Essex Street Market

Essex Street Market

Once the site of a bustling open-air hawkers market, the Essex Street Market (between Delancey and Rivington) was incorporated by legendary New York mayor Fiorello LaGuardia in 1930s to clean the streets of pushcarts, and the market fare still reflects the incredible diversity of the neighborhood's early-mid twentieth century incarnation (though the tenants have moved considerably upscale in the last decade or so, to match trends of local gentrification). Schapiro Wines, which, when founded in 1899, was the first winery on the Lower East Side, is a popular site in the market, as are the Latino food stand Roldan Montalvo Luncheonette, and the mini-art-gallery Cuchifrutos Gallery. For New American chic, Essex is an upscale eatery that operates on the Northern end of the market, with a separate entrance.