Hello everyone!
I’m finally settled in and have found a place to stay, but where can I buy groceries?
The United States is known for its large supermarkets. However, New York is a really packed city where all the stores and malls are either underground or quite far away. Combine that with expensive prices, and the task becomes even more tricky. Stores tend to be very small and expensive, especially if you live in Midtown Manhattan.
First of all, you should know that in New York the food culture is characterized by speed and ‘Time’. People are more interested in prepared food than self cooking. Therefore, sometimes buying a roasted chicken is cheaper than buying a raw one. Personally, I don’t share that mindset. I like to cook my own food and know the ingredients I am eating. Then, the adventure of finding fresh food started. Here is a list of what I experienced from cheapest to most expensive:
- The cheapest places to buy fruits and vegetables are street stalls, usually in residential neighborhoods, and you must pay in cash. The type of fruits and vegetables may vary slightly depending on the season.
- Chinatown. There are many huge street markets and supermarkets with many kinds of fresh food that I have never seen before. They also have plenty of fresh fish and seafood. From the outside they look like small stores, it is once you enter that you realize it has several floors and everything you need in one place.
- Lidl. There is one in Harlem. The prices and quality are very good. They have many products from Germany, since it is a German supermarket. I definitely recommend the fresh bread.
- Trader Joe ‘s. One of the most emblematic supermarkets in the city. New Yorkers adore it, you can figure out how busy it gets during rush hour. Sometimes you have to wait in line to pick up items. They have their own brand and really fun products in a variety of flavors and colors. I personally love to take frozen fruits and vegetables there. Also, the staff there always has a great energy.
- Whole food specializes in organic and gourmet food. As you can imagine it is one of the most expensive ones but if you look hard enough you can find something for a reasonable price. They also have prepared meals and all kinds of cheese and meats.
On the Upper West Side there are other supermarkets where you can find different things like:
- Barzinis. They have all kinds of cheeses, sauces and products from all over the world.
- Zabar’s. This is a very well known supermarket. They have gourmet food and appliances.
In addition, the supermarkets usually do not have any kind of liquors or wines, nor for cooking. If you are looking for any of this, there are other stores called «liquor stores». You can find thousands of them in the city. Also, if you are looking for household/beauty products or even medicine there are other types of stores that specialize in them. Sometimes there is a very small section in the supermarket, but it is very rare. Here is a list of places where you can find them:
- CVS Pharmacy. This is a chain of drugstores and convenience stores in the U.S. They have a little bit of everything and are usually open overnight.
- Duane Ruade. This is also a convenience store chain although they specialize a bit more in beauty products.
- Target. This really famous chain, you can find it in quite a few places in the city. You can find clothing, furniture, household items, personal care, luggage, groceries and many more items.
- Dollar stores. These are quite small stores where you can buy cleaning or kitchen products for a fair price.
If you are interested in shopping without leaving the city, you have several alternatives:
- Tj Maxx or Marshalls are chains where you can find brand name clothing and footwear if you are patient enough, as there is only one garment of each item. You can also find sports and household items there.
To conclude, I would like to talk about metric system differences in the supermarket. I am Spanish and it took me a while to get used to some things. For fruit and vegetables one has to double the price, as everything is in pounds; 1 pound=0.435kg. Sometimes prices come per unit or oz, which means one-sixteenth of a pound, this made it very difficult to guess how much I would be paying in the end.
I hope this post has been useful, see you on the next one!
