Tasting Through the Oreo's Birthplace, Then Up the High Line
A guided walk to eight Chelsea Market vendors, a tasting at each, then up onto the High Line and through the Meatpacking District.
Chelsea Market fills the old Nabisco bakery on Ninth Avenue, and Foods of New York Tours, which has run food walks in the city since 1999, treats the building as the first course. By the company's account, the Oreo was invented here in 1912, and a steam train once ran down the market's main corridor. Every tasting is in the ticket, and there is enough food that you won't be hungry afterward.
The booking below is the shared group tour, one per-person price for everyone aged 5 and up, with free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start. Food is included. The guide's tip is not, and the usual tip runs 18 to 25 percent of the tour price; drinks you buy along the way are extra too.
Foods of NY Tours Chelsea Market Food Tour & High Line ParkAll food tastings included · Thursday to Monday, 10:00 or 10:30 AM · Ages 5 and up · Free cancellation up to 24 hours aheadwww.viator.comRoman Pizza, a House-Made Hot Dog, a Curry Taco
The current lineup runs to eight stops: a fiordilatte Roman pizza at Filaga, the house-made hot dog at Dickson's Farmstand Meats, a rustic Italian crostata from Buon Italia, a Japanese curry and beef taco at Takumi Taco, cheese with sweet fig at Saxelby Cheesemongers, a pistachio croissant twist from Amy's Bread, gelato at L'Arte del Gelato, and Leonidas chocolates from Chelsea Market Baskets. Tastings vary by day of the week and start time, so read the list as the usual run; the exact menu can change.
Up the High Line, Weather Permitting
After the market the group heads up to the High Line, the park built on an old elevated freight line, and walks it above the Meatpacking District while the guide tells the story of the trains that once served the butchers below and the street-level 'Death Avenue' years before them. The High Line walk depends on the weather: 98 percent of tours walk on it, and the rest only view it. Most tastings are eaten standing; one or two are seated, Dickson's among them.
Vegetarian and Nut-Free Swaps Only
Substitutions stop at vegetarian and nut-free. The tour cannot cater to vegan diets, gluten-free needs or other specific food allergies, and there may be traces of nuts in the kitchens. Gluten-free options exist only on the Greenwich Village tour from Foods of New York, not on this one. Note any restriction when you book. Bring a reusable water bottle, since bottled water is no longer handed out, though seated stops serve water. Drinks are for sale at some stops, and alcohol is 21 and over.
Stairs, Pets and a Group of Sixteen
Groups top out at 16 with one guide. The tour is marked wheelchair accessible, and Foods of New York calls it its most accessible tour because the market has plenty of ramps and elevators, though every route includes some stairs; flag mobility needs when you buy tickets. Leave pets at home, since the tour goes in and out of food businesses; service animals are allowed.
📍 The tour meets inside Chelsea Market at 75 Ninth Avenue. Enter from Ninth Avenue between 15th and 16th Streets, walk about 100 feet and look to your right for the guide, near the Damselfly flower shop or the Chelsea Market Shop. Arrive 15 minutes early, because the tour leaves on time and cannot wait for latecomers. It runs rain or shine. Two recent travelers wrote that the morning start finds the market before its crowds, and most people find they can skip lunch afterward.