LWF&D soaks up the Limelight

Saturday, after a delightful brunch with PR (more to come on that), the two of us made our way from West to East Chelsea to check out the new Limelight Marketplace. Housed in a former church-turned-nightclub on the corner of 20th Street and Sixth Avenue, the Limelight just opened. Neither of us was sure what to expect, but suffice it to say that it's an interesting place.

The marketplace has three floors and lots of little warrens and staircases and mirrors, so it's very easy to feel that you've somehow gotten lost in a cross between an Escher drawing and Candy Land. Every shop has a small bit of real estate, whether it's a tiny shop-like nook or a cart or a stand pretty much in the middle of the floor. Everything is very precisely displayed, as though an interior decorator was unleashed with free rein on the space .There's loud music. The lights are bright. There are crowds. It's pretty much sensory overload.

The view from just inside the 6th Avenue entrance

But if you can focus on what's on offer, there's really some cool stuff. Yes, there is real merchandise for sale (leSportSac, Hunter boots), but more importantly, there's lots of food. And even MORE importantly, there's lots of sweets. Below, a pictorial journey of some of what you'll find there:

The MarieBelle cart, with their signature truffles. They also have a chocolate shop and bar on the second floor.

It'Sugar, if you want to go for the straight-up candy.

The obligatory frozen yogurt stand. Although at 5.25 for a small, this is some of the most expensive frozen yogurt I've ever seen.


The Cupcake Stop's brick-and-mortar outpost! I was tempted by the Nutella Crunch cupcake...


...but I ultimately went for a mini cake at Butterfly Bakeshop. Full post on that to come.

There was a significant line at Baci gelato, to be expected on a 70 degree day.

Oh yeah, there was savory food, too. Check out that cheese case! Beyond it there was a bread counter with some sandwiches that looked pretty delish.

But back to the sweets. Wanna Hava Cookie had some nice-looking whoopie pies, but at more than $3 each, they were a little too dear for me.

And to cap it all off, one of the most...interesting concepts I've seen in a while: The Little Candy Cake Co. And yep, it's pretty much true to its name: there are little mini wedding-cake type things that are made of chocolate. So little candy cakes, I guess. Other than for wedding favors, I can't quite think of an exhaustive list of occasions that might necessitate a little candy cake, but just in case you ever have a yen, now you know where to find them!

And that concludes our preliminary tour of the Limelight Marketplace. Check it out if you're in the mood for a whirlwind, somewhat food-centric adventure-- it's a nice way to spend an hour on a Saturday afternoon.