Food Tours · Tour

From Chelsea Market to the Vessel, Along an Old Freight Line

Three hours west of Manhattan's middle, starting outside Buddakan on the corner of 16th and Ninth, or inside the Chelsea Market vestibule if the weather is bad. Markets have operated on this block since the 1840s. By the 1930s the Meatpacking District was turning out the third-largest volume of dressed meat in the country, and five packing companies still work here among the boutiques, which is the honest version of what people mean by urban renewal. The eating is spread across the market and beyond it: hot dogs made in-house at Dickson's Farmstand, mini doughnuts fried to order at Doughnuttery, Japanese-Mexican tacos at Takumi, pastel de nata at Joey Bats with the top scorched the way Lisbon does it, pan-fried dumplings from Nom Wah, a classic New York slice, and a specialty drink from Bird & Branch, a latte in the colder months and iced tea in the warmer ones, to carry with you. Market 57 at Pier 57 gives you the river and the skyline from a rooftop most visitors never find. Then the High Line, an elevated freight viaduct that was scheduled for demolition and instead became a linear park, where the guide covers the planting, the design and what was there before. The walk finishes at Hudson Yards, the largest private real estate development in the United States, beside the Vessel and its 154 flights of stairs. Up to fourteen travellers, guided in English or Spanish. Wheelchair accessible throughout, though it moves at a steady pace. Guests get fifteen per cent off at Pearl River Mart and reduced-price sangria and wine at the happy hour stop. Beer and wine cost extra. Stops can change. Runs in any weather.