Chelsea Market

I’ve been meaning to publish this post for some time now, and I figured I should do so before it’s 2013 (gulp!). Happy New Year, a little early, to all! May the year ahead be fulfilling in all the right ways.

A few months ago, when it was still summer, I decided to check out Chelsea Market, the giant food concourse/hall/court/what-have-you on 9th Avenue between 15th and 16th Streets. I’d never been, but I’d been wanting to explore it since first discovering it during my first trip to the High Line this time last year. Despite the fact that I wasn’t as prepared as I could (or should) have been for the Market (I didn’t have much cash on me*, and my shoes were not made for walking), I really enjoyed walking around. There were all kinds of food shops, from Italian and Thai specialty stores to the Tuck Shop (where I got myself a Lamington) and an outpost of Amy’s Bread. You can find a full list of all the shops here. I wish I’d brought along some recipe ideas, as there seemed to be a few places ideal for picking up hard-to-find ingredients.

One of my favorite new discoveries of the day was the Filling Station (pictured below), which sells all kinds of olive oils and salts in a variety of flavors. I sort of overdid it and bought three bottles of olive oil and vinaigrette, but they were too tasty to resist. I’ve used some of the blood orange olive oil when roasting vegetables, and I thought it worked out pretty well, even if it may have been risky (and weird?). I’m sure the butternut squash oil would be a great addition to fall-/winter-appropriate recipes! They also have a lot of different types of salt, including bacon and green tea flavors, if that’s your thing.

*If I recall, some vendors do take credit cards, but many places are cash only.

On my way home, I walked by the Hotel Chelsea and couldn’t help but stop to take a few photos. I’d seen it in photo shoots before, so I was glad to see it in person. It did not disappoint!

Photos by Taking of Toast

Merry Happy

Using the ShakeIt app to edit photos may be the new “blog fad,” but I have to admit, it’s pretty fun. There’s something about this image — taken last month on the terrace of the Hudson Hotel in NYC — that, to me, felt particularly appropriate for the holiday season (plus, I think it “developed” rather well as a faux Polaroid).

Merry happy any which way (including no way) to you and yours. 🙂

Photo by Taking of Toast

Down Below

First the Highline and now … the Lowline? Back at the beginning of October, I was browsing the website for Open House New York, when I came across the listing for the Lowline, a project that “aims to convert a historic trolley terminal beneath Delancey Street into an extraordinary subterranean public park.” While the OHNY event was booked by the time I discovered it, I knew I wanted to look into it and keep it in mind for the future. Here’s a (very) brief description of the project from the website:

The Lowline aims to build the world’s first underground park using innovative technology to bring sunlight underground. As part of the vision, “remote skylights” will concentrate natural sunlight at street level, and then channel it underground, generating enough light to support photosynthesis.

The video about the project, below, starts with a question (one that I’m sure a lot of people ask): “Where do you build a new green space in a crowded city like New York?”

I really wish I had found out about it earlier so that I might’ve been able to visit the exhibition this past September at the Essex Street Warehouse, “Imagining the Lowline: A First Glimpse of a Future Underground.” I guess this time-lapse video of the exhibition will have to do.

As for when we might be able to visit the Lowline? According to an article from The Architect’s Newspaper, “the earliest possible date of completion is 2016.” It sounds like it might be worth the wait, though.

Photo from the Lowline