It is fun to take out-of-town guests to this covered market. It is glamorous, urban chic and bejeweled and bedecked with flashy stores, sublime interior design and elevators taking the faithful up to the temple of food, The Food Network. It is one of those places where you can truly feel the buzz that TV tries to convey via cable. Shopping here for day-to-day needs or for particular and special items is another matter. The best shop/eatery is The Lobster Place, which has a good selection of seafood. Two other good shops are the Chelsea Wine Vault (very expensive, look to pay $15 and above for the cheapest wine, $40-60 for moderate) and Goupil & Decarlo Patisserie, which offers exquisite pastries and other treats. The biggest disappointment is that there really is no cheese here. There should be a cheese shop of some sort. There are plenty of bakeries, but no cheese. Overall, this is not a cheap place to get your groceries – it is for specialty items. Hordes of people rushing up to the Food Network & Oxygen floors can make shopping less agreeable. Nevertheless, it is worth the trip. Service varies greatly from shop to shop, especially those that are mostly gift shops.

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