Guest Blogger Lainie Gutterman of MeMyselfandBabyI.com.
When my son and I arrived at the private launch party for Chelsea’s Table, a new organic and natural café at Pier 62 of Chelsea Piers, I was shocked that something like this did not already exist here. After all, Chelsea Piers is a kid fitness oasis, which ironically has been seriously lacking in kid-friendly healthy food options. Chelsea’s Table fits in so well, that people are going to quickly forget that it hasn’t always been here.
The mastermind behind Chelsea’s Table is Gary Hirshberg who co-founded Stonyfield Farm nearly 30 years ago. Chelsea’s Table seeks to move fast food from guilty pleasure to nourishing delight. Think grilled cheese made with Vermont-raised, hormone-free cheddar, hand-tossed salads with organic greens from Long Island farms, hand-crafted sandwiches served on freshly baked organic flatbread, and organic yogurt smoothies –– all ready within minutes of ordering.
Breakfast through late night snack, Executive Chef David Siegal’s menu, emphasizing locally-sourced ingredients, will please any palate. Eggs from a fourth-generation upstate family farm, all-natural deli provisions from Applegate, chicken from Pella Farms in Bethel, NY and young lettuces and herbs from North Fork Long Island farms are just some of the locally-sourced ingredients taking center plate. Mmmmmm!
Gary Hirshberg has a vision and is on a crusade to change how families in New York City eat. “Chelsea’s Table will be proof positive that ‘healthy,’ ‘delicious’ and ‘fast’ are not mutually exclusive,” said Hirshberg. “Like Stonyfield, Chelsea’s Table is about more than food and commerce. It is a movement that aims to change how we think about food, support family farms, feed our families and accommodate today’s time-challenged lifestyles.”
Gary knew the way to my heart because he presented us with the new Oikos organic Blueberry Greek Frozen Yogurt which is a delicious, non-fat frozen yogurt treat. All of the food I nibbled on was absolutely scrumptious. My only disappointment with the healthy and tasty event is that I found out that Entourage’s Adrian Grenier arrived right after we left.
In a nod to America’s dairy bars of yore, the café’s Stonyfield Organic Dairy Bar features walk-up (or bike/skate up) window service — Hudson River view included — serving up smoothies, organic Greek, regular and frozen yogurts and other treats made with organic Stonyfield yogurt and milk, almost too good to be good for you. All-organic best-sellers from Honest Tea and Late July snacks and artisanal, house-made flatbreads with Champlain Valley Milling flour and organic, estate-made Mast Brothers chocolates, transported to Brooklyn via sailboat from the Dominican Republic, are among other back-the-future delights.
Chelsea’s Table is open seven days from 7 a.m.-9 p.m., on Pier 62, just west of the 23rd Street entrance to Chelsea Piers. The café’s catering arm, with its own menu, is equipped to serve intimate parties and big corporate functions. Menus can be viewed at www.chelseastable.com.
