Seeking Supermarkets in Manhattan!

We just gave up the luxury of a car in Manhattan. With the car with always went to queens or Jersey. I am discovering the magic that is Fresh Direct (www.freshdirect.com) If you are used to shopping outside of Manhattan, it will take awhile to get over the sticker shock, but fresh direct is comparable or sometimes less expensive to gristedes or other grocery stores and the time saved is worth it! Good luck

L.

Hello
Yes Food Emp is pricey and not good. They are right Fairway is great but you have to go on off hours or you will be run over. Also Whole Foods has various locations though i find them a bit expensive for certain things. And Westside Market has 3 locations and is good too.

The thing is there are very few. You have to get used to several smaller shopping trips to some of the small Korean fruit & veggie markets on every corner for produce, milk, bread, and other basics then occasionally take a big trip to Whole Foods in the Time Warner Building in Columbus Circle or Fairway, which is also midtown, or Trader Joe's on 14th St.
Also, here is a pdf which is a map of the Farmer's Markets in NY
http://www.cenyc.org/files/gmkt/map.pdf

The best grocery chain in NYC is Fairway. They are huge, have great stuff and are the best prices around. I even get my baby food and formula there as it's cheaper than anywhere else. There's one on Broadway/73rd that you can get to by (2,3) train. The others are in Red Hook and on 133rd St. Red Hook is my favorite but if you don't have a car, you'd have to take a water taxi. It's near the new Ikea. Once you've shopped there, you will never go elsewhere. It's almost a religion.www.fairwaymarket.com

Trader Joe'son 14th St. is also good but small and more limited in it's selection. They're better at package mixes, frozen and prepared foods, not as good for staples. It's also overrun by NYU students so shop on off hours. They do deliver but only to a limited area.

Zabars, Citarella, Whole Foods, etc are wonderful but very expensive.

Welcome to Midtown!

I live all the way uptown, so we usually go the Fairway on 133rd. It is worth it for the pantry staples because it is relatively inexpoensive. The one on 72nd or 74th (can't remember) is the exact same but I think smaller.
However we have started buying all our produce and eggs and meat (as much as we can while we are still in season) at the local farmer's market. Our market in Inwood is a little far for you, but there is humongous one at Union Square too. To see if there is one closer to you go to www.localharvest.org

I don't know where you are from, but I moved here from Memphis, TN 11 years ago and the supermarket differences were one of the first things I noticed. I now eat alot less and throw away alot less.

Best of Luck

I suggest Freshdirect.com - their regular groceries are priced comparably to a super market and they are so convenient.

I second Susan's motion. Fairway is the best market in the world: cheeses from around the world, a section for olive oil, amazing coffees and teas, butcher and sushi on premesis. Don't miss the organics section upstairs. It can be VERY crowded on the weekend, so be prepared if you can't shop during weekday hours. They are also open till midnight, I think, so if that's possible it might be more palatable. Oh, and Citarella is right next door!
They do deliver, but I'm not sure what the range is; you'd have to check.
For big shopping you might also try FreshDirect. Check them out online. It's basically that: online shopping and delivery to your door. I know people who swear by it.
Good luck!
S.

Trader Joe's on 14th St. delivers all over the city. Just shop and give them your address. Depending on how far, there is a fee, but their prices are really good for what they offer (their organic milk is the cheapest anywhere). Fresh Direct is an online store. Their prices are ok, especially when you consider how easy and fast the shopping is and how you don't have to lug it all home yourself, you just have to deal with recycling the boxes the groceries come in, which depending on your building is either easy or not.

Otherwise, like everyone says, Fairway, farmer's market and Zabars!

The Fairway markets on the Upper West Side or 125th are cheaper and fun to shop in. I believe they will deliver for a fee.

Hi M.,

There are no really large supermarkets in Manhattan because real estate is so expensive and to have such a big box store is not economically feasible for most supermarkets. You will have to get used to smaller supermarkets with not as much selection and higher prices if you are living in Manhattan, particularly Midtown, or you will have to find a way to get out of the city to shop. Without a car this can be difficult.

That said -- you can try Fairway. There are two locations -- one at West 74th and Broadway and a larger one at West 125th and Riverside, under the Henry Hudson Parkway. The 74th Street location is probably more convenient and easier by subway -- you can take the 1, 2 or 3 train to 72nd. You could also take the 1 Train to 125th and walk the couple of blocks over to Riverside for the other store. I believe both of them deliver, and their prices are quite reasonable for Manhattan.

There's also a huge PathMark store on 125th on the East Side, around Third Avenue, I believe. I think you can take the Lexington Avenue subway to 125th to get there, but you will have to check that to be sure. They do have a big parking lot. This is about the only "big box" store you're going to find in Manhattan at all.

There are also usually smaller neighborhood supermarkets, but if you live in Midtown there probably aren't a lot of those. But living in Manhattan, forget about big, suburban-stype supermarkets and the accompanying reasonable prices...it just ain't gonna happen in the city. FYI, we don't have Safeway stores here (it's not a New York chain), and though there are Stop & Shop stores, they are in the outer boroughs, not in Manhattan. No one is "hiding" the big supermarkets -- they just do not exist in Manhattan because there is no place to put them, particularly in older neighborhoods where the buildings have not changed for decades!

Good luck!

S. R

Hello,

You are right about the supermarkets. It took me a while to get used to it when I moved to manhattan.

Try Freshdirect. It is a little more expensive, but the conveinece is worth it.

Hey M.,
Welcome to the big Apple. The bad thing about mid-town is the lack of proper supermarkets. If you can afford it, you might want to go to the Whole Foods Supermarket at the Time Warner building in Columbus Circle. If the prices aare too outrageous, there is a great Farmers Market that comes to Union Square every Mon,Wed,Fri and Saturday. Take the Q,R,4,5 or 6 trains to Union Square-14th Street, you can't miss it. Also, log onto www.pathmark.com to find out the closest one to you. They have good prices. Fairway on 74th and Broadway is great for fresh meat and veggies for sale(always in the front of the store, not inside).

Yours always,
L. B from the Bronx

It's true: the supermarkets in Manhattan are small, pricey and leave much to be desired. I'm a big fan of the Trader Joe's on 14th street, east side, which has better prices than most. Also, it's very close to the Union Square Farmer's Market, so if you plan ahead you can hit both places with one subway trip. I take a large camping backpack with me so I don't have lots of grocery bags in my hands on the subway.

In addition, there are lots of small mom and pop markets with very fresh produce around the city, so a strategy is to just buy what looks fresh on the way home from work. These markets are not great for stocking up and Trader Joe's will give you better prices, but it's great to buy fresh produce the same day you want to eat it.

Welcome to city living--lots of good things, but some major inconveniences as well!

Hi M.
You better get used to the local stores, there aren't any huge super markets in Manhattan. You may have to travel to Queens or outside Manhattan, which isn't really worth the trip.
You may have a D'agostina nearby, buy basically they are all the same.
Be glad that you don't have to drive miles to the next store.

C.

Dear M. D:

The best supermarket to shop in midtown is Fairway Supermarket
located on 74th Street and Broadway. Anything and everything is there and if you take the elevator which is in front of the boxed pasta (small elevator to your left), on the 2nd floor is there organic and natural products section from bulk items to vitamins, natural cosmetic section and all types of organic produce at a fair price. Separate to their health foods dept. there is the fairway restaurant which has a wonderful menu, very tasty dishes.
Now if you are looking for supermarkets like Pathmark, do a google search. Most probably you'll have to cross the bridge to New Jersey to North Bergen, or simply go uptown to Washington Height/Inwood. There is a nice decent supermarket called C-Town on Broadway between 204 and 207th Street.
They have a very nice fresh deli section.

Pathmark is located further down on 207th St. near 9th Avenue.
close to the bridge that crosses from Manhattan to the Bronx on 207th St.

Good Luck!
R. C.

Well, this NYC. There is Fairway on the Westside, I think it is 72nd.? (I stand corrected) and another one on 133rd. and by the water. Whole Foods is on Houston Street and in Chelsea. Those are the large stores. But for real good supermarkets with sales, etc. you may have to travel out of the neighbourhood or borough.