Gallery-Hopping in Chelsea

Description:

The Chelsea Lodge is located in the heart of New York City, near the Greenwich Village and West Village areas of Manhattan.  The hotel is also within walking distance of two 8th Ave subway stops at 14th and 23rd streets. Guests loved the quiet backside garden area, complete with patio seating and plenty of trees that serves as reprieve from the busy city streets. Accommodations are small but immaculately clean, with flat screen televisions, basic furnishings and bathroom facilities that are shared with other guests on the hallway. The hotel lacks on-site dining but a number of cafes and restaurants are available on the same block.

Our Local Expert Says:

A friendly mini-chain (branches are in Chelsea, Tribeca, E. 20th Street, and Hudson Street) with a cozy, charming ambience and a small, tasty menu of classics such as steamed mussels in a variety of sauces and pommes frites.

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This local Belgian restaurant chain has continued to increase in popularity thanks to its cheery ambiance, hearty food and moderate prices. It is a favorite at lunchtime due to its quick service and casual atmosphere. Try the salmon and spinach quiche, or arrange your own salad medley.

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Up-and-coming artists dream of showing at this popular gallery, located in an enormous, cathedral-like warehouse space in Chelsea. With a network of galleries--including three in New York, two in London, one in Los Angeles and one in Rome--owner Larry Gagosian can be considered one of the most influential tastemakers in the art world, and this gallery almost rivals museums in the quality of its work. The inaugural exhibit in this Chelsea space in 2000 was a massive steel installation by Richard Serra; that same year, some 100,000 people visited Gagosian's Damien Hirst exhibition--featuring a three-story-high anatomical model--in 12 weeks.

Description:

The Gladstone Gallery features works of artists both local and international. Names include Sharon Lockhart, Gary Hill and Bruce Conner; shows are a must-see for art-lovers. The stately rooms that display the work of the artist feature white-washed walls with an artistic touch to the floors as well. Displays include paintings and sculptures.

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Matthew Marks is one of the best known galleries in the continuously growing Chelsea art world. View the works of art world heavyweights such as Willem de Kooning, Sam-Taylor Wood, Tracey Moffatt and Nan Goldin. One recent show was Invocations, featuring silkscreen photographs by Tracey Moffatt. The gallery also represents Robert Adams, David Armstrong, Andreas Gursky, Brice Marden and many more.

Description:

This branch of the Mary Boone art galleries, which was formerly a garage, is where new talents are given a chance to prove their mettle in the art world. Creations by artists like Damian Loeb, Jay Davis and David Salle, line the stark white walls of this huge gallery. It was the original Mary Boone Gallery at 420, West Broadway that helped establish a name for the owner back in the 1980's. But this new downtown location has helped bring in a lot of monetary success. Relatively new artists on the block, such as Inka Essenhigh and Will Cotton have a lot to owe to this fabulous art-house! Check website for more details on current and upcoming events.

Description:

The 303 is not your regular gallery - so if you think your visit is going to be boring, you're wrong! This place hosts solo and group exhibitions and at times even art fairs. Sue Williams, David Thorpe and Edgar Bryan are some of the world famous artists who have displayed their works here.

Description:

This modern facility features the exhibition and promotion of contemporary arts in American life. Paintings, prints, sculptures and numerous unusual and fascinating works of art are available for viewing, as well as poetry and other creations appealing to the ear. In the past, the center has featured work by Andy Warhol, Joseph Bueys and Robert Irwin. School groups are welcome at Dia Art Foundation.

Our Local Expert Says:

The area near the Chelsea Market (between 15th and 16th Streets) hosts a yearlong public display of "The River That Flows Both Ways," by Spencer Finch. In this major exhibition, some 700 pieces of glass in shades based on the colors of the Hudson River reflect the intimate connection between the original High Line and the river, both conduits of transportation in a fast-moving city.

Description:

When it was built in the 1930s, as part of a massive public improvement program, the High Line elevated train traffic some 30 feet, safely above the streets of Manhattan's West Side. With the growth of interstate trucking, freight traffic decreased; the last train ran on the High Line in 1980. It was threatened with demolition through the late 1990s, when an organization called Friends of the High Line began advocating for its preservation and its conversion into a public space. After a design competition, construction began in 2008, including the installation of pathways, access points, seating, lighting, and planting. In June of 2009, the first section of the High Line (stretching from Gansevoort Street in the Meatpacking District to 20th Street, between 10th and 11th Avenues) opened to the public amid great excitement. Concessions ranging from coffee and bottled water to mozzarella panini and peach-berry lemonade are available along the High Line walkway, as well as landscaped green spaces and chairs for lounging.

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On far west Tenth Avenue, Cookshop is brawny and boisterous with food to match. Seating can be tight, and you would hear your neighbor's conversation if it the whole place weren't so loud. But never mind: Enjoy the chef's creations. A pizza with shaved king oyster mushrooms and stracchino cheese or the grilled Montauk squid in a salsa verde make good starters to complement the restaurant's innovative cocktails. Or combine a few snacks like the fried spiced hominy or the smoked pork tacos as starters for the table. Cookshop offers entree options in four categories: sauté, grill, wood oven, and rotisserie. The whole roasted porgy, head and all, cooked in the wood oven, is moist and full of flavor, while the chili-braised beef short ribs, served over cheddar grits, from the sauté section, are tender to the bone. Service is casually efficient and helpful.

Description:

Dinner at Tia Pol means tapas, tapas and more tapas! There's no paella option or any other meal-sized plates of any kind. When you come here, you come here to tapa! You may start with a soup or salad, but then it's on to tapas both hot and cold. Hot specialties include perennial must-haves patatas bravas, salt cod 'n' potato puree, and especially the inky squid. Tapas of the cold variety include spanish almonds, anchovies, and an octopus terrine. Brunches afford diners a chance to see the tapas philosophy at work on a different type of fare: sample churros, brioches and croissants all augmented with sweet butter, chocolate or marmalade. Or go for any number of egg dishes or even a breakfast pork loin sandwich. At lunch, sandwiches are the star - though to be more precise, they're known as bocadillos. See website for menu and more.

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Chef and owner Jimmy Bradley has created a lively, friendly and fun bistro in this newly popular area of west Chelsea. With small tables for intimacy and red banquettes for more social gatherings, The Red Cat features a lively crowd every night of the week. While overall this spot is fairly low-key, do not be surprised to see celebrities like Uma Thurman and ex-husband Ethan Hawke dining at the next table. The food is the real draw however, with a pleasing mix of New American and Mediterranean flavors.

Description:

The charming Mexican murals and marvelous margaritas may attract some of the patrons here, but it is the food that will bring them back. Sure, this place has the obligatory burritos, chips and guacamole; but it also has applauded appetizers, unusual entrees and delectable desserts. Chef Sue Torres is innovative more than she is a stickler for authenticity and has come up with many dishes which, if they do not have them yet in Monterrey, Mexico, then perhaps they should.