A reason to go to the Seaport

As I have mentioned, today marked the day of the New Amsterdam Market down in front of the old Fulton Fish Market.  Thanks for all of you guys who came out at 5.30am to lend your support and see the BB in action.

You basically  missed the best damned setting up of a farmer’s market that you could have imagined.  It was pretty strange being up a) up at 5.30am and b) being at the seaport at that time.  In any event, the set up was great, and when I awoke from my nap afterwards, it all seemed as though it had been a dream.

The market itself was awesome once populated with all of the local vendors who brought their products to sell– a few restaurants showed up, most notably Marlow and Sons/Diner (BK) and porchetta (East Vil).  Most of the other purveyors were cheesemongers, local vineyards, and a chocolate shop from Somerville, MA (shout out for my peeps at Tufts!).  Fairway was a corporate sponsor and they used their space to promote their selection of breads.  Considering this is about all that they actually make that might be organic or locally sourced, it was probably a wise move.

Some highlights for me from the market:

– Brooklyn Brine: Great pickles, I liked them much better than Rick’s Picks, which was also there.  I just can’t get behind RP.  Even their Phat Beets don’t do it for me.

– The Bent Spoon: This is one of my all time favorite ice cream shops in the world, located down in Princeton, NJ.  They always have great locally sourced ingredients (some from the owner’s and owner’s friends’ yards), and a lot of unique flavors.  If you are ever in Princeton and they have sweet basil ice cream, go for it, it’s awesome.  Anyway, they were representin’.

– porchetta: As mentioned, the East Village pork-house was in full effect, and Sara Jenkins was there putting together mini porchetta sandwiches.  My only complaint was that the crackling didn’t really survive the trip, and was a little bit overly gelatinous.  But, it was great to see her there.

– Marlow and Sons/Diner: The laid-back guys from Marlow and Sons were there, serving up mini ham and brisket sandwiches.  I also just want to add that these guys were really cool and chatting with the crowd, which was pretty much in line with what I’d expect.

– People’s Pops: Since it was a pretty warm day today, these guys were probably raking in the most business, serving up their shaved ice and organic/local fruit pops.  I went for a lemon-basil shaved ice, which was actually made from a giant block of ice (their supplier is located out in bushwick, if you’re ever looking for a giant block of perfectly clear ice).  BG went for a raspberry frozen pop, which looked awesome (and apparently tasted awesome, too).

– Bo Bo chicken: When all is said and done, this is the only place from which I actually bought anything to go.  The story is pretty simple– they raise all of their chickens with access to pasture, at the foothills of the Catskills.  Then they transport these healthy little chickens down to Williamsburg, where they suffer from death by flannel and skinny jeans.  The facility is USDA approved, and the label says “eviscerated” on it, which is pretty intense.  Anyway, they sell chickens, for a relative bargain ($13 bucks).  For the great taste and local sourcing, I’m more than willing to spend this much on chicken.  And, they even throw in the head and feet, just for good measure.  Thanks!

Now, they sell regular chickens and silky chickens.  If you haven’t seen a silky chicken alive, they look like this:Apparently, their feathers are soft like silk.  Not only that, but they also have black bones, skin, AND flesh.  Dead and processed by Bo Bo, they look like this:

Needless to say, it’s not quite as cute anymore.  I am really curious to see what this tastes like.  For a mere $5 you could buy the spices to make a Silky Chicken Soup, but I want to taste this thing in its naked state.  I am going to roast it at some point in the near future, and I’ll be sure to post when I do.  I can’t even imagine what it looks like in there, it’s going to taste daring, I can just sense it.

All in, it was a great day at the market, and being a part of it was even better.  Hanging out with all of the passionate purveyors is always great, and with any luck, this small segment of the market will become even bigger.  The food is just too good for it not to.  Check it out next month when it comes back to town.  I unfortunately will be in Paris.  Poor me.  Àla prochaine…

And, two more reasons to be happy today:

– I survived running four miles in the Fitness Road Runners race yesterday

– The NFL is back on air, brining gut-wrenching fantasy football anxiety to its zenith.  One weekend almost down, one 31-point stupid decision already made– shoulda kept Philly defense!