Your New Favorite Grocery Store
+ 10 openings you should know about in NYC
I turned a chore into a hobby and I can never go back. My grocery store fixation has no clear origin, no rosy memories in a suburban Stop & Shop to hearken back to, nor any particular sense of calm when I am shopping for food. In fact, I get a little dizzy virtually every time I walk down a fluorescent-lit aisle filled with bright colored cardboard boxes. At some point, I leaned into grocery shopping as a sort of sport. Could be that grocery stores feel like an acceptable place to spend money, justified, of course by the fact that I always “need food.”
New York is home to more grocery store chains than I could rattle off to you, each with their own unreasonably priced, though intriguing goods. A new cross-over between a leek and a spring onion? A brand of kimchi you can’t find anywhere else? Boba flavored jelly beans? On top of that, there are the specialty shops, where $20 nut butters and $9 bags of pasta are both horrifying and irresistible. A normal person sticks to a cheap, reliable grocery store near their apartment. If you’re like me, you stop into nearly every grocer you pass on the street. Juuuust in case. Below you will find what ended up being a very tricky ranking of my top 10 grocery stores in the city, but PLEASE weigh in, I need to know where you grocery shop and why you love it.
Also, note the glaring Trader Joe’s omission. I went to the Atlantic Ave location this weekend and have never hated a place more. The layout is chaos, and the aisles fit exactly one person.
Will likely revisit this list sharing just my weirdest healthy snacks and where I go get them….anyways Table Talk at the bottom of this week’s letter for paid subscribers!
10. Citarella / Happier Grocery (TIE)
Starting out with two grocery stores that, in my head, serve very similar purposes. The former is coveted by an older uptown / Hampton’s crowd, and the latter by the downtown twenty-somethings that can’t stop thinking about moving to LA. A visit to either feels like a mission to the ultimate premade snack that may set you back $20. Always pleasant, not at all convenient from Brooklyn, a great place to treat yourself.
What I’m getting (Citarella): smoked salmon, trout roe, M&M cookie?
What I’m getting (Happier): Green salad with mustard dressing, Green Fiend smoothie, some organic snack I’ve never seen before, $45 flowers?
9. Whole Foods, Wall Street
This is only number 9 because it is directly across the street from my office, and just outside the 4/5 train. One million points for convenience, and two different checkout points that makes the whole outing much less stressful. I like knowing that they will always have the fruit I want, and if I don’t go in with a mission I am walking out $150 poorer.
What I’m getting: Avocados, aloe vera spray (life changing in the summer), Fage 0%, Sumo oranges
8. Butterfield
And you know what, I am a sucker for the Fro-Yo and some good grocery store sushi. A little pre-made kale salad for $10… no complaints.
What I’m getting: a big, crisp apple, spicy salmon rice paper roll, farro grain salad, a pint of Caffe Panna if I am having a bad day.
7. Union Market
Going to the Union Market on Flatbush and Sterling is very much a reward for me—fresh produce, great fish, full rotisserie chickens, every spice and baking ingredient I could ever need. Bonus points for having Steve’s Key Lime Pie and premade Inari. It is a fortune, but for a special dinner party or to rectify a bad day, this has gotta be it.
What I’m getting: Lacinato kale, stone fruit in summer, salmon fillet, Inari, potato pierogi
6. Ideal Food Basket
Finally, something practical!!! The Ideal Food Basket is the closest (and best) of the large supermarket chains to my apartment, and the one on Vanderbilt always does the trick. Prices are reasonable, stock is great, lights are way too bright but that I can get over.
What I’m getting: Eggs, milk, butter, pantry essentials (rice, quinoa, flour)
5. Mr. Mango
Mr. Mango has gotten so much press in the last couple of years—I just saw a run club that ran 13 miles to hit every store in this chain around the city. Good stuff. While Mr. Kale is right around the corner from my apartment, the Mr. Mango in Fort Greene is far superior—enormous selections of deeply discounted fruit sit just outside the front door, with everything from udon noodles to craft beer waiting inside. An affordable one stop shop—sorta a bodega on steroids?
What I’m getting: Miller High Life, napa cabbage, Sun’s ramen, black sesame mochi cake.
4. Sahadi’s
Sahadi’s on Atlantic has a selective offering, but that offering includes all of my favorite things. All the containers of olives are $6 (!!!!), they have huge tubs of dried fruits and nuts for your pantry, and every variety of bean, oil, and labne you could hope for. Plus, if you are a little hungry while you shop, you can get a fresh saj wrap.
What I’m getting: Babaghanoush, castelvetrano olives, nut butter, Za’atar bread, lentil soup, grape leaves
3. Wegmans
Perhaps a hot-take, but a favorite. Relatively affordable and they have absolutely everything I need. Raw fish counter is definitely a bonus. If I find myself in Union Square, I will be stopping into Wegmans regardless of how full my fridge is. Could just need a butterhead lettuce or slightly discounted steel cut oats.
2. Kalustyan’s
The epitome of a specialty grocery store. I am obsessed with condiments and, even without a single fruit or vegetable in my fridge, I will have a chock-full spice cabinet, 6 different hot sauces in rotation, and every oil, vinegar, mustard, and source of spice I could need. Kalustyan’s is known for their maze of spices, cheaper than you can find anywhere else, sealed in plastic bags with a big Kalustyan’s sticker on the front. Cheddar cheese popcorn dust? Cardomom pods? Vietnamese cinnamon? Black garlic? Your one-stop shop. This is my first stop whenever I am getting ready for a big baking project. Dedicate 30 minutes to just doing a lap, and then start shopping. It is surprisingly enormous. And overwhelming
What I’m getting: Vanilla bean pods, a new hot sauce, black sesame paste, dates, Edmond Fallet mustard
1. Jubilee, Greenpoint
One of the more frequent topics of conversation in my texts with my sister are the goodies she is finding at her closest grocery store. The enormous Jubilee on West St had a hit of virality when their $2 cheeseburgers were discovered by the internet. The grocery store downstairs though, is something special. They have a specialty cheese section, a butcher, a fish market, really good premade soups and dips, and crazy mushroom varieties? The ramen/curry/udon offerings are extensive, and the Elmhurst milk I like is a good $4 cheaper than anywhere else. Plus, they have Aesop skincare and fancy face masks… just in case.
What I’m getting: Elmhurst pistachio milk, halloumi, radicchio, golden curry, Jubilee salad dressing
Will this ranking change? Probably. But for now, these are the stores keeping my fridge full and my wallet empty.
