Supermarkets in NYC?

O

oneinfiniteloop

Veteran
I've never been to NY and me and my girlfriend were discussing whether NYC had supermarkets. There is on practically every corner in my city, and I just went to San Diego and barely saw one. She seems to think that in NYC there are not big supermarkets since everyone probably eats out most of the time and all they need is small market type stores.

So what's the real deal?
 
yeah, we have them. But they pretty much universally suck compared to what you might be used to. Stick to a Whole Foods. Except for their bad labor practices, the best you'll do in the city. Also there is a small chain called "Garden of Eden.," which is good. One in the Heights, one on 23rd, and another one, I think...

I used to live in Seattle where we had Larry's...Mmmmm, Larry's...

What we don't have a lot of is 7-11. I just ran into a newer one on 42nd, and there is one in Brooklyn, and a couple more, but where I grew up in LA, those were on every corner. Here, it's the little bodega, where food is as likely to be expired as not.

New York sucks.
 
There are tons of 711s and supermarkets all over Queens. In my old neighborhood of Jackson Heights there were 3 711s at last count.

If you own a car then I'd recommend driving to a Waldbaums or Super Stop and Shop.

In Manhattan the main chain is Gristedes which is all over the place (like Starbucks) and not very good.

And they opened a Trader Joe's on 14th street (down the block from a Whole Foods i think) a few months ago which is where most of my friends travel to.

As for little convenience places its the bodega/foreign run deli that reigns supreme and should be avoided at all costs unless you're really desperate.
 
Yes, Gristedes is all over as is Food Emporium. I like the Food Emporium Bridge Market (under the 59th St bridge @ 1st Ave) because of the architecture and size.

My favorite grocery store in the city is Fairway Market on the Upper West Side ... the Harlem location is pretty good too, but the fruits/veggies never seem quite as fresh.

And then there are the uber-pricey boutique grocery stores that just make me laugh.

Now what we don't have many of is gas stations.
 
Now what we don't have many of is gas stations.
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So true.

I've wondered about that since i was a kid.

I assume it has something to do with mta influence back in the hayday of the subway system.
 
The Machinist said:
So true.

I've wondered about that since i was a kid.

I assume it has something to do with mta influence back in the hayday of the subway system.
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I dunno, I can count a dozen right now off the top of my head...There certainly are more than I ever thought there would be.
 
In Manhattan or in all 5 boroughs?

Cause I can only think of 3 or 4 in Manhattan which is what i was talking about.
 
oneinfiniteloop said:
There is on practically every corner in my city, and I just went to San Diego and barely saw one.
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lol. so true. it is so lame and pisses me off quite often. problem is that ground floor retail space is hard to come by at prices supermarkets or corner shops can afford. + the city planning has been so sh*t for several years... we have a big problem with public space. our city government has been in the pockets of the developers and im not sure they really care to think about where people walk their dogs or buy their dinner.

hope you had a good time though. what did you get up to?
 
KOVAROVA said:
lol. so true. it is so lame and pisses me off quite often. problem is that ground floor retail space is hard to come by at prices supermarkets or corner shops can afford. + the city planning has been so sh*t for several years... we have a big problem with public space. our city government has been in the pockets of the developers and im not sure they really care to think about where people walk their dogs or buy their dinner.

hope you had a good time though. what did you get up to?
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First day I went to the zoo, Balboa, and Gaslamp...I was contemplating checking out ComiCon, but the shear size of the crowds kinda turned me off to that. After my work appt the next day, I went back down to Gaslamp and Horton to kill time before my flight...walked all over downtown and to Seaside Village at the harbor, really pretty down that way.

One thing that kinda bugged me was that the few times that I ate somewhere it wasn't that great, maybe it was the spots I picked, but I was kind of dissapointed.

Next time I want to check out the beach (Sunset Cliffs I heard was nice) and that Brazillian BBQ, Rio de Gado.
 
It doesn't happen often but occassionally I find myself with my low gas light illuminated and no idea where to find a station in Manhattan. There are several on 10th Ave, but I live on the opposite side of the Island. There's one half a block from my parking garage, but it's remarkably inconvenient to get to for as close as it is.
 
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