A Day in the Life: Grocery Shopping

Buying groceries in NYC is not much different than other places...except we don't have a car to transport the food back with us. Most of the stores offer free delivery if you purchase a certain dollar amount of goods. Some of my NYC friends order their groceries online through peapod.com or freshdirect.com. They just get online and order what they want and then the groceries are delivered the next day. I like to go to the store though, that way I get my stuff the same day, and I can pick it out myself. The grocery store I like to go to is about five blocks from our apartment. It's close to the post office and library, so it's convenient. The walk is short, but there is a lot to see on the way. 

There are tons of bodegas (small grocery stores/ mini-marts) around the city (especially in our neighborhood in Queens) that offer produce and fresh flowers. A bodega is The produce offerings at these stands are kind of hit and miss -- we've learned which places have the freshest stuff through trial and error. We never buy from this one because its produce isn't very good. One day we were passing by and we overheard some guys profaning profusely and excitedly about the lemons, which were on sale 3 for a $1. Apparently that deal is so great and it got them excited enough to repeatedly use of the F-bomb. As Brian wondered at the time, if they're using that kind of language over produce, what do they say when they get mad?

I have to cross Queens Boulevard, the main thoroughfare that runs east and west through Queens. Its a busy street divided by the subway tracks and has four lanes on either side. A portion of the tracks consist of a stone overpass like structure.

The subway "overpass" creates a covered walkway that comes in handy when it's rainy, snowy, or windy. There is metered parking underneath as well. Brian and I like to walk down the center here, because it's quicker (you don't have to wait for walk signals to cross the streets -- not that people do anyways) and the arched ceilings make for some good echos. 

Also around our neighborhood are little flower stands. I love that there are fresh flower stands all over in the city. That is something that you don't see in Idaho. Flowers there are only seen in grocery stores or florist shops. I always stop for a few moments to admire and smell the blooms.

NYC, especially Queens, is so eclectic (from it's people to its storefronts) that you never know what kind of stores you'll find squished together. This is a typical looking block in our neighborhood -- storefront sandwiched next to storefront.

Queens is a little more homey than Manhattan in that its buildings aren't unusually tall.

Associated Supermarket is my grocery store of choice. It is nice, clean, reasonably priced, and it feels the most like an Albertson's or Broulim's (stores in Idaho). I'm nothing if not traditional and predictable -- I like my comfort zone, and since NYC is so far out of my comfort zone that it might as well be on another planet (okay, so it's not quite that bad anymore) I find solace where I can.

It's bright, open, and roomy compared to some of the other stores around. You have to check any bags you bring in with you before you shop -- a common requirement of stores in NY.

You have to remember that we are in NYC, so the food offerings are a little different from what you would see in Idaho -- like cactus leaves or an olive bar. We went around a couple of grocery stores awhile back, trying to find the weirdest stuff they sold. You can read that post here.

The aisles are narrow, and while they offer plenty of room for a single cart to roll down, it's not enough space for two to pass by each other. I try to go when I know the store won't be as crowded, because when it is you have to do a lot of winding around people and backtracking to get your shopping cart where you want it to go. I did mention that this is one of the roomier stores right? Some stores don't even have carts because the aisle are too narrow for even one; instead, they just have those plastic baskets with wheels that you can carry or pull behind you.

During checkout, I write my address on a sticker, which the cashier sticks to one of my bags of groceries and that's it. I then head out and leave my groceries to be delivered later, usually no longer than an hour after I've left the store. My groceries are delivered `a la scooter pulling a wagon. 

I usually have time to stop at a couple other stores on my way home. I buy milk at Rite Aid because it is the cheapest at $3.59 a gallon. I do my shopping on Friday, and usually pick up two gallons because Brian drinks milk like it's going out of style. I don't drink milk, I hate the taste of it. I've hated milk since before Kindergarten. I can eat it with cold cereal, oatmeal, and even dip Oreo cookies in it, but I can't drink it straight. And yes, this is funny because I grew up on a dairy farm. The stores are all out of milk by Monday and don't get anymore in until Tuesday evening, so I double up so we won't run out before Thursday or Friday of the next week.

Key Food (pictured below) is the other grocery store I like to go to. I like their produce better than Associated -- it seems to be fresher and tastes better. Although, I have yet to find a place with good tomatoes. Oh, how I miss Idaho tomatoes. NYC tomatoes are either too hard or too mushy and the taste is always so bland and watered down.

I also like the fresh breads, rolls, and bagels at Key Food better than those at Associated. They seem to be just a little fresher. New York bagels are so yummy!

I hurry my way through Rite Aid and Key Food, picking up anything I didn't get at Associated, then I make my way home to be there in time to meet the delivery guy.

I hate answering the door to my delivery guy, because he is always sweating a bit and huffing and puffing a little after carrying my groceries up all our stairs. I feel bad that he has to do it, but am grateful that he does so that I don't have to. It's not always the same guy that comes, and they are all really nice about it. 

I plan out a week's worth of meals and buy the majority of what I need once per week. I'll make a stop mid week to pick up additional fresh fruit, vegetables, or bread if needed. I come from a family of six kids and that's just how my mom always did it -- buy the groceries once a week. I could be wrong, but I think that is how most of those out west think, especially those with families; they buy in bulk. In New York, it seems that a lot of people go shopping every day or two, picking up a few things here and there. They don't really do the big shopping trip to last you for the week -- unless they are all ordering online. At least that's what I've noticed while out shopping -- those with kids buy a lot of groceries at one time, while everyone else just buys a few items at a time. It's interesting to see how different people do things. And there is definitely a difference between New Yorkers and Idahoans. I think that Brian and I have morphed into some sort of Idahoan-New Yorker hybrids, but I think we are still just Idahoans living as much like Idahoans as we can in New York (which may be the same thing). 

P.S. I forgot to mention on the apartment post how families in my ward with children (most have 1-3 kids) mange to live in a one bedroom apartment -- because most of them do just have one bedroom apartments. A lot of them have screened off a portion of their living room to use as their bedroom and their kids sleep in the actual bedroom. Or everyone shares a room, or they convert a closet into a bedroom for their child. I grew up with three sisters and two brothers. The boys shared a small bedroom, and us four girls shared another bedroom. I slept on the top bunk of a bunk bed until I moved out of my parent's house. I used to hate having to share a bedroom with three other people -- I thought it was so unfair. I look back on that now and think how lucky I was, how much room I had, compared to some of the families here in NYC.