Simon Posted January 24 Share Posted January 24 The recent elegaic posts on Morscher's (which, as a relative newcomer to NYC, I had never heard of) has prompted me to seek the board's collective wisdom: what are the uniquely great food shops in New York? (And thank you to Sneak, both for his Morscher's posts and for prompting me to post this question here.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sneakeater Posted January 24 Share Posted January 24 Some that I've already BCed to Simon: Russ & Daughters (DUH) Sahadi (DUH) Kalustyan (DUH) Pino's Prime Meats Faiccio's Sun Ming Jan Georgian Bakery or Berkoni Georgian Bakery Tashkent Supermarket Aigner Chocolates Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
small h Posted January 24 Share Posted January 24 New Kam Man Ni Japanese Deli Nordic Preserves Di Palo's Aquabest Despana Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MitchW Posted January 24 Share Posted January 24 (edited) Great suggestions above. Allow me to pile on. If you really wanna get high-end crazy on meats, there's always Lobel's. Pino's is great, though in a different way...it's so old school! Same with (imo) Florence Meat Market and O. Ottomanelli on Bleecker...right near Faicco's, as a matter of fact. And don't discount the newfangled butchers, such as Ends' Meats at Essex Market. While you're downtown at Pino's, Raffetto's is nice for pastas; their ravioli are quite good and great to have a bunch in the freezer for a quick meal. I couldn't live without Formaggio Essex nearby - it's really one of, if not the best, cheese purveryors in the city. With a lot of other goodies on hand. H Mart is a good resource for many Asian products. And it's, (ahem) cleaner than many of the Chinatown supermarkets. SOS Chefs for stuff you can't get anywhere else. Orawasher's for some old school still real Jewish breads (and others). A number of places now making quite serviceable baguettes and other breads. Le Fournil, Party Bus, Pain d'Avignon, Bread Story, et al. Lost Bread and others at the farmer's market a couple of times a week. (and there's always the possibility of stealing a loaf from Foxface one night). Economy Candy - no where else like it in the world! For chocolate I happen to like Jacques Torres. Il Laboratorio still remains my favorite ice cream shop in the city. Obviously, everything I've listed is in Manhattan, and below 96th St. Hey - it's where I live, what can I say. I've been known to take drives to outlying food shopping areas, especially the Brighton Beach/Sheepshead Bay enclaves. They may not be necessary, but they're fun. Edited January 25 by MitchW Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony Bonner Posted January 24 Share Posted January 24 Muncan (tho I think they use too much liquid smoke) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony Bonner Posted January 24 Share Posted January 24 Anyone want to do the same thread for mail-order stuff? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony Bonner Posted January 24 Share Posted January 24 Florence takes cards. Pino's doesn't. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sneakeater Posted January 25 Share Posted January 25 How did I forget Vincent's Meat Market on Arthur Avenue? And of course the Arthur Avenue Market? Worth stopping in Borgotti's Ravioli & Egg Noodles while you're up there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wilfrid Posted January 25 Share Posted January 25 Formaggio is now the best cheese shop in the city. Saxelby’s is not what it was following Anne’s tragic death. Murray’s has loads of cheese in an impersonal kind of way. Bedford Ave can’t be trusted any more. NY Bread Inc near Coney Island, despite the name, has one of the best selections of European charcuterie. Headcheese HQ. Schaller & Weber is still high quality for wursts, smoked meats, head cheeses and a small but fine selection of German beers. Downstairs at Chelsea Markets, Buon’ Italia is a great boutique Italian store for truffles, foie gras, fancy oils, a big range of pasta. In Arthur Avenue’s market building, look for Peter’s butcher store and then look to the right for the sometimes untended counters that are part of the same business. That’s where the good stuff is; tripe and lungs and sweetbreads and so on. Best Chinese supermarket, Hong Kong on the corner of Elizabeth and Hesther. Ducks, quail, rabbits, every pork part, huge tubs of shucked oysters, fresh fish, every kind of dumpling and noodle in the world, and, yes, bulls’ penises. And everything else. Be prepared to shop assertively, but you can have some fun conversations in line for check out about what on earth you have bought. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wilfrid Posted January 25 Share Posted January 25 Oh how could I forget Bayard Meat Market on Bayard Street? Not only fine birds, partridges and quail and the black chicken (for soup and stews only), but really good and inexpensive seafood and, pardon me, pig’s bung. Similar to chitterlings and amazing roasted to crisp or stuffed and baked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orik Posted January 25 Share Posted January 25 I have to tell you that the Ukrainian meat market (Baczynsky) brings out freshly smoked meats on Saturdays (maybe Fridays too) that are quite spectacular, especially if you eat them prior to any kind of refrigeration. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orik Posted January 25 Share Posted January 25 4 hours ago, Sneakeater said: Kalustyan (DUH) New Foods of India, right to the south of Kalustyan's, has a good selection too (smaller, of course) and in particular carries fresh fenugreek (methi) leaves that you can use together with dried ones to make a spectacular Ghormeh Sabzi. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orik Posted January 25 Share Posted January 25 1 hour ago, Wilfrid said: Downstairs at Chelsea Markets, Buon’ Italia is a great boutique Italian store for truffles, foie gras, fancy oils, a big range of pasta. Dickson's has some excellent aged steaks (Martin's?) and well marbled pork chops, while you're there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wilfrid Posted January 25 Share Posted January 25 And I echo the mention of Ends’ Meats which sold me a quail on the meaty scale of the last quail I ate at Foxface. I need to try their other stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wilfrid Posted January 25 Share Posted January 25 If you’re out Bushwick way, Foster’s Sundry is a wild over-achiever. A real butcher shop in the back, breaking the critters down, often to rarely seen cuts, a very good cheese selection, cold meats, Rancho Gordo (whoever he is) products, fancy beers and always unexpected things like tubs of rillettes in the fridge. Can’t think of anywhere else that covers all those bases. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orik Posted January 25 Share Posted January 25 The Japanese fish counter @ Wegman's. Use it while it lasts, these are some terrific fish at very fair prices. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sneakeater Posted January 25 Share Posted January 25 11 hours ago, Wilfrid said: If you’re out Bushwick way, Foster’s Sundry is a wild over-achiever. A real butcher shop in the back, breaking the critters down, often to rarely seen cuts, a very good cheese selection, cold meats, Rancho Gordo (whoever he is) products, fancy beers and always unexpected things like tubs of rillettes in the fridge. Can’t think of anywhere else that covers all those bases. I'll soon be within walking distance of Foster Sundry. That should help quell the depression. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MitchW Posted January 25 Share Posted January 25 12 hours ago, Orik said: New Foods of India, right to the south of Kalustyan's, has a good selection too (smaller, of course) and in particular carries fresh fenugreek (methi) leaves that you can use together with dried ones to make a spectacular Ghormeh Sabzi. I don't want to say who told me that he always liked this store moreso than Kalustyan's, but he might have had a restaurant at one time, named Devi. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wilfrid Posted January 25 Share Posted January 25 There used to be a shop on First Avenue, underneath that second floor Sri Lankan restaurant, that not only had beers from all over the world but was also like a mini Kalustyan's. Is it still open? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orik Posted January 25 Share Posted January 25 Dual (sometimes Duals, fka. Dowal) Still there (and they have an herbalist upstairs now) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sneakeater Posted January 25 Share Posted January 25 (edited) Hmmmmmmmmmm https://ny.eater.com/2024/1/25/24001540/best-sicily-bottega-big-arancini-financial-district-manhattan I guess I can also mention Un Posto Italiano in Park Slope, although places like that (and the one I link to above) don't seem very "only in New York" to me, but rather "evoking places other than New York". Edited January 25 by Sneakeater Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orik Posted January 25 Share Posted January 25 31 minutes ago, MitchW said: I don't want to say who told me that he always liked this store moreso than Kalustyan's, but he might have had a restaurant at one time, named Devi. I remember that. I think he later got shipped to the farm upstate. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sneakeater Posted January 25 Share Posted January 25 (edited) 32 minutes ago, Sneakeater said: I guess I can also mention Un Posto Italiano in Park Slope, although places like that (and the one I link to above) don't seem very "only in New York" to me, but rather "evoking places other than New York". I even think I know what I meant by that. Stores like Morscher's or Kalustyan or Sahadi or Pino's were started by immigrants living in immigrant communities to serve their fellow immigrants. They're "only in New York" places because only in a global metropolis like New York do you have so many different immigrant communities in close proximity. Whereas a store like Un Posto Italiano -- which I adore, don't get me wrong -- was opened by people living in an upscale neighborhood who happen to be from some other country, selling products from their native region not to a community of fellow immigrants but to their upscale neighbors. The store could be anywhere (the Abruzzan architect who started it could just as well have moved to Dallas). Edited January 25 by Sneakeater 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wilfrid Posted January 25 Share Posted January 25 1 hour ago, Orik said: Dual (sometimes Duals, fka. Dowal) Still there (and they have an herbalist upstairs now) Yes, that's it. Good to know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
voyager Posted January 26 Share Posted January 26 9 hours ago, Sneakeater said: I even think I know what I meant by that. Stores like Morscher's or Kalustyan or Sahadi or Pino's were started by immigrants living in immigrant communities to serve their fellow immigrants. They're "only in New York" places because only in a global metropolis like New York do you have so many different immigrant communities in close proximity. Whereas a store like Un Posto Italiano -- which I adore, don't get me wrong -- was opened by people living in an upscale neighborhood who happen to be from some other country, selling products from their native region not to a community of fellow immigrants but to their upscale neighbors. The store could be anywhere (the Abruzzan architect who started it could just as well have moved to Dallas). Important distinction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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