Years ago, we were lucky enough to get a pre-dawn tour of Fulton Fish Market, a few months before the old outdoor stalls shuttered and moved operations to a state of the art building in the south Bronx. It was the middle of winter–February, as we recall–and there on the East River waterfront ice and fish had pretty much become one. As fishmongers went about their work with bloody hooks and layers of clothing, the homeless guys camping out down on the cobblestones of South Street Seaport lit fires in metal trashcans and oil drums to beat the frigid cold. Even so, we were glad we left the warmth of our own bed at 3 a.m. to make the trip.
These days, or at least these Sundays, those stalls are have become home to a different market: New Amsterdam, which features farm-sourced produce, seafood, meats and hand-made goods from our foodshed each weekend. NAM, as we like to call it, often hosts specially themed markets with sections all on ice cream or bread or cider, and this Sunday’s is a special one. It’s both their 50th market and an homage to what came before, minus the cold and plus a few lobster rolls and bowl of hot and creamy chowder. Called the “Wintermarket,” it’ll feature a whole section of seafood from fisheries of the Northeast and New England, as well as chowder, lobster rolls, oysters and other things to eat then and there.
In addition to the list of vendors and seafood chefs below, also in attendance will be Paul Greenberg, the author of Four Fish (we went fishing with him in a previous issue) and Sea to Table, a cool seafood distributor that sells to restaurants and chefs and sources directly from independent owners whose fisheries are both wild and sustainably managed and harvested.
The goal is not just to support those well-managed fisheries–or deliver incredible tasting and ultra-fresh fish to our plates–but to help provide those working those fisheries with a fair price for their catch. Sea to Table will be at the market highlighting their suppliers in our foodshed, and it’s a rare chance for consumers to buy them directly… Especially those inspired by our current feature on the Christmas Eve Feast of the Seven Fishes. Stay tuned to NAM’s site, as they’ll be posting what they’re bringing soon.
NEW AMSTERDAM MARKET’S DECEMBER 18th SEAFOOD VENDORS:
For more information and a list of other vendors there this Sunday, check out www.newamsterdammarket.org/wintermarket_2011.html
Chef David Pasternack of ESCA Restaurant
offering local fish menus since 2000
featuring a local striped-bass chowder
Atlantic Capes Fisheries, Inc.
restoring the oyster population in the Delaware Bay
featuring Cape May Salt Oysters
fresh-shucked and to take home
Delaware Delicacies
represented by the Watershed Agricultural Council
featuring smoked Delaware River eels and
smoked trout from the Catskills
Holden Seafood and Luke’s Lobster
supporting Maine’s independent fisheries
featuring fresh and cooked lobsters, lobster rolls, and more
Karen Ann Fisheries
one of the last New York City based commercial fisheries
featuring local fish caught in the New York Bight
Mermaid’s Garden
a sustainable seafood consultancy and soon-to-open retail seafood market in Brooklyn
featuring fish soup and a local fish-based prepared foods
New England Clam Products
a purveyor of premier seafood products from Wellfleet, MA
Wellfleet oysters, clams, and scallops
fresh-shucked and to take home
Sea to Table
supporting the recovering fisheries in the Gulf of Maine, Montauk, and the Chesapeake Bay
expecting a variety of fresh fish, a detailed list will be posted on NAM’s site closer to Sunday
She Sells Seaweed
gathering seaweed from pristine Maine waters
kombu, nori, dulse, and other seaweed
Vertical Integrated Farms
a sustainable urban aquaponics fish farm working with local youth in the South Bronx
featuring “so fresh it’s live!” tilapia and barramundi
W&T Seafood
a New York City seafood small business developing a sustainable shellfish distributorship
featuring four East Coast oysters, wild and farmed mussels, and more
(oysters fresh-shucked and to take home)
ACME Smoked Fish
a family-run New York City business developing relationships with sustainable fisheries
a range of cured, wild fish products, harvested sustainably in Alaska and other locations
