Now that we are heading our way towards somewhat the “normal” life (even though we still have a long way to go), we are starting to explore more places! As I mentioned in The North End Food Hall post, we have some pretty nice food halls everywhere. And, it seems like we are getting more of it. So far, we have enjoyed some delicious cocktails and food from The North End Food Hall, although they are still not 100% when it comes to all the vendors. I am looking forward to getting more food from all the vendors… While we wait, we went to check out the brand new food hall called the Manhattanville Market inside one of the Columbia University’s buildings.

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It is located on the ground floor inside the Jerome Greene Science Center, a very pretty building, in my opinion. You can spot the food hall easily, as they have floor-to-ceiling windows throughout the ground floor.

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As soon as we walked in, a couple of staffs greeted us and welcomed us. The inside was a bit smaller than it looked from the outside. Very clean, bright, with modern design mixed with cute tiles that brings out a bit of antique-feel to it.

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One of the impressive feature that you find upon entering is the greens growing inside these massive greenhouses. They have several kinds of greens, and they are not just sitting there looking pretty, but they are for purpose of eating.

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They have a little salad section, prepared by The Botanist, and the staff told us that all the greens come from the greenhouses that they grow there. How awesome is that? They can say, “Oh, I am out of Portuguese Kale. Let me walk 10 steps and get some more fresh ones!”

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The seating area was a bit tight. They had some tables and counter seating, and also some staircase bench seating at the back. As the food offered here is more of a “quick bite” the turnover should be fast, but during the lunch rush hour, it might not be easy to find a seat.

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Similar to The North End Food Hall, they are not 100% with vendor occupancy. They currently have Benny Casanova’s, Butterfunk Biscuit, Shai Hummusiya, and The Botanist. They will have a restaurant called Oliva joining them soon. The first four eateries are together, side by side, enclosed in the white and wood section. That section ends about half way or a bit more from the wall all the way to the right. There are another section to the right, several steps up, where Oliva will be located.

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The higher level, several steps up from the entrance level, has a lot more seating. I am not sure if this area will be closed off for Oliva patrons only once they are operational, or if anyone can sit anywhere, for as long as you are the customer of Manhattanville Market… Bur for now, people can sit wherever they want!

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Now, let’s get to the food! We knew we wanted some biscuit, as we love good biscuits… We still dream of some oh-so-satisfying biscuits from Biscuit Bitch in Seattle, simple yet excellent one from Putnam’s Pub & Cooker, and others. Then, we have been talking about pizza for days, so we also decided to try some pizza from here as well.

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First biscuit of our choice from the Butterfunk Biscuit Co. was Crispy Fried Chicken Biscuit ($12). It is made with Chris Scott’s famous Lemonade Buttermilk Fried chicken, whipped pimento cheese, hot honey, bread, and butter pickles.

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This biscuit was bigger than I thought, with a generous portion of fried chicken. Biscuit was really great, they do make an excellent biscuit! Fried chicken was certainly meaty, juicy, and filling. I would’ve liked the skin to be a bit crispier, but that’s just me. The pimento cheese went perfectly with the chicken. It had some honey drizzle, which elevated this sandwich to the next level! It really tasted like the “southern” biscuit sandwich.

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The second biscuit we had was Fried Catfish Biscuit ($14). It is made with Cornmeal Crusted Catfish, Tartar Sauce, and Pickled Red Onion.

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I lived in the south, in the very countryside for a while, so I’ve had my share of fried catfish. And, when you have tasted fried catfish that someone’s grandma made, it just can’t be any better than that… And with that, I must say, even though their catfish was good, it was not as good as grandma’s catfish. The pickles were really good, and my hubby really enjoyed this sandwich. And before I forget, Manhattanville Market does not serve alcohol, but have regular drinks such as water and tea that comes in a bottle.

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Moving on to pizza. If you checked out the menu from Benny Casanova’s, you might be worried or disappointed that they only offer their pizza as a whole square pie. But, don’t fret, you can get a single “square” from Manhattanville Market! So, we got a square of Benny’s Famous ($4.50) and Arthur Ave. ($5.50). Since we didn’t specify which pieces we wanted, we got the corner square…

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Benny’s Famous was like a Margherita pizza, made with Mozzarella, Tomato Sauce, Parmigiano Reggiano, and Basil. Their pizza has a thick, deep crust. And I am not a huge fan of any pizza crust, but their curst was really nice. Very airy yet doughy and filling at the same time. The pizza had the great flavor with simple ingredients. Loved they put the basil at the end instead of cooking them in them on the oven, I am not a fan of burnt, dried up basil.

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Arthur Ave. was like a meat lover’s pizza. It is made with Sweet Sausage, Hot Peppers, Broccoli Rabe, Mozzarella, Tomato Sauce, Parmigiano Reggiano & Basil. A Hearty Pizza, with Tasty Pork Sausage, Spicy Cherry Peppers, Fresh Broccoli Rabe and tons of Parmigiano cheese from Italy. With it being the corner square, so it had more crust than anything, not much meat… It had a nice kick to it, spicier than I thought, I liked the flavor. Should ask for the center square the next time!

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The bathroom is located on the elevated level, several stairs up by the Oliva section. They have two gender-neutral bathrooms hiding in the back. Just look for the adorable tiles on a bright red wall.

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The bathroom was nice and big, clean and well lit. There were hooks on the door for your bag and/or jacket, which is always helpful.

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We had a nice lunch here, we were certainly full! We walked for quite a bit after the lunch to burn off some of the calories. The staffs here were really friendly and helpful. The price point is reasonable, depends on what you order. And, if you are Columbia student or a staff, you get a discount with your Columbia ID! I would like to visit Manhattanville Market again try some other dishes in a near future…

Manhattanville Market – 3229 Broadway, New York, NY 10027