were fresh and well worth the price, but the bulgogi buns stood out. Nestled in a bun bao, the caramelized marinade from the beef, the kimchi jam and aioli melded together for an umami-packed bite. Additionally, the purple rice Mokbar uses for their bowls adds a nutty note to the poke and bibimbap compared to typical white rice. 

Creamline

Walking through Chelsea Market, you can’t miss the large black-and-white sign reading “Creamline.” This classic American bar serves an assortment of cheeseburgers, fries and the NYC Trivia League, with ingredients fully sourced from local New York farms. By the time we arrived, they had already run out of fried chicken sandwiches and grilled cheese, so we opted for a New York steakhouse cheeseburger and a Rosenkrans Farm cheeseburger.

The New York steakhouse cheeseburger consisted of two beef patties, two slices of American cheese and a generous amount of grilled onions stuffed between two buttery buns. The flavor combination of the onions with the juicy beef patties melted together deliciously. The Farm cheeseburger contained a patty locally sourced from a New York farm in Seneca Falls, buttery buns, two ridged slices of pickles and red onion rings. Every bite came with an appetizing crunch, followed by the tangy zest of pickles and ketchup.

Tea and Milk

Located on the lowest level of Chelsea Market inside Pearl River Mart Foods, Tea and Milk offers refreshing fruit and milk teas to all boba-lovers. Just before closing time at 7 p.m., we snuck in an order of a brown sugar matcha tea latte with oat milk and herbal jelly as well as a strawberry lychee tea. Unfortunately, they ran out of boba pearls for toppings.

The brown sugar matcha was just the right amount of sweet and milky paired with cool, mild herbal jelly. Additionally, the strawberry lychee tea delighted with its sweet strawberry flavor while also offering an additional burst of flavor with large lychee chunks. Besides the base drink, they also offered additional toppings like aloe vera and classic boba pearls. We recommend ordering with 50% or less sugar as the drinks are on the sweeter side.