Food & Drink

New Gotham West Market makes a trek to 11th Avenue well worth it

Alex Kingman serves up grub at Gotham West Market.

Far West Midtown has long been more of a food wasteland than a destination, but that’s changing next week with the opening of Gotham West Market. The massive gourmet food court boasts eight of the city’s buzziest chefs and purveyors, plus the NYC Velo bike shop, sharing a 10,000-square-foot space. Originally conceived as an amenity for residents of the luxury apartments above it, the market grew into something much more.

EL COLMADO

Succulent, Spanish-style langoustines are on the menu at tapas spot El Colmado.

Spanish cuisine maestro Seamus Mullen has had a hit with the West Village’s Tertulia. His follow-up, the name of which means “the market,” was inspired by the small-plates joints sprinkled throughout Boqueria in Barcelona, Mullen’s favorite market in the world.

“It will be a little bit more of a tapas bar [than Tertulia],” says Mullen. “Lots of small plates, lots of food at the bar.”

Expect a few menu items from Tertulia, and plenty of new ones, such as smoked eel croquettes with horseradish aioli. But Mullen is most excited about a dedicated olive oil fryer, something that’s not common in New York City but, he says, is “very traditional in Spain.”

GENUINE ROADSIDE

Fresh ceviche tacos ($10.33) are a Genuine Roadside specialty.

This haute burger joint from AvroKO Hospitality, the team behind downtown’s Public and Saxon+Parole, anchors the market, serving up ceviche fish tacos, arugula-topped burgers and fried chicken sandwiches with sambal mayo and celeriac in wood-paneled, ’70s-esque interiors.

“We’re taking American classics and giving them a contemporary edge,” says AvroKO director Linden Pride.

Wash it all down with a nostalgia-flavored milkshake like the Nutty Buddy or one of Genuine Roadside’s pre-bottled, house-made cocktails — the Lagurita is a refreshing beer-margarita combo.

“It’s all just a lot of fun,” says Pride.

LITTLE CHEF

At Little Chef, Caroline Fidanza will be serving tasty sandwiches and much more.

For Caroline Fidanza, a Brooklyn restaurant pioneer who helped open Diner and Marlow & Sons and now has her own spot called Saltie, coming to 11th Avenue reminded her of the early days in Kings County.

“I love this neighborhood,” she says of the far West Side. “It immediately reminded me of being at the Diner in Williamsburg in 1998.”

At Little Chef, she’ll have some of the sandwiches — like the Ship’s Biscuit with soft scrambled egg and ricotta and the Clean Slate with hummus, bulgur and pickled veggies — Saltie is known for, but also plenty of new menu items. She’s especially excited about the clam pozole stew.

At Saltie, her facilities are quite limited, but at the market, she’s got more heat in the kitchen to go beyond sandwiches.

“We have a grill and gas flame,” she enthuses. “Now it’s kind of like, ‘Oh, we can cook stuff!’ ”

THE CANNIBAL

The raw deal! At the Cannibal, chef Francis Derby will be offering tasty tartars ($9).

You might assume Christian Pappanicholas just named his butcher shop and beer bar after those who eat their own kind, but the name also refers to Belgian cyclist Eddy Merckx’s nickname.

“It’s really a double entendre,” quips Pappanicholas, who also owns the original Cannibal in the Flatiron District and the meat-heavy Belgian spot Resto.

A passionate cyclist, Pappanicholas is excited to be just off the West Side Highway and hopes the spandex set will pop in for his charcuterie plates, beef-heart tartar and cocktails on tap.

“It’s a great destination to park your bike,” he says. Pappanicholas also hopes to eventually add large-format feasts to the menu. “We haven’t found a way to cook whole pigs in the new location — yet,” he quips.

IVAN RAMEN SLURP SHOP

Try Ivan Orkin’s famous shoyu ramen and top it off with egg, roast tomato and pork chashu ($20 with all the toppings).

For years, the city’s noodle nuts have been waiting for legendary ramen man and Long Island native Ivan Orkin to open up a branch of his Tokyo noodle shop in New York; the Slurp Shop will be his first.

“I’m desperate to start feeding people,” says Orkin, who is also opening a larger, long-delayed stand-alone location on the Lower East Side later this year.

His Gotham West Market outpost will have a streamlined menu, focusing on the classic shio and shoyu ramens he’s known for, along with vegetarian and vegan options and brothless “mazemen”-style ramen. Orkin says the small, simple format will make the Slurp Shop more like a traditional Japanese noodle joint.

It’s going to “re-create a ramen shop that you might find in Tokyo,” he enthuses. “It’s really just a counter.”

THE BROOKLYN KITCHEN

Chop chop! Buy a knife, then take a class to hone your skills.

Those who want to cook at home will be able to shop for ingredients and kitchen tools — or even take classes — at this new outpost of Williamsburg’s popular cooking store and grocery.

“We’re not going to sell TP or boxed cereal,” says co-owner Taylor Erkkinen. “It’s more like shopping at a farmers’ market.”

Expect seasonal produce, various fine cheeses, an array of milks from upstate and Pennsylvania, McClure’s pickles and Liddabit Sweets from Brooklyn and a great selection of knives. And fear not, should you purchase a shiny new Japanese chef’s knife, there’ll be classes to make sure you don’t lose a finger using it.

“It’s kind of a mission for us to teach more knife skills in the city and save emergency room doctors everywhere,” says Erkkinen.

BLUE BOTTLE COFFEE

Buzzworthy. Blue Bottle’s beans pack a jolt.

The latest outpost — and the fourth in Manhattan — for the California coffee company will feature the strong pour-overs, espresso drinks and chicory-infused iced coffees the “Bottle” is known for, plus some new pastry offerings.

Blue Bottle founder James Freeman is mum on specifics but assures that they will be “cleverly constructed and undoubtedly delicious.”

COURT STREET GROCERS

The B+B ($7.35) is one of the many classic sandwiches Court Street Grocers is bringing to Gotham West Market.

This cultishly beloved Carroll Gardens spot is known for its hearty, meaty sammies, and its offerings at its Gotham West Market sandwich shop will be no less filling. But there will be some additions.

Case in point: It’ll serve a new take on a roast beef sandwich that’s inspired by a classic steakhouse meal and features braised beef shank, mushrooms, Gruyere, fried onions and a red wine sauce on a potato roll.

“It’s going to essentially be an entire beef dinner on a bun,” says co-owner Matt Ross. The Grocers also has a shop in Red Hook, but it’s excited to explore new frontiers in another borough. It’s “an amazing spot,” says Ross. “It’s a crazy idea that at this point in history there would be a new neighborhood in Manhattan.”