Waiting for Anthony Bourdain’s insane-sounding New York City food market is like being a kid who’s ready for Christmas as soon as Halloween is over. Time seems to stand still, days expand into weeks, weeks stretch into months, and all we have to satiate our need for New Stuff is a collection of rumors and other intangibles. Today, The New York Times revealed a few more details about Bourdain’s huge market and it’s only going to get everyone more psyched.
What we know so far is that it’s apparently going to be inspired by Blade Runner and Tokyo, which was one of the most interesting details to come out of the World Street Food Congress in April. That’s what will guide the floorplan and general look and feel of the market — dystopian, futuristic, hustle and bustle, but probably no replicants. As Bourdain told the Times, “Think of an Asian night market. Eating and drinking at midnight.”
What it’s definitely going to be is big. Bourdain confirmed that the site will be Pier 57 off the Hudson River, which is so big it’s known as the Superpier. Taking up 155,000 square feet, it will house around 100 markets and retailers from New York and all over the globe, plus a full-service, sit-down restaurant. Well-known chefs like April Bloomfield and Ken Friedman will also have “prepared food stalls.” The “beating heart and soul” of Bourdain Market will be an open, Singapore-style market where people can find street food from around the world and eat communally.
It sounds like Bourdain’s vision for the market is to bring a world of food and people together in one location. On his TV shows, Bourdain is adept at bringing his audience around the world to show them the sights and sounds and locals of places they will never go. With the Bourdain Market, he’s bringing the smells and the tastes to the people.
“[People] want to be at counters and communal tables. They want heat and funk and chicken wings that set their hair on fire. They’re as quick to brag about the greatest $3 bowl of laksa as a dinner at Ducasse. That’s what I want to create for New York, some place where I would want to eat. Right now, there is nothing like that.”
Anthony Bourdain wants the world to come together on a New York Superpier, and he is exactly the person we should be trusting to do that. But we will have to wait about another two years for it. That’s a long time to save your appetite, but the feeling is that it’s going to be very, very worth it.
(Via Eater)
