Going into this past weekend’s Book Riot Live, I read on the website that there were a number of restaurants nearby we could check out on our breaks. On my walk over, I didn’t see a bunch that looked feasible for a quick in-and-out bite. On the walk back after day one I saw I had missed one great option – Gotham West Market.
Though the space opened at the end of 2013, I’ve never made my way over. Under one roof, you can find a number of fabulous places, including:
- Ample Hills Creamery
- Blue Bottle Coffee
- The Cannibal
- Choza Taqueria
- El Colmado
- Evelyn’s Kitchen
- Genuine Roadside
- Indie Fresh
- Ivan Ramen Slurp Shop
- NYC Velo
For lunch, my sister and I went to Genuine Roadside, an open cafe with a number of interesting sandwiches and salads. I went with their featured dish of the day, created by guest chef Jamie Bissonnette. They have a pulled pork sandwich on their regular menu, but this was a Thai style pulled pork sandwich – served with cucumber, cilantro, and Thai basil. Unlike a more traditional Southern BBQ version of pulled pork, the meat on the sandwich wasn’t highly seasoned, allowing for the added Thai elements to shine. I was surprised how generous they were with the pulled pork. Definitely not a small sandwich! We opted to split an order of their sweet potato fries, which were thin and seasoned with chili spice. They were some of the best I’ve had in the city.
To complement the lunch, my sister and I went over to Evelyn’s Kitchen. We asked and learned that they are especially known for their “Pudgies” – a softer, fluffier, more doughy version of a cookie – in particular, their banana pudding Pudgy. I can confirm it was amazing. Inside each bite, you could taste banana pudding, along with white chocolate chips. It’s the best of indulging in cookie dough yet presented in a way that’s not raw. Genius.
I’ll have to be back for another visit. I didn’t realize my favorite Ample Hills Creamery has a space in Manhattan. Dangerous.
Gotham West Market – 600 11th Avenue (between West 44 and 45 Streets) – 212.582.7940
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