The growth of NYC food halls has been dizzying in the last couple years, with the dining behemoths planted in nearly every borough. But DeKalb Market Hall in Downtown Brooklyn takes the cake (and nearly every other food, as well) as one of the largest and most diverse food halls in the city, with more than 40 different vendors chosen specifically to reflect the global cuisines of Kings County. Just a small sample includes vendors like Eight Turn Crepe for French fare, DeKalb Taco for Mexican meals or Pierogi Boys for Polish snacks. And while all 300-square-miles of New York City is certainly rich in international dining, at DeKalb Market Hall, you can sample foods and flavors from all around the world under one roof. Here are some of our favorites.
The colorful Vietnamese spot exploded onto the scene in Maspeth, Queens, and became such a hit that it recently moved on to a larger location in Bushwick, Brooklyn. Now, the casual restaurant is widening its reach with its stall in DeKalb Market Hall, serving its inventive street-style grub like vegetarian Vietnamese pancakes, turmeric vermicelli and chicken pho from chef Jimmy Tu.
There’s no place like home, and that certainly rings true for New York City’s very own Katz’s Delicatessen. Once a singular establishment on the Lower East Side, the Jewish deli—famous for its mile-high sandwiches (and that scene from When Harry Met Sally)—has opened a second location for the first time since 1888. Order the famous sliced pastrami (or brisket or turkey or corned beef or reuben) sandwich on rye bread, with a side of classic matzo ball soup or old-school noshes like potato latkes, cole slaw and knish.
Of course an around-the-world NYC food list wouldn’t be complete without a pit stop to Italia. Serving twelve different pizza pies, including Charles Fungus with toasted garlic and oyster mushrooms and the Luigi Bianco with black truffle and burrata, the New York area (Armonk, Rye Brook, Yonkers, Stamford) restaurant finally has its first outpost in the city. But if you’re not in the mood for pizza, there are plenty of other Eternal City offerings like plates of pasta and hot and cold antipasti.
As an East Village standby (that actually originated in Pennsylvania), Han Dynasty usually has hour-long wait times for those itching to try authentic Szechuan in the buzzy neighborhood. But in the food hall, strict sit-down rules don’t apply to taste the famous dan dan noodles, chili oil dumplings or other spicy Chinese meals—rated on a heat scale from 1 to 10—on the user-friendly menu.
For sunnier fare, the Caribbean dishes at the first-ever outpost of Likkle More (formerly just a catering company) will wash away your city blues. You can munch on jerk-seasoned chicken, pork or fish with a carb choice of waffles, rice or rice and peas. Uber tropical “Island Dishes” include oxtail stew, curry chicken and curry goat, which you can pair with refreshing snacks such as coconut-crushed corn, coco bread and coleslaw. All dishes are from the mind Chef Kemis, who grew up learning about cooking from his grandma’s kitchen in Jamaica (that's the country, not the Queens neighborhood).