New Yorkers' grocery-shopping habits

[Fat Guy]

There are many topics throughout the eG Forums that touch on issues of grocery shopping, and I always feel that, as a New Yorker, I'm somewhat out of step with the way everybody else in the USA (and, these days, much of the Western industrialized world) shops for groceries. A couple of the main points of differentiation: most New Yorkers don't use cars for grocery shopping, most New York stores are much smaller than their suburban counterparts, there are a lot more specialty stores in New York City than in most places, New York City kitchens and refrigerators tend to be small, people dine out a lot here. I'm sure there are others.

Me, for the past few years the anchor shopping trip each week for me has been to Fairway on Broadway between 74th and 75th. If you ever want to find me -- as I am somewhat of an anti-social recluse -- your best bet is to stake out Fairway around 7:30-8am on a Sunday. I usually meet my mother there, we both do our shopping, I help her home with her groceries, and then I head home with mine. If I buy a lot of stuff, I take a cab home, dropping her off on the way. I live on the East Side, but if I buy more than about $50 worth of groceries at Fairway instead of at one of the stores in my neighborhood I save a lot more than the price of cab fare, I get better quality, and I get to maintain the family tradition.

Fairway shopping centers mostly on produce, milk and other fresh food items. For staples, bulk items, dry goods, that sort of thing, we go about once a month to Costco in Yonkers, by car. That Costco is in the same plaza as Stew Leonard's, and the next exit off 87 is ShopRite, so we can get just about anything imaginable on that trip.

The rest of our shopping we do at a variety of places. We go to Chinatown (Manhattan) for dinner usually once a week, sometimes not for two weeks, and we always try to get fruit and vegetables there, not to mention various Asian ingredients. But since we're usually on foot and far from home, and managing a baby, we tend to get only small quantities -- a few oranges, a couple of pounds of red globe grapes, some curry paste, etc. Some years -- the years when we know we'll be around for the summer and have some predictability to our schedule -- we do the Yorkville CSA for the summer-fall part of the year (at peak CSA time, my Fairway shopping gets so small I can walk home with it in a small backpack). The Union Square Greenmarket, so heavily utilized by so many cooks I respect, is a place I only get to a few times a year. Apple season and tomato season are the two times I'll go out of my way to make a special trip down there, because there's nothing comparable available elsewhere. Otherwise, I go when I happen to be in that neighborhood on a greenmarket day, in the morning. No, the other greenmarkets don't measure up.

We try to shop according to a plan that allows to avoid most trips to the local bodega or bad supermarket, but of course sometimes we get caught short and have to buy an onion or whatever. As much as it annoys me to pay bodega prices, I'm thankful for 24/7 access to just about anything -- so it's worth that premium. The one thing I find that it's kind of impossible to buy a week's supply of is fresh bread. We live close enough to a Pain Quotidien branch that excellent fresh bread is always in reach, and there's a small market across the street that has several good breads. A little farther away, though en route from our most frequently utilized subway station, there's a small market that sells Balthazar breads.

Fish is a perpetual bugaboo for me. I'm never satisfied with what I can get, even at the most celebrated places. I wind up just not buying a lot of fish, and leaning heavily towards fish when I eat at good restaurants.

And you?

[juuceman]

Union Square greenmarket between once and three times per week, depending on how frequently I'm working from home. Almost year round it's possible to purchase lettuce, sprouts, carrots and potatoes, milk, bacon and sausage. In the Spring/Summer/Fall we'll purchase the bulk of our produce there as well.

Once a week I'll stick my head into the Gramercy Fish Market and pick up fresh fish, usually Branzino, to cook that evening.

About twice a month we'll stock up from Whole Foods and the Met on staples. Meat is picked up on Saturday from Florence, or infrequently from Gramercy Meat (formerly the French Butcher) during the week.

I'll frequently stick my head into a bodega or health food store for whatever I need to supplement meals, pick up sliced fruit, etc. on the way to or come home from work. Pain Quotodien for bread.

If I could shop on a daily basis I would. I much prefer this to having to plan meals and cook from the fridge.

[nypork]

I live a block away from whole foods in the TWC, so 99% of my shopping is there. I feel blessed. Unfortunately I tend to impulse buy more than I need.

[weinoo]

US Greenmarket at least once or twice a week. Produce, eggs, pretzels, fish/seafood.

Whole Foods - carries my favorite brand of kosher chicken (I've said it before, but it trumps all other commercially available birds in taste and texture). Decent prices on imported pastas. Full line of Bob's Red Mill products. King Arthur too. Fage and Brown Cow yogurts. European butters. Clean store - semi-knowledgable staff. The new store is carrying things like fresh galangal, lemon grass, yucca, etc. in the produce department. However, the seafood department is slightly suspect to me - not enough turnover, perhaps. I expect that if it doesn't add anything to their bottom line, we may see it replaced with something else - since they already sell french fries, gelato and pickles, I don't know what that might be!

Chinatown - well, I practically live there, so for Asian vegetables and pantry items (e.g. oyster sauce, fish sauce, dried mushroooms, etc. ) it's great. Very careful when buying fish, however - especially as the summer rolls around. Will buy ducks here though.

Essex St. Market - only a 5 minute walk, and a couple of nice produce vendors, a helpful butcher, a great cheese shop (with Sullivan St. Bakery breads), and a feel like the old-time covered markets in European cities.

My local dump - er, I mean supermarket. Milk, canned goods (hey, they have Pomi tomatoes), bottled soda/sparkling water, household sundries.

I'm pretty much shopping every other day of the week. Not too many car runs for food, though.

[Live It Up]

I have NO time, so my grocery shopping is pretty much limited to what I can pick up from point A to point B. Usually that means the crappy key food on avenue A on my way home from work, or the chinese market (the only one that's open after 7 pm) on my way home from the gym. If I had my choice, I'd probably stock up at chelsea market once a week and supplement with essex street market. Unfortunately, chelsea market is out of the way for me and essex street closes before I can get there most of the time. Luckily my mom has a car and a costco membership, so she does a lot of shopping for staples for me (and delivers too). Moms are great.

[Nathan]

I've got a feeling my grocery shopping is probably paradigmical for a NY'er in my demographic:

Trader Joe's once every couple weeks. (substitute Fresh Direct for anyone who doesn't live close to TJ's)

anywhere close to home for beer and cocktail ingredients.

if I'm actually cooking for a dinner party or a date, then throw in D&D, Whole Foods, Balducci's and the greenmarket.

I eat out or get delivery at the office 98% of the time.

[kathryn]

Unlike a lot of New Yorkers, I don't really eat out all that much. We get takeout or delivery only one or two days a week. The other days of the week, we cook. Or, rather, I cook or assemble all our meals -- breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks.

Because I often work late at my full time job, or am out at my freelance gig at night, nearly all of my groceries come from FreshDirect: produce, meat/poultry/fish, staples, dairy, everything. I'd rather spend my time at home cooking than lugging 3 or 4 days' worth of groceries home. We end up getting one or two FD deliveries a week -- my boyfriend works from home, so he can receive the boxes during the day. I've been pretty happy with their selection and prices although their excess of packaging irritates me (we end up recycling it all but it's still too much).

On occasion, we steal away to Whole Foods or the Union Square Green Market, but it's hard to beat the one-stop shopping convenience of FreshDirect. We live in the East Village, quite close to the new Whole Foods on Bowery. If we go to Whole Foods, it's to get supplementary or impulse items, like gelato or fancy seafood. Same thing with the occasional run to one of the Japanese markets on E 9th or thereabouts (Sunrise, JAS Mart, M2M).

If I'm truly out of, say, bread or milk, we run over to St Marks Market, a 24 hour Korean deli and supermarket, that inexplicably has organic product, imported chocolates, and Balthazar breads.

If they don't have it, I begrudgingly walk over to Met Market, which I dislike because it's cramped, dusty, and closes at 8:30pm on the weekdays (even earlier on the weekends).

[Luckylies]

For my dry goods it's fresh direct for the unobscure. Tomatoes in canes bottled water etc. 5th floor walk up makes it very convenient. I also get alot of cheese from them (they've never sent me an off cheese!)

I love Esposito's pork store for my meats. they're old school andvery accomidating. the prices can't be beat and they already have an order running with my job so I can get my stuf delivered to my desk (no lugging briskets this summer!)

I used to do Western Beef for my bbq needs, and I probably will again as it warms up...but really only for partys.

I get most of my odds and ends in Chinatown. As I do alot of tasing dinners I usually need only small pieces of individual proteins, and Chinatown is the best bet in this (and mostly all other regards)

I'm still on the fence about Whole Foods. The selection is dim and the herbs are never as fresh as I weant them...but, the seafood is nice. I don't wat to try to deal with the "butchers" there..so I don't...

I go to the C town on my corner alot. It's cheap and I really like pigeon peas...so I'm in luck! I'd NEVER but the seafood there, but have bought the pork. Safest in a Puerto Rican/ Dominican hood

Those are my haunts. You won't catch me in Citerella/ Jefferson/ D&D unless I'm in a serious bind and they have what I need too much $$$$ not enough value.

[Ericanyc]

We're in Park Slope but somehow still do most of our shopping in Manhattan. Since I am all over for work and I have a flexible schedule I try to get to Union Square greenmarket during spring/summer for produce.

I am in Chinatown/LES at least once a week so I can pick up stuff there as well. The husband works near Chelsea Market so on the way home he will stop there as well.

Whole foods or Food Emporium Bridge Market occasionally rounds out the shopping.

Saturday AM we typically do off leash hours in the park then the GAP Greenmarket.

Bierkraft, Blue APron and Union Market also seem to be weekend steadies.

I try to only order staples and lots of heavy things from Fresh DIrect. We haven't done the Red Hook Fairway yet - but the zipcar/fairway sunday is coming soon.

Edited May 21, 2007 by Ericanyc (log)

[emsny]

This was a good idea for a thread, Steven. The query ought to be posted in every geographical forum, US and international. Some enterprising person could compile it into a PhD thesis.

It is interesting to look at one’s buying habits. I think mine make me look obsessive, but all of this shopping is spread out over months and months and rarely involves special trips (as opposed to weekend walks), so I’m probably not as nuts as I sound.

There’s a supermarket just downstairs from our apartment; we buy some staples there, including herbs, which are astonishingly good there for some reason – I suppose the produce manager cares about them. Other staples we buy in the supermarket are potato chips and beer. And cookies.

I order some things on line, such as dried beans from Rancho Gordo and sometimes flour from Great Valley Mills (although this may change) and Giusto’s. Chocolate (plain and bon-bons) too. Recently, I’ve tried meat from Heritage Foods USA, with varying success – and guiltily, because I do prefer to buy from favorite Greenmarket vendors. A good wagyu brisket recently came from them. If I need something like walnut oil or some exotic ingredient (super-duper soy sauce, say) but know that I won’t have the energy to go somewhere that sells a decent brand, I’ll see what’s doing on amazon.com. Coffee from counterculturecoffee.com.

We have a neighborhood Greenmarket on Wednesdays, small but improving. Pura Vida is one of the vendors, so Wednesday has become our fish night – Steven ought to try the Greenmarkets for fish. We also buy vegetables there, and such fruit as is worth buying - apples and berries; peaches are a craps shoot, but we keep trying. Pork and lamb, and poultry when available, mainly come from Union Square market vendors: Flying Pigs and Three-Corner Field; eggs from Flying Pigs too, except when my PA-based colleague brings us some from his couple of dozen chickens. When Violet Hill has its Belle Rouge chix toward the end of the summer, I buy these. The various Greenmarkets supply almost all of our produce, except, say, when we get a yen for eggplant parmigiana in the winter.

One of our weekend recreations is urban walking, and we try to plan our route with some food shopping in mind. A walk through the park, winding up at the little Columbus Avenue and 77th Street Greenmarket and then Fairway, can be a nice Sunday activity. Fairway is where I buy butter: the 83% butterfat Beurremont brand, five or ten pounds at a time. Another walk might end up at Chelsea Market, where I buy Setaro pasta and vastly expensive salted anchovies at Buon’Italia. We buy some cheese, including freshly made cow-milk mozzarella, from Agata & Valentina. Oil there too sometimes, and some produce; they often have interesting things, such as wild fennel recently. And cheese straws, which they sell packed in quantities large enough that we can’t finish them in one evening of gluttonous snacking.

From Eli Zabar I buy cheese danish. Other breakfast pastries from Bouchon if we have the energy to go to the mall. American-type cakes and cookies: Yura & Co., whose black and whites are stellar. Doughnuts, in season (don’t ask, although if someone does I’ll oblige with a rant), from Café Sabarsky or Blaue Gans; Bouchon’s are too elegant.

The only cream I really, really like is from Butterworks Farm in Vermont. WholeFood has it sometimes; they also sometimes have milk from New York state grass-fed cattle. I always check the mushrooms and chilies when visiting WholeFood; they had porcini last week, in better condition than any I’ve seen before at retail in NYC, and I bought enough of them that I needed to pay with my credit card.

Bacon and rendered duck fat (and pork lard too) come from the Last Remaining Hungarian Butcher (Second Ave and 81st); smoked ham from Kurowycky. Other cured meats from Agata & Valentina (including various prosciuttos and Fra’Mani salamis) or Buon’Italia (prosciutto, guanciale, mortadella).

Since Bittman published that magical Sullivan Street Bakery bread technique, we have been making our own bread, but before then we bought Sullivan Street Pugliese (often from Corrado in Grand Central, just a few blocks from where we live) and sometimes loaves from Pain d’Avignon, Balthazar and Eli Zabar. And Tom Cat baguette from Gourmet Garage.

We buy 20- or 25-pound bags of jasmine rice in Chinatown; when we’re there we pick up other Asian ingredients. Spices sometimes from Penzeys and sometimes from the South Asian shops on Lexington Avenue.

Pepto-Bismol from Duane Reade.

Edited May 21, 2007 by emsny (log)

[Fat Guy]

the Last Remaining Hungarian Butcher (Second Ave and 81st)

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Yorkville Packing House

1560 Second Ave.

212.628.5147

[Cleo]

I work full time and have a 2 1/2 year old and an 8 month old, so Fresh Direct saves me a lot of time and effort. We get a delivery once a week, usually on Sunday mornings. We get many of the basics like soda, milk, eggs and plenty of other packaged stuff, including Earth's Best baby food. I've always been happy with their meat too (mostly chicken). I get some produce from them, but not all. For certain things like baby carrots, grapes, cauliflower, bananas and a bunch of other stuff, I've always been pleased. I rarely order tomatoes or corn on the cob from them (other than grape tomatoes) because I like to pick that out myself.

Then for certain other produce items, I go to Whole Foods in the TWC, since it's by my office and I can go during lunch. Yes, it's expensive, but I love their fruit.

Then, every so often I'll take the car and go to Target in Jersey City, right through the Holland Tunnel. We used to go to Costco a lot, but once I started going to Target for things like paper towels and detergents, I decided that I like it better than Costco. That Target also has a lot of packaged and frozen items that they don't have at Fresh Direct.

Every once in a while I will go to Fairway in Brooklyn. Sometimes I just need a change of scenery and if I go early on a weekend, I enjoy that store.

We're moving to Scarsdale at the end of June and I have to say that I'm excited to be near Stew Leonards, but it's still not one stop shopping. Not sure if I will actually use them (I can't imagine that I will) but Fresh Direct apparently delivers to Scarsdale.

[johnder]

My shopping habits used to be pretty rigid when I was working in the city, but now that I work and live in Brooklyn it is slightly different.

For me I still try to make it to the Union Square greenmarkets on Wednesdays and hit the Grand Army Plaza greenmarket on Saturdays to pick up fresh greens and other market veggies.

I pick up the bulk of dry goods from the Red Hook fairway, usually on Monday nights after work on the way home and get all my meats from either the farmers market or the local butcher. Fish is a hit or miss affair. If I really am in the mood for fish, I will make special trip out to Chinatown to pick some up. There really aren't any good fish stores in Park Slope. Maybe one day.

John

[emsny]

Yorkville Packing House

1560 Second Ave.

212.628.5147

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I'm pleased to see that it is still called that, officially - I confirmed it in the phonebook (anywho.com). The sign above the door is now something more user-friendly; can't think what.

[Megan Blocker]

I'm a combination of Fresh Direct, Schaller & Weber, Agata and Valentina, and Likitsakos (the one at 87th and Lexington). Mainly I try to stick with FD and A&V, but Likitsakos is convenient if I'm on the way home and need salad fixins.

I mainly order staples (flour, sugar, butter, eggs, condiments, sometimes chicken - legs and thighs) from FD, and probably do that once or twice a month. I only order produce from them when absolutely necessary - I find it tends to get bruised in transit, plus I like to pick my own in any case. Produce shopping happens about once a week, and I do try to visit the Union Square greenmarket when I have time.

Any other cuts of meat (steaks, lamb, ground meats, roasting chickens) I tend to buy as needed, usually at Schaller & Weber, though sometimes at Lobel's or at A&V. Like Fat Guy, I tend not to eat fish at home, save for the occasional mussels or shrimp.

[chefboy24]

this is a GREAT THREAD

since december or so, me and the hubby have been doing freshdirect. i can't say enough good things about it.

at first i was all "i need to see and touch my produce and meat and fish"

let me tell you something, the butchers, the fish monger/butchers - everything is top top rate. - definitely higher than that of whole foods - those guys aren't real butchers at all.

i am rarely disappointed with the quality of the produce, meat, and fish.

i wish they had a little more selection with some gourmet items. for example, there is only one producer of walnut oil.....roland.......who mysteriously makes lentils, risotto, olive oil, etc etc. scary!

as well, of course i hit up union square for the unbeatable seasonal produce (ramps, spring onions, tomatoes, peppers, etc etc)

BUT

i am proud to say we have done a full vegetable share at the chelsea CSA. if you don't know what this is - GET ON IT. It's not too late to sign up, http://www.chelseacsa.org/. First week of produce comes out june 12th i believe.

also

on a fun lazy sunday/monday afternoon - we do murrays cheese, artisinal cheese, dipalo diary for cheese, balthazar for bread. definitely russ & daughters for lox/herring/red licorice. murray's for bagels in chelsea too (coming home with still warm bagels on a sunday morning and lox from russ & daughters is the definition of happy )

[cakewalk]

Whole Foods - carries my favorite brand of kosher chicken (I've said it before, but it trumps all other commercially available birds in taste and texture). 

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Which Whole Foods? What brand is it? I didn't know they had kosher chickens! I usually get Empire because it's so ubiquitous, but I'm very ready to change!

I make semi-regular trips to Fairway as well, both for the prices and the choices. I live in the Hell's Kitchen area and the closest supermarket is a Food Emporium. I go there for convenience, but they really suck, both in terms of quality and price.

I sometimes go to the Styles' market on 9th and 41st, especially for the avocadoes (which are sometimes 75 cents apiece, an absolute steal in this neck of the woods. And they're good, too.)

I belong to a CSA which will soon start giving us green stuff. I like that.

And I like Whole Foods on occasion because I can always buy something that I haven't the faintest idea what it is. Same with small specialty markets. Then I google it, or look it up on eGullet.

It also depends a lot on which neighborhood I happen to be in for whatever reason -- I'll usually end up going into a food store at some point, wherever I happen to be.

[weinoo]

Whole Foods - carries my favorite brand of kosher chicken (I've said it before, but it trumps all other commercially available birds in taste and texture). 

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Which Whole Foods? What brand is it? I didn't know they had kosher chickens! I usually get Empire because it's so ubiquitous, but I'm very ready to change!

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I believe all the WF carry it, though I've purchased it at Union Square and Bowery locations. The brand is Wise - organic and kosher from Pennsylvania. I'm a big fan of the 2 - 2 1/2 lb. birds.

And chefboy24's comment on butchers - I think you can count the number of "real" butchers in Manhattan on two hands - Otto, Lobel, Agata, and a few others. I would be surprised if Fresh Direct is working with anything but vacuum packed sub-primals, though they may be getting a better grade of meat than WF...they may be meat-cutters, but butchers I doubt.