Here Is One Market Surving The Economy
November 23, 2009
This month in particular, New Yorkers seem eager to stock up on outdoor market fresh food for more of a communal and hands on eating environment – think massive hunks of Cornish bleu cheese with crisp slices of heirloom apples and figs in a tumbling heap across the table. I’m guessing Whole Foods is doing a rain dance hoping for bad weather to inspire more indoor commercial shopping.
My recent favorite hunting ground for a more interactive experience is the New Amsterdam Market at the South Street Seaport, inspired by Paris’ famed Les Halles. Only open every few Sundays, I went yesterday to load up on nutritious and hearty staples…i.e. chat up the vendors for amazing free samples. Although the whole ‘locavore’ trend is great for the environment/farmers etc. (read as blah blah blah), to me…buying regionally fresh food simply means a better taste and richer flavor plus you can find a wider variety of wholesome and natural items. New Amsterdam differs from the Greenmarkets by not requiring vendors to be the sole growers of their food – this attracts a wide range of family purveyors who source their stock directly from farmers and producers (think the circle of life for locavore maniacs).
The next and final appearance of the New Amsterdam Market for the year will be December 20 form 11am – 4pm. Go early with an empty stomach to sample your way through my favorite food stalls:
- Breezy Hill Orchard – hot fresh pressed cider
- Fleisher’s Grassfed & Organic Meats – 100% grass-fed beef nitrate/nitrate free hot dogs
- Sugar Maple Farms – rich maple syrup
- The Cellars at Jasper Hill – cheese to melt in your mouth
- Hudson Valley Farm – fresh chocolate milk that honestly made me want to hug a cow
- Eli’s Bread – loaves of hearty multi-grain
- Provisions Shop – lavender soap and Stonehouse olive oil (smelled SO good)
- Mama O’s Kimchee – spicy cabbage that will make your mama cry
- Port Clyde Fresh Catch – co-op lobsters, crabs and fish
Whole Foods Who?
November 11, 2009
I have a love/hate relationship with Whole Foods. Aside from it having overpriced mediocre produce, it does offer the most efficient one stop shop grocery experience when it comes to buying both generic and brand label healthy finds – I guess I can’t bite the hand that feeds me…literally.
Despite the few perks of Whole Foods, I sometimes just wish we had a Wegmans or Super Stop and Shop (shout out to my days in the suburbs). When I’m motivated to break out of my rut, I head to the next best thing – Westside Market. Incredibly clean (bonus for an NYC market), everything from the breads to fruits and veggies are fresh and well stocked. If your cholesterol can handle it, they also have a ridiculous speciality and imported cheese section (eat sparingly). In my experience, Westside Market offers the full spectrum of organic items without gratuitously inflating prices.
Well, I guess I have officially entered soccer mom status now that I’ve written about my favorite grocery stores!
Farmers Markets…Worth The Hype?
October 11, 2009
Farmers markets used to be an ideal way to get fresh produce at a reasonable price…New York and other cities have turned these open air shopping spots into trendy and often expensive alternatives to Whole Foods. The Farmers Market in Union Square, although offering stall after stall of all organic and natural fruits/veggies/flowers, is now incredibly crowded and expensive! Hand picking carrots and zucchini on a Saturday afternoon has become a stressful Times Square cluster like activity where you pay a premium to dig through produce crates on 14th street. I admit, I am easily suckered into this mini slice of rural adventure…I don’t mind the extra few cents to feel like I’m doing something good for the environment via “fair trade” but sometimes (most of the time) I walk away feeling ripped off that my apple was $1.50 and the all natural loaf of banana bread was double what I would pay at the grocery store.
This Saturday I went to the Fulton Street Farmers Market where I enjoyed a much smaller, but more reasonably priced, sample of natural and organic produce (sans crowd). Less commercialized, the dozen or so vendors sold cheese, wine, veggies, flowers and baked goods. This block of stalls were well priced and easy to navigate with plenty of options. I picked up a bundle of fresh beets, brick of pecorino cheese and loaf of rye bread – hopefully, I’ll make a beet salad over a bed of spinach this week. For things that are best imported I’ll have to still go to Whole Foods (at this time of year, this will include berries and other fruits) but in the meantime, I can benefit from a small Farmers Market for local seasonable items. In the long run, I can buy higher quality as well as lower priced goods which will enrich both my diet as well as the local farming economy. Be flexible in what you want to bring home, but also have some general idea of what you’re looking for so you don’t get carried away with the “campy” feeling of buying from a local market.
