Master Shopper

Shopping here in the City has been a challenge.  Whole Foods is about a mile from here, and they don’t carry a lot of the foods that I normally cook with.  D’agostino’s Market is close, about 3 blocks, they too are missing a lot of the foods I cook with. Of course, there are the bodegas that have good deli meats and fresh breads at comparable prices.  My objective this week has been to solidify a shopping routine that reduces the number of stores I frequent, minimizes how far I must carry the groceries, and all at an acceptable price.  After two weeks of running all over Manhattan to collect groceries, I felt up to the challenge.

I started with pantry goods.  Amazon Prime Pantry is beating the prices of local markets, AND, they deliver to the concierge who shoots me a text when they arrive. Nice.  Also, they allow me to use Citi points to pay for my order, so this week, that bill was free!

Next, perishables.  Fresh Direct delivers to the door.  Their prices are slightly better than the local markets, but there are few choices regarding brands, and I have not been impressed with their produce.  Meat was on par, slightly less expensive, but packaged nicely.

Next, produce.  I have heard that there is a produce market in Hell’s Kitchen, that is always open on Saturdays and most weekdays.  No one here seems to have heard of it, but I was sure I had read about it.

That brings us today.  Raining here, rather steadily.  Tip and I decide to walk a mile to see the movie Beauty and the Beast.  Dressing for the weather, we began our trek to the theater (movie was good by the way), then returned home down 8^th Avenue.  There, behind a shanty door, tucked away in a most inconspicuous manner is the produce market.  Because it was raining pretty good at the time, I didn’t get a photo… that for another day.

Feeling like I was entering a speak-easy, I eased through two narrow doors that were dripping from leaks.  Hidden inside is a beautiful market that looks much like a smaller version of the Farmers market in Dallas.  But the prices, well, they were unbelievable.  Radishes, two large squash, a bag of baby carrots, two apples – Golden Delicious and Fuji, two oranges, a bunch of green onions, a red onion, one lime, three ears of fresh corn, 5 garlic, and a ginger root all for under $10.  And to think… my girls say I am not a shopper!