Grub Street

The supporters of New Amsterdam Public, the proposed year-round seasonal market at South Street Seaport, have called in the big gun, Mario Batali. At a demo market day on December 16, Batalli will make porchetta while Centovini's Patti Jackson, Applewood's David Shea, and Butter's Alexandra Guarnaschelli concoct locally sourced dishes.

“Chefs, who we call cooks, will be preparing dishes using ingredients available and giving out recipes as well as tastes,“ says co-founder Jill Slater. (New Amsterdam Public expects a strong showing on a December Sunday will instill economic confidence in the market.) Shea plans to make beef stew with flesh (and presumably fat) from Fleishers, which, says Slater, will be offering a whole grass-fed steer for sale. If Batali and an entire steer aren’t enough to convince the city’s Economic Development Corporation that the Seaport deserves a market, they’re going to need a bigger boat. —Alec Appelbaum

Earlier: Will the Seaport or Hudson Yards Get the Market?