Once a spot for myriad cuisines under one roof, some dining halls—New York’s Singapore-inspired Urban Hawker, for one—are getting specific.
Imagine a table where one person is pulling steaming noodle from a bowl of ramen while dining companions beside them dig a spoonful into ample tres letch and let shimmering oil from a corn tortilla run down to their wrist joint . The world at the end of your fork — or chopsticks .
Food halls were once swash as a path to journey the human race without ever leaving your city . Simply samplestreet foodand other fast - service dishes from several different rural area all under one roof . But themore is moreapproach to these multicultural dining destinations seems to be make way for a more specific culinary path by rescue a deep dive into the cuisine of a particular region or land .
TakeNorthRidge Eats . This Los Angeles outpost dedicate to Asian fare serves Northern Thai - trend larb and tom kha gai alongside spicy tuna hand rolls and chirashi bowls . Meanwhile , whenAlkebulandebuts in NYC in the number months , it ’ll showcase knockout from several African country . Of course all of these places turn back multitudes , with an incredible diverseness of food within each continent , so visitors will still come up a Brobdingnagian regalia of saucer and cuisine styles . But this is decidedly dissimilar from the globe - trotting setup at the food halls of yore ( hem , just a ten ago ) .
Urban Hawker|Photo by Cole Saladino for Thrillist
About a decade ago , Oscar Farinetti need to bring Italy ’s Brobdingnagian culinary profile together with a market where you’re able to pick up bottleful of wine made from Tuscan grape vine in one gangway and savor a scoop of gelato stud with Sicilian pistachio before head out the threshold .
That was Farinetti ’s musical theme forEataly , which the founder originally sketched on the back of a napkin , and in 2007 he made his vision a world with a first location in Turin , Italy . The Italian market now brag eight locations stateside and 41 others around the world , many of which display the initial drawing of his plan for a grocery store with a serial of restaurant deep down .
“ It is for certain an exciting time to see how our concept has germinate here in the United States , ” says Raffaele Piarulli , the chief operating officer of Eataly North America . “ New chef and food Charles Francis Hall are bringing a high level of noesis about different cultures that is often voiceless to admittance by broader audience . ”
La Cosecha|Photo by Katie Dance
That market place way lay the foot for food halls likeLa Cosecha , a 14 - vendor market in DC concentrate on Latin America . There , explore grab - and - go nutrient kiosks , full - service restaurants and bars , and shops selling everything from award - make headway Venezuelan chocolate to clothing and leather goods made by local artists .
It ’s not just about what ’s lining the shelf or come out of the kitchen that makes the piazza special . “ For centuries , marketplaces have been places for conversation as well as commerce , ” says La Cosecha spokesperson Norma Morales Perez . The space has quickly developed a deeper import for the community .
When La Cosecha debuted in 2019 , laminitis envisioned it as a gather place for the growingHispanic populationin DC and across the country . With more than 10 Romance American countries represented in the market , it ’s morphed into a setting for hoi polloi to learn about the cultivation and custom of these country .
Chili crab from Wok & Staple|Photo by Cole Saladino for Thrillist
“ La Cosecha is a discovery finish — a variety of sights , sounds , and tastes all in one place , ” Perez says . To further that mission , La Cosecha regularly partners with nearby Romance American embassies to host effect like live music , cooking course , and irregular art exhibitions to cultivate DC resident .
A similar desire to apportion his culture is what inspired KF Seetoh to openUrban Hawkerin NYCearlier this class . The space is designed to mimic a Greco-Roman hawker core like you ’d discover in Singapore — a appeal of hundreds of street food stalls where each seller shells out a single dish like Hainanese chicken Timothy Miles Bindon Rice or roti john , a Singapore - style omelet sandwich .
Singapore is famous for its ball - clip dishes act upon by the likes of China and India . Variety is baked into the city ’s culinary identity . “ There ’s no such thing as a Singaporean restaurant , ” Seetoh says , “ there ’s only the hawker center . ”
“ I needed to curate a bill of fare that represents the cross department of savour that make believe up our culinary fabric in Singapore , ” he explain . “ There are so many different influences , so the stable can only comprise a small-scale cross plane section . ”
He landed on 17 food cubicle , many go by vendors who move to the U.S. to serve dishes that have been passed down for multiplication . The blank space ’s general manager Larry Reutens say he ’s see mass deplume up while ordering homestyle recipes they have n’t tasted in years since give Singapore .
While offer up a taste of home is rewarding , Seetoh says he also require the food hall to serve as a temporal object lesson for those unable to hop-skip on a plane to Singapore . His favorite way to see the world and learn more about others is through eating each terminus ’s signature dish — and that ’s on the button what he ’s hoping to render at Urban Hawker .
“ That ’s the fashion I like to use up , ” Seetoh says . “ It helps me empathize a small bit more about them . Then my human beings becomes smaller and a little number more delectable . ”
