New Amsterdam Market, NYC

Last weekend, we went up to the New Amsterdam Market near the South Street Seaport. Held only once a month through December, the market is hoping to establish itself as a permanent fixture.

There were plenty of samples to be had, so we walked around and tried bread from Sullivan Street Bakery and Balthazar, cheese from Saxelby Cheesemongers and assorted farms from Pennsylvania, New York state, and Vermont. We tasted Kombucha and kimchee made in Brooklyn, many different jams. I picked up some duck prosciutto and smoked duck from the Hudson Valley Duck Farm.

But there was also plenty to be eaten right there at the market. We got a few small dishes to share. First off was a bowl of chili made from grass-fed beef from Marlow and Daughters in Brooklyn.

Then we shared a piece of pear and goat cheese tart with crispy thyme from Sweet Deliverance.

And a teeny piece of braised brisket sandwich from Jimmy's No. 43, served on a crunchy cornmeal bruschetta-type bread.


But I think my favorite snack of the morning was the pork sandwich from Porchetta. The pork was well seasoned with herbs and juicy, the skin was nice and crispy, all served on a nice chewy roll.

My only issue with the market were the New York City prices... but, well, that's par for the course in the city. The abundance of samples make up for that, I guess. Excellent people watching too.

After the market, we walked a bit around Soho, where we stopped into Grandaisy Bakery and got a "pizza bianca" - not pizza in the American sense - this was a flatbread just sprinkled with rosemary, no cheese, no sauce. It was still warm and absolutely amazing - the flavor, the texture were perfect. For $1.50 we got a slice about as big as a 14-inch laptop! We just tore it up and devoured it right on the sidewalk. I'm craving one as I type this...


New Amsterdam Market
South Street, between Beekman Street and Peck Slip
On the East River waterfront in Lower Manhattan
11:00am to 4:00pm, November 22 and December 20, 2009

Grandaisy Bakery
250 West Broadway or 73 Sullivan Street