Countdown, vol. 2 Grocery Shopping

So many of my friends "back home" ask me about grocery shopping. If you've visited NY, grocery shopping here seems baffling and I admit, it was hard to get used to. I still wist for big box stores with carts and aisles, and I particularly enjoy skipping through the big fat aisles whenever I shop for my mom or sisters in CA. Only recently have I established a grocery rhythm, and realize that the key to groceries in NYC is to have a carnal knowledge of your particular neighborhood.

Within a six block radius of home, we have 5 different grocery choices. There is Food Emporium which is new and pretty but expensive. We also have Fairway, Citarella, Westside Market, a few smaller ma-n-pa places. Each of these is useful in it's own rite, but they are all small and don't carry wide varieties, so a shopping trip might include a combination of 3 or 4 places. Then we have the special bakeries and meat stores, and the fruit and veggie carts on almost ever corner.

I could write a whole blog just about Fairway. Fairway is the craziest place I have ever been. Apparently this is one of the best & most famous places for New Yorkers to shop, and they come from all over Manhattan to stock up and shop their hearts out. This makes no sense to me. Every time you go in that place, you get screamed at (almost instantly) by grouchy Upper West Side-ers or Fairway workers and the place is always so packed that usually I leave without half my list because I simply can't reach what I need. The place has an extremely unappetizing smell that makes you not want to buy anything at all, and it's obviously coming from the grime that seems to be growing on the floors and fixtures. Don't take the elevator to the organic market upstairs, you'll wait for the "down" elevator for 30 minutes! In general, I have found New Yorkers to be really nice people, contrary to the infamous bad reputation. However, in Fairway, the people are horrible and I have actually had the F bomb directed my way more than once in there, and once it was in reference to the baby stroller! Just today I ventured within for one bunch of leeks and stumbled out sweating! I do shop at Fairway because it's cheap and it's good for my skin (thickens it up), but if I'm buying more than one or two things, I don't bring Meg.

There are also a few mom and pop little corner store-type places that we Californians will usually pass up, but they are actually pretty good and the workers remember you and say hello. These are good for mid-recipe realizations that you are out of onions or flour. Whole Foods is 10 blocks away, and we call it "Whole Paycheck" because it is so expensive. This is where Martha Stewart shops. I have to admit, if ever a grocery store was pretty, this is the one.

One aspect of grocery shopping you must keep in mind is the weight and volume of what you are buying simply because you have to carry it all home with you in your two hands. Meg's stroller holds alot of stuff, which makes it nice, but I still end up with bags dripping off both arms while pushing a 280 pound stroller. Many have gone the way of the granny cart (a wire basket on wheels) and I've seen folks take a child-less stroller to the market simply to load it up for the way home! Most of us have discovered the joys of Fresh Direct, an online grocery store that delivers for $5.

So, my usual week includes a visit to 3 or more various markets because no one place carries everything. Fairway doesn't have flavored coffee creamer, Food Emporium doesn't have low sodium chicken stock, Westside market doesn't have much of anything but they do have a huge selection of coffee creamers, Citarella is great for special spices and corn tortillas, and so on. I finally have it figured out and I plan my adventures with Meg based on which store I need and when. As I said, it's a matter of getting to know your neighborhood.