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Urbanspace Vanderbilt

Opening Hours
Today: 11am–8pm
Fri:
11am–8pm
Sat:
11am–8pm
Sun:
Closed
Mon:
11am–8pm
Tues:
11am–8pm
Wed:
11am–8pm
Location
230 Park Avenue
Neighborhoods
UrbanSpace Vanderbilt 1 Food Halls Midtown East

Urbanspace Vanderbilt is an metropolitan carnival of food, tucked away just steps from Grand Central Terminal in the historic Helmsley Building. Having followed the articles written about the forthcoming market for many months, the reality far exceeded my expectations: the colorful space is packed with purveyors of some of the cities most popular cuisine, from Mimi’s Hummus to Roberta’s Pizza.

Urbanspace began in London in 1972 and was founded by developer Eric Reynolds. His goal over the past few decades has been to reinvigorate underused areas of cities, whether they are derelict, historical, or newly formed. In 1994, the American Urbanspace team was founded and has become known for a variety of markets, both permanent and perennial, including the Union Square Holiday Market, the Columbus Circle Holiday Market, and Mad. Sq. Eats. Urbanspace Vanderbilt, which opened in 2015, is the first brick-and-mortar location in New York.

Any kind of food a passerby might desire is housed in the large space off Vanderbilt, which resembles a converted skate park: there are hot dogs with an Asian twist, Red Hook Lobster, sustainable Greek food from Amali Mou, and Hong Kong Street Cart cuisine. For dessert, there are cookies and pastries from Ovenly, doughnuts from Dough, and scrumptious crepes from Bar Suzette. The market is expanding everyday and it seems that at almost any hour, there are people lined up to sample the variety of foods offered. Once a meal is acquired, visitors can carry it out, sit at the barstools of the establishments on the first floor, or ascend to one of the tables on the second level.

Location
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UrbanSpace Vanderbilt 1 Food Halls Midtown East
UrbanSpace Vanderbilt 2 Food Halls Midtown East
UrbanSpace Vanderbilt 3 Food Halls Midtown East
UrbanSpace Vanderbilt 4 Food Halls Midtown East
UrbanSpace Vanderbilt 5 Food Halls Midtown East
UrbanSpace Vanderbilt 6 Food Halls Midtown East
UrbanSpace Vanderbilt 7 Food Halls Midtown East
UrbanSpace Vanderbilt 8 Food Halls Midtown East

More places on 45th Street

Lost Gem
Beer Culture 1 Bars Beer Bars undefined

Beer Culture

Beer Culture opened in the summer of 2013, offering beer, cider, whiskey, and bottled sodas. Customers can come in to pick up a bottle – or growler - of beer to take home, or grab a seat at the bar to chat with the friendly staff while noshing on some charcuterie. The record player behind the bar is usually going and if the owner, Matt Gebhard, and bar manager, Peter Malfatti, are around, they are bound to strike up a conversation and offer to guide patrons through their extensive beer selection. The beers are organized by region. The first door of their huge, glass-front fridge is full of beers from New York State, while the second is full of east coast beers, and the third and fourth is full of central and west coast beers. A bit further back into the room is their international fridge, proudly boasting selections from the UK, France, and three shelves worth of Belgian beers. For patrons who just want a nice, cold, familiar beer, grandpa's fridge is the place to go. Customers often mistake the old Kelvinator across from the bar as a prop and are always surprised when they open it up and realize that it works and that they recognize all of the brands inside of it. Matt included grandpa's fridge because he thinks that there is a place for all beers (except lite ones, which are not sold on the Beer Culture premises) and that some brands hold emotional value for customers. True to its name, the beers in the old Kelvinator are those that Matt had seen in his own grandfather's fridge growing up. Matt's first true exposure to beer and its culture was during a year he spent studying abroad in Belgium. When he came back home to upstate NY, Matt was nineteen and decided to pursue his newfound passion by working in a local Belgian brewery. He remained here for a few years until he met Peter, his future bar manager, who was living in Rochester, NY. Before opening their own place, Matt came to Manhattan and worked in a Belgian bar in Midtown. Although he enjoyed it, Matt told us that he wanted to do things his own way and fulfill his vision of what a bar should be. The bar that these two terrific guys opened is one that is dedicated to the simple, comfortable and unpretentious beverage that they adore. Nestled between Eighth and Ninth Avenue in a residential part of 45th Street, Beer Culture, is a hybrid bar and bottle shop offering its customers over 500 different types of beer. Although at the time of this write-up, Beer Culture had been around for less than a year, both Matt and Peter already feel like part of the block. As Matt stated, "We pride ourselves in being an establishment of beer nerds, not beer snobs. "

Lost Gem
Butter 1 American undefined

Butter

After eleven years in her Noho location, Executive Chef and Food Network star Alex Guarnaschelli opened Butter in the Cassa Hotel, a Midtown twin to her well-known restaurant. Shaped by Guarnaschelli's own travels and time spent working abroad, the attractive dark wood restaurant with comfortable booth seating, is American but with the requisite global touches and ingredients expected of fine dining. When Chef Guarnaschelli isn't filming, she is in the kitchen, on the line, adding her fine touch into every aspect of the cooking. As members of her staff shared with us, Alex is dedicated to bringing fresh and simple ingredients together in beautifully crafted dishes. On a rare and special night out with just my husband and daughter, I could not pass up the opportunity to bring my butter-loving girl to this dining experience. Since she has always considered the dairy treat to be its own food group, I had the highest hopes for the meal - particularly the bread basket - which did not disappoint. The warm Pullman-style rolls with the house-made butters (a plain with a hint of sour cream for richness, and an herb that was light and lovely) were out of this world. All three of us agreed we could leave satisfied just from that - and a spicy cocktail, of course (the Ghost Margarita) But we powered ahead sharing the burrata salad. The creamy burrata with garden-fresh tomatoes was divine and the ribeye steaks that my husband and daughter ordered were cooked perfectly and sat atop smashed purple potatoes. And, as a vegetarian, I always keep an eye out for restaurants working to develop unique, hearty main courses. The charred coconut milk-soaked cauliflower was much appreciated. We finished things off, in case one thought we had already indulged ourselves sufficiently, with the raspberry beignets accompanied by a vanilla dipping sauce. If the name of this restaurant alone does not have one's mouth watering, I am sure that it is now!