The New Amsterdam Market hosts its fourth annual Wintermarket this weekend, the last event of 2011, and it promises to be festive, fun and full of fish.
Organizers tell us this Sunday’s event will be the largest Wintermarket yet, with more than 70 vendors. They include a special emphasis on seafood, with 11 vendors from throughout the Northeast selling marine products from fresh-shucked oysters and wild-gathered seaweed obtained through more responsible fishing practices that protect the environment. James Beard Award winner Paul Greenberg, author of Four Fish, helped select the vendors and will be on hand to sell and sign copies of his book. Chef David Pasternak of ESCA Restaurant will be cooking up local striped-bass chowder.
Here’s more from the market’s Marguerite Preston:
The intention of this “Gathering of Fisheries” is not only to draw attention to these pioneering entrepreneurs, but also to convey the type of market we envision growing in the coming years. The fish vendors who will be at the market are all people who deal primarily with restaurants and wholesale, and who have extensive knowledge of their products. Our goal is to keep growing into a market with more purveyors like these, who have experience catering to professionals, but who will also sell their products and pass along their expertise to the general public. Inspired by the legacy of the old Fulton Fish Market, we aim to make this historic district of Lower Manhattan once again home to a full-time, year-round wholesale and retail emporium, where the the public can gather along with cooks, chefs, shopkeepers, distributors, growers, and other participants in an evolving local food system.
The market runs from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 18, along South Street between Beekman and Peck Slip.
