Casual but awesome in Chelsea with a toddler

[andytee]

We are a family of New Englander's who will be spending a weekend in and around Chelsea for a nephew's Bar Mitzvah - and while we are pretty comfortable in NYC we don't know the neighborhood that well and would love some pointers on where to go. We are mostly there for family events, and we have a two year old. He's a wonderful child, relatively adventurous eater, well behaved, but he is two.

Over the course of the weekend we will be eating out for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, probably mostly within the neighborhood, and we are looking for casual places that are also delicious. Both my wife and the kid eat a wheat-free diet (I know, fun) so places that are almost all bread or pasta aren't big hits, though a great sandwich spot that also does soups and salads could work. We'd love to find something more Chow-y though.

Base of operations will be the Gem Hotel on 22nd at 8th. We'd also love tips on grocery and natural food type markets in the area - a good place to pick up a banana and a yogurt for a toddler, maybe diaper wipes, that sort of thing.

So far, City Bakery and El Cocotero have been recommended - any thoughts on those two or ideas of other places to visit would be appreciated!

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City Bakery
3 W 18th St, New York, NY 10011

El Cocotero
228 W 18th St, New York, NY 10011

[Chuck Lawrence]

Chelsea Market for everything from soup to nuts (literally). Also, 202 Cafe and Friedman's Deli are there.
Tipsy Parson on 9th Ave and Cookshop on 10th Ave. for nice meals.
La Bergamote - coffees, pastries, salads. Murray's Bagels (hold the bagel) on 8th btw. 22nd and 23rd St. Energy Kitchen (salads, smoothies) on 17th St. near 8th Ave.
Grand Sichuan on 9th Ave and 24th St. (I stand corrected).
Whole Foods is on 7th Ave and 24th.

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Murray's Bagels
242 8th Ave, New York, NY 10011

Cookshop
156 10th Avenue, New York, NY 10011

Grand Sichuan
229 9th Ave, New York, NY 10001

La Bergamote
169 9th Ave, New York, NY 10011

Energy Kitchen
307 W 17th St, New York, NY 10011

Friedman's Lunch
75 9th Ave, New York, NY 10011

Whole Foods
250 7th Ave, New York, NY 10001

Tipsy Parson
156 Ninth Avenue, New York, NY 10011

[andytee]

Thanks for the suggestions, Cookshop in particular looks great.

[andytee]

We ate at Cookshop tonight, it was lovely. Ours was the only child there, but we did not feel out of place too much. The meal was lovely, really great at all turns.

I was interested to note they still offer bottled water at the start of the meal, I was surprised as many places I know have stopped pushing it in favor of the more sustainable stuff from the tap. Still, the food was great, no complaints - thanks for the tip!

[kathryn]

Friedman's is gluten free, which you should definitely check out.

Also Chelsea Market has a big fruit market inside.

I think Grand Sichuan is on 9th though, not 10th.

[LeahBaila]

Second Friedman's

[andytee]

Really? I've got it marked on the map, but from my quick look at the menu, it looks more "fine" than "really good" - i.e. it seemed like a serviceable sandwich place with good gluten-free bread options, but not something worth going out of the way for.

So - it it really good? What do you love about it?

[LeahBaila]

While I'm don't follow a gluten-free diet, I love their breakfast: grits, scrambled eggs, biscuit & jam, fried green tomatoes. Also, their mac n cheese is solid and I find their matzoh ball soup pretty decent.

[andytee]

Thanks for the tip - glad to have a good option for breakfasts!

[LeahBaila]

You're welcome.

[andytee]

Also - any great cocktail spots in the area? Not for the toddler, but in hopes of leaving the kid with the grandparents and taking my wife out for a drink while sleeping babies lie.

[Chuck Lawrence]

Maritime Hotel, 16th St and Ninth Ave.

[orthorunner]

As re groceries, in addition to the Whole Foods mentioned, there is also a new Trader Joes in Chelsea.
For dinner, an alternative to Cookshop would be the Red Cat. For a more casual meal, you could go to Co., a relatively new pizza place run by a well-known bread baker. The good news for your family is that there is also a selection of salads, so they can avoid gluten. There is also a place popular among gluten-free folk called Risotteria that is further south, in West Village.
For cocktails: you are close to Raines Law Room, which is a fantastic speak-easy style spot.

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Red Cat
227 10th Ave, New York, NY 10011

Risotteria
270 Bleecker St, New York, NY 10014

Raines Law Room
48 W 17th St, New York, NY 10011

Trader Joe's
675 6th Ave, New York, NY 10011

[andytee]

Raines Law Room looks absolutely great, as does the rest, thanks!

We are ok with a little travel, Flatiron, Midtown East, etc. In fact we will actually be in Midtown East Sat. AM for the actual Bar Mitzvah.

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Raines Law Room
48 W 17th St, New York, NY 10011

[kathryn]

Near Raines Law Room is also Flatiron Lounge, another cocktail lounge.

If in Midtown East, you'll probably be somewhat close to Campbell Apartment in Grand Central Terminal. Just make sure you are appropriately dressed - they don't allow sneakers.

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Flatiron Lounge
37 W 19th St, New York, NY 10011

Campbell Apartment
89 E 42nd St, New York, NY 10017

Raines Law Room
48 W 17th St, New York, NY 10011

[Blumie]

Le Zie is a great place for adults and kids. Check its menu to see if it works with your dietary restrictions.

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Le Zie
172 7th Ave, New York, NY 10011

[andytee]

Walked by, saw their menu, it looked like a nice spot. Maybe next trip, thanks for the suggestion.

[andytee]

Thanks folks! We need a breakfast spot near the hotel - Both Cheslea Market and City Bakery feel a bit too far. How is the Malibu Diner? Anything else near there?

We're staying at the GEM hotel, 22nd and 8th. What's the best coffee nearby? Any good espresso spots?

Thanks again!

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City Bakery
3 W 18th St, New York, NY 10011

Malibu Diner
163 W 23rd St, New York, NY 10011

[small h]

I haven't been to the Malibu Diner since I lived on 23rd in the early '90s, but I loved their egg & cheese sandwich (you would think this would be a simple thing to make correctly, but you would be wrong). It's a regular old diner, though, and perhaps not worth "wasting" a vacation meal on.

[andytee]

Yeah, but we have to be in Midtown for a Bar Mitzvah by 9:00, so close and easy is good. If you have other ideas, feel free to share, but the fact that you have at least some fond memories makes me think we will end up there tomorrow morning.

[andytee]

And, yeah, Malibu was fine but blah, it worked. Later in the day I wandered by Casa Havana on 8th and had a pernil sandwich that made me wish someone had pointed me there for breakfast, I didn't try it but the menu looked both cheaper and more interesting than the Malibu Diner. That said, the hotel gave us a 10% off referral card for the Malibu, service was nice and food was well, fine.

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Malibu Diner
163 W 23rd St, New York, NY 10011

Casa Havana
190 8th Ave, New York, NY 10011

[andytee]

We also stopped into the Pita Hut on 23rd for a little pre-gaming snack of falafel before the evening party, which had a buffet coming out later than we usually eat. Nothing about the place is worth a trip across town but the falafel was quite good, service and prices were great too.

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Pita Hut
225 W 23rd St, New York, NY 10011

[kathryn]

Cafe Grumpy or Joe the Art of Coffee are a short walk away.

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Cafe Grumpy
224 W 20th St, New York, NY 10011

Joe the Art of Coffee
405 W 23rd St, New York, NY 10011

[andytee]

Cafe Crumpy - this looks like great news. Thanks!

[andytee]

Cafe Grumpy was excellent and merited multiple visits, thanks so much for helping me get my fix.

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Cafe Grumpy
224 W 20th St, New York, NY 10011

[kathryn]

Glad to help!

[lolabee]

Thought I'd update with places we visited during a one-week stay in Chelsea with our toddler. Unfortunately, my original, more detailed, post got erased so this is an abbreviated version...

Knickerbocker Meat Market - great sandwich fixings - spicy pulled pork, house-roasted turkey
People's Pops in Chelsea Market - delicious, albeit slightly overpriced, popsicles. Toddler was crazy for them!
Manhattan Fruit Exchange in Chelsea Market - cash only, but good prices on fruit/veg
Amy's Bread in Chelsea Market - a bit overrated, but good selection of breads/baked goods
Billy's Bakery - also a bit overrated for cupcakes etc
Big Booty Bakery - fantastic empanadas and cookies
Thai Chai Yo - good Thai take-out
La Maison du Macaron - overpriced ($4!) and not terribly impressive croissants
Shake Shack - better than we expected and reasonably priced. Well-located near playground!
Le Grainne - faux French cafe with well-priced and good brunch/crepes/sandwiches etc
Grey Dog - slightly expensive cafe (over $3 for one cookie) but with good food
Le Zie - excellent truffle Mac and Cheese, friendly staff
Murray's - toddler-unfriendly queue, but decent breakfast sandwiches and bagels
Casa Havana - a bit disappointing - Cubano sandwich lacked flavor and pickles.
Co. - very friendly staff and nice space. Pizzas were on the overpriced side as they were just toppings scattered on what looked/tasted like naan.
La Bergamot - okay pastries and croissants
Better Burger - slightly "healthy" burger joint.
Doughnut Plant - liked the Lower East Side location - were the donuts more fresh there?
Eataly - hard to navigate in general - and especially with a stroller - so we ended up only getting snacks.
Grand Central Market - fun to visit, really only good for take-out meals though
Garden of Eden - "by the pound" food bar, good for getting veggies

Not recommended:
Laut - served our toddler uncooked chicken. Thankfully he did not get sick.

Farther afield:
Schnipper's in Times Sq - surprisingly delicious BLT. Generous and thick slices!
Cafe Chili in Brooklyn - really delicious Thai with some unusual dishes.
Nyonya - Malaysian in Little Italy - not as good as it used to be.
Katz's - touristy & overhyped.

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Nyonya
199 Grand St, New York, NY 10013

La Maison du Macaron
132 W 23rd St, New York, NY 10011

Shake Shack
Madison Ave and E 23rd St, New York, NY 10010

Doughnut Plant
379 Grand St, New York, NY 10002

Billy's Bakery
184 9th Ave, New York, NY 10011

Big Booty Bread Co.
261 W 23rd St, New York, NY 10011

Amy's Bread
75 9th Ave, New York, NY 10011

Le Zie
172 7th Ave, New York, NY 10011

Thai Chai-Yo
233 9th Ave, New York, NY 10001

Casa Havana
190 8th Ave, New York, NY 10011

Manhattan Fruit Exchange
75 9th Ave, New York, NY 10011

Le Grainne
183 9th Ave, New York, NY 10011

Laut
15 E 17th St, New York, NY 10003

Co.
230 9th Ave, New York, NY 10001

Schnipper's Quality Kitchen
620 8th Ave, New York, NY 10018

Garden of Eden
162 W 23rd St, New York, NY 10011

Better Burger
178 8th Ave, New York, NY 10011

Knickerbocker Meat Market
166 9th Ave, New York, NY 10011

Grey Dog Coffee
242 W 16th St, New York, NY 10011

People's Pops
75 9th Ave, New York, NY 10011

Eataly
200 5th Ave, New York, NY 10010

Doughnut Plant
220 W 23rd St, New York, NY 10011