Hey, New Yorkers of the Internet, have you heard about the New Amsterdam Market? It’s a monthly market, with all kinds of vendors (seriously all kinds, from meat and produce to readymade soups and sandwiches, bread, seaweed, anything edible) that’s trying to be a permanent one. New York used to have a few year-round markets like that one, and the Fulton Fish Market is one of the surviving ones, and such markets still exist all over the world, but New York is in dire need of a year-round all-kinds-of-food public market. If you’ve ever been to a big public market, you probably know they’re awesome. Huge, often maze-like places filled with stalls and stalls of vendors, with delicious food to take home and cook with, or eat right there, and lots of people yelling at you to buy something awesome. It’s kind of like a farmers’ market that is there every day, but with much more stuff for sale (wholesale as well as resale, and cooked food as well as ingredients). They’re meant to be places you spend a few hours at, or maybe half a day, and you can never see the whole thing. Markets like these draw vendors selling food you can’t get anywhere else, as well as stall for your favorite restaurants and farms. I’m getting really excited here, but seriously, I love the idea of a huge public market in New York City, pulling the best of the city’s food and more from miles around into one overwhelmingly crowded mass of delicious food. It would be worth it for the smell of walking through it alone. The point of this post is that City Council Speaker Christine Quinn is on the case, pushing for the New Amsterdam Market to be a 365-day institution in this great city. Go to the market’s website, donate a few dollars, tell your friends, and get excited.
