Amid the hustle and bustle of New York’s Lower East Side is a marketplace on Essex Street with a bustle of its own. The 75-year-old Essex Street Market was built in the height of the 1940s by Fiorello Laguardia to clear away the streets and sidewalks that had become crowded with vendors and merchants. Today, it is a crossroads of history and culture, comprising a diverse array of stands, shops, and restaurants.
Here are our top eight picks for the best food available at the Essex Street Market.
8. Luis Meat Market
The butchers at Luis Meat Market offer a wide selection of pre-cut or cut-to-order meats from beef and chicken to pork, lamb, rabbit, goat, duck, oxtails and ham. Be sure to ask about their daily specials. The stand itself was founded by owner Luis Rodriguez, who came from an immigrant family that settled in and around Greenwich Village like most of the Essex Street Market’s other tenants. Found at booth 8.