Rachel Cohen

Holiday shopping can be the thing of nightmares: Ridiculous crowds, malls and shipping rates. And while you may have made your list and checked it twice, the task of finding that perfect, tailor-made gift for each of your equally unique loved ones can be overwhelming and daunting. New Yorkers, rejoice. There is another way. Enter Artists & Fleas. What you’ll find inside is a collective bevvy of holiday gift-giving joy. Independent merchants build their very own storefronts within the collective retail experience. Each merchant has their own space, merchandise and backstory – specializing in a particular category and craft. Home to over 150+ independent merchants, artisans, entrepreneurs and craftsmen offer a veritable treasure-trove of handcrafted, curated, local goods made by New Yorkers, for New Yorkers. Shop seven days a week in Chelsea Market and Soho, or shop Friday thru Sunday in Williamsburg. Discover one-of-a-kind-finds for each name on your list. At Artists & Fleas, no one is hard to shop for and every gift is thoughtful.

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.