Urban Booty at NYC Flea

On my final Saturday morning in New York City I was ready to go on one more exhilarating adventure, so I rented a bicycle. In a bird's eye view we must look like small two-wheeled ants hustling through cracks of a constantly moving yellow brick road.


It only took a few blocks of dodging the ubiquitous yellow cab flying down Eighth Street, nearly moving into Madison Square Garden, before I ditched down 39th. Preparing for my next move I could see that 39th ended with what looked like stalls and a flea market. Score! Turns out I stumbled my way into Hell's Kitchen Flea Market, aka. HKFM.


Located in the Chelsea neighborhood of west Manhattan, the flea market is a nice walk through the High Line from the south side of the island, and even has a shuttle that runs to a sister trove on 25th. The High Line is a gorgeous upcycled elevated rail line, boasting gardens, unique views, pop-up bars and food trucks hidden amongst the concrete jungle.





HKFM fills Thirty-Ninth with both spruced up and still dilapidated treasures of all sorts, 'urban booty', a trove that seems long as the river Nile floating you by bits and pieces of world history.


In 2007 HKFM was listed as one of the Top Ten Shopping Streets in the World by National Geographic. Other markets I've been to that are included in the list are:

Plaza Dorrego, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Portobello Road, London, England
Temple Street Night Market, Hong Kong, China

If you get to the Plaza in Buenos Aires, walk around the corner to the San Telmo market. Stop at the always packed grill stand just outside for a Choripán.









The market's blog Fleaspeech includes announcements, new vendor introductions, latest finds and news. Follow HKFM on Pinterest where organizers frequently post photos of inspiring fashion - celebrities, designers, models, artists, singers, dancers - and interior decor. The Hell's Kitchen Flea Market pinterest board is appropriately called Market Muse.


After meandering through the stalls (one kind keeper watched my bike while I browsed his vintage clothing, pin, jewelry and purse collection), my pedals and slender seat carried me into Central Park...



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Argentines - meat y vino

As I said before, the smell of grill fired Argentine meat spanks your nostrils as soon as you step foot out of the airport. The country is especially known for its adobo sauces and fresh chimichurri sauce. Our first taste of the local meat was over a late lunch at Don Julio, a restaurant in Palermo that specializes in the local favorite Parilla (grilled meat). We started with a chorizo sausage, provoleta (grilled cheese) and an empanada. Delicioso!



Our main course of tenderloin, dressed with fresh tossed salad, tomatoes and onions, easy balsamic vinegar on top was out of this world! The meat - extremely tender, literally no fat (which makes me a very pleased carnivore) and cooked to a perfect medium, mostly pink in the center. Homemade chimichurri, a mix of fresh parsley, other herbs, garlic and oil makes a great accompaniment to this slice of animal heaven. (Sorry my veggie-onlys)




On a rare occasion, I managed to join the clean plate club.


With any great Argentine steak, a bottle of the nation's rich Malbec should be shared. We enjoyed a bottle of Pulcu Limited Edition, signed it and sent it away to join the many others lining the restaurant shelves consumed by many other happy patrons before us. Pulcu is produced by Tierra Inti in the Mendoza region. This is a better of the bunch bottle.






















The first time we tried Choripán, a chorizo sausage, sliced and served on hard roll, was at San Telmo market. The roll was fresh and the flavor intense. I put some extra red chile sauce and chimichurri on it. The place was filled with locales watching football on an old tv.

Buenos Aires streetshot

In Porteño land...



Upon stepping into the Buenos Aires night for the first time I near instantly felt I liked the place. The drive from the airport to Palermo passed many street vendors grilling Argentine meats, the smokey scent lingering through my nostrils, driving my taste buds to dance. A couple of dogs stood in the line of the fragrance; you could almost see the pooches dancing tango as the scent boomed its rapid beat in their tastebuds. It's a dog-friendly city I soon found out.






Cafe Tortoni is the country's oldest cafe and can be found on the main drag of Avenida de Mayo. It's rich in history, proven by its well-preserved wooden beams, stained glass ceiling and photographs of the country's famous authors and intellectuals. It's a bit touristy but the step back in time is worth it.








This main street, and the city as a whole really, is an architectural dream lined with fantastic structures mimicking Paris in a clear way.









Street Art has its own place in Buenos Aires. Colorful, artistic murals depicting a variety of scenes are throughout the city. Stenciled political slogans and other messages are found on sides of buildings, national landmarks, the street. This rainbow clearly links the city and its people together in a extraño way. On our Saturday, a large group of people were working together to repaint murals on one of the main street walls that draws the line between Palermo & Palermo Soho - the boho chic area of the city.













Still, while many are quite beautiful, the consistent splattering throughout the city can often appear more chaotic than poetic.