New Amsterdam Market, South Street Seaport, Robert LaValva, Dickson's Farmstand Meats, Intelligentsia, Luke's Lobster, Stella, Mast Brothers, Porchetta, Sara Jenkins

At a local New York Seaport Community Board meeting back in 2006, Slow Foods advocate Robert LaValva made a presentation envisioning a market “where authentic butchers, fish and cheese mongers, grocers and other purveyors sell food that is produced sustainably and humanely by our region’s Farmers and artisans.”

Three years later, his vision has become a reality and once a month the former outdoor location of the Fulton Fish Market is filled with vendors selling everything from hearty breads to seafood to wine.

Robert LaValva has pulled together butchers, cheese mongers, bread makers and farmers and created a place for them to sell directly to the public, promoting the region's agriculture and to build “a new community of purveyors, whose common goal is to pioneer environmentally and socially responsible food production.”

LaValva’s forward thinking idea was based in history. The first market was on New York's East River shoreline in 1642, when ferries shuttled farmers and their goods from Brooklyn across the narrowest part of the water, to lower Manhattan. For a while markets thrived, but eventually as time went on the markets began slowing down and eventually disappeared.

Visiting the New Amsterdam Market is a great way to spend an afternoon. Many of the vendors offer samples to taste and all will spend time answering questions and speaking passionately about their products. A representative from Intelligentsia Coffee gave us several small cups of coffee and educated us on how they buy their beans. Luke’s Lobster had a busy booth making crab, shrimp, and lobster rolls per order (using a tiny machine that butters the buns). They were fresh, well seasoned and delicious. Stella had a guy shucking oysters, which were clean and refreshing. The Mast Brothers had large samples of amazing dark chocolate with almonds, sea salt and olive oil. Sara Jenkins’ Porchetta sold bite-sized porchetta sandwiches with crispy, crunchy skin and seasoned tender meat. Dickson’s Farmstand Meats were selling an array of meats and poultry and giving samples of their pork rillettes and chicken liver spread. And the mouth-watering list goes on.

The sections are separated by specialties; produce, cheese, seafood, meats, fermented food (i.e. pickles, oils), chocolates and wine. There was even a woman selling beautiful vintage style bicycles.