<p>If I plan to live off-campus and need to buy groceries, what is the best/cheapest place around Columbia?</p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>West Side Market at 110th and broadway has the best produce, and in my view the best prices on pretty much everything.</p>
<p>D’ag Market across the street from West Side is another option.</p>
<p>Morton Williams Supermarket (“Mo Willy!”) is at 115th and broadway, decent selection, very good deli, not so good on the prices or customer service.</p>
<p>Appletree Supermarket is at 120th and Amsterdam. Has all the basics. Produce quality isn’t great. They have some fantastic deli sandwiches though, and a good beer selection.</p>
<p>All these places are 24/7 I believe, except possibly D’Ag.</p>
<p>Then you have the smaller bodegas which exist on pretty much every corner. The Crack Deli on 109th and Amsterdam… Hamilton Deli on 115th and Amsterdam… Milano Market is an upscale place at 113th and broadway, smaller selection, closes late evening I believe.</p>
<p>Basically, there’s a ton of options all right at your fingertips, many of them open late or all night. So when you’ve got that hankering for, I dunno, lemonade, at 3am, you can march down there in your PJs and get your lemonade, gosh-darnit. Really appealing feature of the neighborhood, and new york in general.</p>
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<p>There are 24 hour supermarkets all over the country. The produce in NYC is absolute crap (go to a market in CA if you don’t believe me). NYC grocery stores have narrow aisles, provide nasty customer service (if you can find someone to “help” you at all), are massively overcrowded, have fewer products as compared to supermarkets in pretty much any other place, are more expensive than anywhere else, etc.</p>
<p>NYC is a great place to live, but it’s absurd to cite anything having to do with supermarkets as having anything to do with NYC’s being a great place to live. Hell, the success of online grocers like FD is indicative of how unpleasant the NYC grocery shopping process can be.</p>
<p>The fun in moving somewhere new stems, at least in part, from making these sorts of discoveries on your own. Rest assured, you’ll find a grocery that suits you appetite/budget. </p>
<p>Also, remember to post on here if you find a grocery in NYC that offers anything resembling customer service and quality produce at a decent price.</p>
<p>i dont know about CA, but i can certainly tell you that the selection in Westside market beats the sh1t out of what we have down here in texas. I’m still so enthralled with all the random stuff the have in there that i make it an event to go and browse the selection. pathetic, i know, but when you can buy vitamin energy by the case, its all a man needs.</p>
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i’d check with your doctor on that one :P</p>
<p>I grew up in California and it is bar-none the best place on earth for fresh foods. The markets in NYC are bad in comparison, but aren’t that bad in general.</p>
<p>also a pathmark a bit east on 125th street in harlem, though i’ve only known one person who i know went there, guess they have better deals than morton and westside. though some other friends drove like 60 blocks downtown and then drove around for a while looking for some chicken and rice street cart vender guy, so i guess people will go pretty far for good/cheap food.</p>
<p>the chicken and rice guy is at 6th ave and 53rd. you’ll know it’s him because there’ll be a huge line.</p>
<p>good place to hit when you find yourself hungry in midtown after midnight, cause he’s there all night.</p>
<p>“I grew up in California and it is bar-none the best place on earth for fresh foods.”</p>
<p>Is that really what you think? I think you should see the film Food, Inc. when it’s released. Also, consider reading some work by ecologist Sandra Steingraber.</p>
<p>I know the OP said nearby, but in case OP’s feeling adventurous…</p>
<p>Whole Foods at Columbus Circle
Whole Foods opening next fall somewhere in the 80s on Columbus (still under construction for now, but I’ve definitely walked past it)
Trader Joe’s in Union Square (there’s also a Whole Foods there, but both places are usually mobbed)
farmer’s market on Broadway outside Lerner on Thursdays and Sundays
farmer’s market at 110th & Manhattan Ave. (southeast corner of Morningside Park)
Fairway (72nd and 125th streets)
Garden of Eden on something like 109th and Broadway</p>
<p>Most of these places are kind of far, but I lived with quite a few foodies this year.</p>
<p>^^“online grocers”…Do people actually sell groceries online and they even deliver? I bet its much more expensive. I did not know that NYC stores where as bad as to let an online grocer strive.</p>
<p>Doesn’t West Side offer free delivery on orders over a certain amount? I have the vague impression that the minimum is something ridiculous like $7. </p>
<p>Also, the chicken and rice guy is the only reason I go to the MoMA. Oh, and the free movies.</p>
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<p>Your recognition that this halal cart is good makes up for your sad romanticization of NYC grocery shopping. A tip, fyi: the cart at the SE corner is the same, so you can avoid the line.</p>
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^^“online grocers”…Do people actually sell groceries online and they even deliver? I bet its much more expensive. I did not know that NYC stores where as bad as to let an online grocer strive.[/quuote]</p>
<p>Yes, Fresh Direct was a small startup and is now a huge company. Not sure how well they’re doing in this economy, but they’ve done well for themselves. It’s actually cheaper than real NYC shopping.</p>
<p>Goddammit. Goddamn you Denzera for reminding me of the Halal cart. It’s food of the Gods. </p>
<p>My body’s now literally yearning for it. Like a pregnant woman for chocolate…or a chubby teenage girl with low self-esteem for her daily diet pill. ****.</p>
<p>Denzera, demeter, Columbia2002, and LionHeaded, you and my friend (and the couple hundred other people that were on line for chicken and rice) are nuts lol, that stuff looks so unsanitary, do we even wanna know what they put in there?</p>
<p>as for westside market, certainly pricey compared to anywhere else in america, but not bad for nyc/morningside. the people working there are really nice and friendly, although whenever i hear someone talking about it i always think of this ([Westside</a> Market - Chelsea - New York, NY](<a href=“http://www.yelp.com/biz/westside-market-new-york-3#hrid:rCozFQmwL98KRCxippuH4g]Westside”>http://www.yelp.com/biz/westside-market-new-york-3#hrid:rCozFQmwL98KRCxippuH4g)) review (the top one on the page). just the irony of the person getting so angry while referring to their friend as they do.</p>
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<p>I’ve eaten there maybe 4-6 times a week for a couple years, and I’m still alive and well (and at 9% body fat last time I checked!). If the food were a health risk, you’d certainly hear about people getting sick given the massive amount of business they do. And it’s just chicken, mystery meat (lamb/beef) and rice for god’s sakes. At least you see what they’re doing, which can’t be said about most filthy restaurants in NYC.</p>
<p>I’ve heard it’s good, but how can you stand 4-6 times a WEEK? I could understand a month or semester, but… jesus</p>
<p>the halal trucks that dot the city are new york’s secret weapon in the lunchtime fast-food wars. they’re very consistent in quality all across town, very inexpensive, and very tasty. they may not be as good for you as mama’s cookin’, but i’ve certainly eaten far worse crap in my day.</p>
<p>As for standing eating the same place 4-6 times per week, how often did you eat in John Jizzle freshman year? I probably hit them 10 times per week - 4 brunches and 6 dinners usually - and never got tired. Yeah, it’s not gourmet, but it’s varied enough and has everything you need. Likewise the halal trucks.</p>
<p>for some people, the grass quickly gets greener, i suppose.</p>
<p>I honestly don’t know what the beef with John Jay is. They have waffle irons and an ice cream bar for God’s sake! It’s diverse enough so that 1-2 meals there a day is pretty satisfactory. Especially your first year there. And before you complain about the hygiene of halal carts…take a stroll through Havana’s kitchens. I dare you.</p>
<p>PS. Best deli counter in the neighborhood is Milano’s Market. Expensive as **** but great, filling “home” cuisine with tons of variety and a very nice staff. Morton Williams gave me the runs the only time I tried it. Like full-on diarrhea that makes regular diarrhea look like constipation. My skin was cracking that’s how much liquid came out of me that night. Never again.</p>