Best NYC neighborhood for a chowhound
I have been living on the UWS for 2 years since I commute to Long Island. Now I am being relocated to the Financial Dist. and would like to switch neighborhoods. Any suggestions? I would like to think not only about restaurants, but good groceries and specialty food stores as well.
I know, I know, I should take advantage of other neighborhoods, but with my long hours at work I tend to eat out/in close to home. So, chowhounds - if you could live in one neighborhood to make all your culinary whims convenient where would it be?
BJ
Jan 20, 2004 03:42PM
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hmm. I would say Gramercy/Union Sq. area. That way you have easy access to a host of great restaurants...and, on your way home from work, you can get off a few subway stops (or less of a cab ride) early to visit the great places in the Village/SoHo/TriBeCa. As for groceries...Friend of the Farmer is nearby and so is the Green Market in Union Square.
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Union Square seconded. Whole Foods opening shortly, access to many train lines. Within five blocks you can access U Square Cafe, Gramercy Tavern, Old Town Bar, Yama, Republic Noodles, Gotham Bar and Grill, and a host of other restaurants of many different regions and price points. As well, there is a great grocery on 14th just off 5th.
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Where are the opening the Whole Foods?
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Best neighborhood, from a "foreigner's perspective" would be the rectangular area bounded by Houston, 14th St., 1st and 7th Avenues... Washington Square is right in the middle...alot of great food in many cuisines and easy transportation uptown (both sides), downtown, and to outer boros....ALSO ALOT of "reasonably priced" gourmet stuff (pizza's, bakeries, ice creams, cafes, bars, jazz and other clubs, etc. etc.), very pedestrian-friendly...
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I'm with Mike here. For Manhattan, the Washington Square area has it all. Close proximity to 3-4 supermarkets (Morton Williams, Gristede's, Dagostino) even though I rarely shop at any of them (thank you Fresh Direct). Close enough to Union Sq. for the greenmarket/Whole Foods when they open. 2 Gourmet Garages nearby. Jefferson Market and Murray's bagels. Close to trains east and west. Citarella, Dean and Deluca. Murray's Cheese shop, Faicco's pork store. Zito's bread, Raffetto's for fresh pasta. I'm sure I could think of more.
Wish I was closer to Chelsea Market, though.
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Whole Foods will be on 14th betw. University and Broadway in the new Vornado building.
When? Who Knows?
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didn't always use to be there? I remember an organic food store there a few years ago.
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You're probably thinking of Garden of Eden. The Whole Foods is going in what was the Bradlee's on Union Square. (Hooray!)
I'm biased, but I'd choose the south side of Union Square as well. Can't beat the Greenmarket, nor the access to both high-end and cheaper places.
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I've lived in the Union Square area for many years, and I second the motion. It's GREAT here! There isn't a single kind of food I can't walk to find.
Whole Foods is supposed to open in early autumn. I think the one in Columbus Circle will open in late spring. There's nothing official, but here's where to keep watch:
http://www.wholefoods.com/stores/news...
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The one in Columbus Circle is slated to open in Feb.
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Spring and 6th/Soho
They have Blue Ribbon, Aquagrill, Fiammi all within a block of each other.
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I would agree--I live on Sullivan & Spring, and I'd say Soho is one of the best nabes for the diversity of foods available, and it's not all extremely expensive, either.
Link: http://www.nywinetour.com
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If just considering that I live on inexpensive take-out food, and wanting a variety of decent places, I'd probably pick Astoria around 30th Ave. (Decent thai, Italian, Mexican, etc. all nearby. Good produce, etc.) If I had to stay in Manhattan, I would probably pick something not far from but south of Union Square.
Considerations only in terms of food: 1) variety of delivery options and quality (mediocre Chinese take out is universally available, others may not be, so can I get thai or mexican or just diner food delivered, and if not, how far do I need to go for it?); 2) available groceries and produce (first, can you get decent quality, next is it reasonably priced, finally, is there a good variety); 3) quality of nearby restaurants, I live on take out food, but being able to go out for a quick bite is nice; 4) availability of specialty stores for food.
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i live on 12th st, near union square, and i love the selection of foods near me--esp. cheap quick fresh food. pie, mee noodles, san loco, etc. plus you have many higher end restaurants north of union sq.
i also love cornelia street:)
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the problem with south of Union Square area is that until whole foods opens up there really is no good gracery store or place with good prepared foods (at least not for the lazy or cold days) plus no good bagals.
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I'm not a big fan of this area, but on the bagel note - Murray's Bagels on 6th Ave between 12th and 13th are excellent
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And there's a decent bagel place on University around 10th. Not Murray's, but...
There's a Gristedes on 13th and 4th ave and a Dag's on universty and 11th, right??? So what other grocery stores do you find here? If it's that important, there's an Associated on 20th and Park, too.
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That Gristedes at 4th Ave. & 12th St. is one of the most disgusting "supermarkets" I've ever set foot in. Badly organized, dark & dirty, they never have what I want and it takes forever to ascertain that. Food Emporium at 14th & Union Square East is the best place for groceries in the area. I like the self-checkout.
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haven't been in years but the Food Emporium in the Zeckendorf rules! when it opened in the late 80's it was like a chow miracle to us, and we gladly traveled from the LES for a weekly trip (and we'd thought the Pathmark at the bottom of Allen was a good grocery, ha!)
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There's also an Associated/Morton Williams supermarket on Park Ave. and about 20th St. (sorry, not sure of the exact block, but it's on the southwest corner of whatever intersection it is).
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It's on the Southwest corner of E. 22nd Street and Park Avenue South. There's a bigger, often cheaper, and notably skaggier Associated on 14th Street between 1st Ave. and Avenue A.
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Years ago, I saw a mouse darting across an aisle. Then it changed to a chain drug store (Duane Reade), and then changed back to Gristede's. It's not really a grocery store anymore--no fresh stuff. They have drug store merchandise and some packaged foods, and for some reason really cheap De Cecco pasta.
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The Gristedes is definitely no longer a supermarket. It is always empty from what I've seen.
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The bagel place is Bagel Bobs... and they are my preferred bagel shop.
Other University Place-area picks:
-La Baguette Shop for great baguettes, excellent coffee, and delicious warm almond (or ham and cheese) croissants
-Tokyo La Men for huge, cheap, tasty noodle soups (but not for their sushi)
-Japonica for sushi
-Gotham and Strip House on 12th for worth-it splurge meals
-Cedar for an old-style new york tavern atmosphere
-Mandoo Bar or DoSirak on 13th st for Korean
-Borgo Antico on 13th, a quiet, underrated Italian place
-Spice for tasty, cheap thai food in an annoyingly trendy atmosphere with horrible service and long waits (but did I mention cheap and tasty?)
-El Cantinero for fajitas (but not for anything else)
and a bunch more.
There are more, but this makes for a pretty good chow neighborhood IMO, despite the lack of a decent grocery store (Healthy Pleasures or whatever they're calling themselves now is pretty horrid). But Whole Foods will change that.
And that's only 4 blocks! If you're willing to walk a few minutes, that opens up a lot of other great places in the east and west village, and union square. Proximity to so many subway lines is also a plus.
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I would posit that there's no good "plain" grocery store anywhere in Manhattan. Is there one you like in another neighborhood?
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Fairway comes to mind.
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As a non-Nyer would consider grocery stores, the ones in Manhattan all leave something to be desired. Even if you are going into a fairly decent one, you always have those skinny little aisles. (Space the one sure thing that one cannot, just cannot, buy cheaply in Manhattan.) One of the other reasons I why I would bet that the best chow neighborhood in NYC is not in Manhattan, because all of the other boroughs have bigger grocery stores.
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The Associated Supermarket on Bleecker and LaGuardia is probably the best "standard" supermarket I've seen -- the produce is decent, the aisles are wide, it doesn't smell too bad, and they have a nice foreign foods section. It's also accessible in Union Square -- not too long a walk, though not terrific.
There's also a pretty good Garden of Eden on 14th, and the Food Emporium is nice.
The other good thing about Union Square is that it has proximity to the 456 train and the L and the N,R, so you can get to lots of destinations on the East and West sides pretty easily. The L train is an easy ride to Chelsea Market, for example.
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i have to say, i don't find union square to be such a foodie paradise. it seems to be lacking in the cheap/offbeat places. i have been very chowhoundishly content in the east village (with the LES close by). Between Yonah Schimmels knishes, Prune brunches, Veselka borscht, Veniero's cheesecake, Brick lane curries, Bereket kebabs - I almost always find something to suit my mood and budget. however, yes, we do lack a good grocery store. in that regard, it's hard to beat the upper west side.
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How is the Met supermarket on 2nd Ave? The one in my neigborhood is pretty good. Also, there's a big A&P over on Ave A & 4th St. I've shopped there on occasion, and it seemed to me to be a pretty good supermarket, quite big, esp. for NYC. There are also some good produce stands on Ave. A, and a great bread store on 9th St. off 1st Ave.
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i would say east village for great variety in a nice low price range, but if you want the most convenience...don't live too far east/south. like st. mark's and 3rd, which would put you fairly close to food emporium and the greenmarket, and the 6 train to chinatown. surrounded by japanese places and a couple asian groceries. also east village cheese shop.
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I suppose I'll chime in on behalf of my nabe, as I have a hard time imagining I'd be happier elsewhere. I'm near the cross of Prince and Elizabeth, which means:
Lombardi's is a couple blocks away, and equally convenient are: Cafe Habana, Cafe El Portal, Rice to Riches, Chibi, Hoomoos Asli, Public, Peasant, Lovely Day, Cafe Gitane, Rialto, Ballato's, Savoy -- and on and on. Plus, I'm quite fond of the little Prince Farm over by Mott, there's a Met Foods at Mulberry, Dom's over on Lafayette, and -- like it or not -- Dean and Deluca has some good stuff, and it's right up Prince at Broadway.
I can walk two blocks east to the Lower East Side, and within 10 to 15 minutes can be at Katz's, Yonah Schimmel's, Russ and Daughters, Bereket, d.b.a., and the ton of other restaurants now open in the area.
From there, crossing Houston to the north lands me in the East Village -- I'll frequently walk to Max for a bowl of pasta, or head up Second Ave. to hit Pomme Frites for some fries and then Gem Spa for an egg cream. Of course, another multitude of restaurants await.
I've been known to also take the Village hike west to the Bleecker/Sixth Ave area and hit Ottomanelli's for some meat, and Rocco's for black and white cookies.
Chinatown is a five-minute southward jaunt. SOHO (proximity to The Chocolate Garden and Ben's Pizza is always a plus) officially begins three blocks due west, and the Union Square area is a two-stop, 3-minute ride on the N or R (if you don't want to bother with the relatively-easy walk).
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I've moved from the west side (34th and 9th) to the extreme east east village/alphabet city just north of houston and near the F train stop on Houston and 1st Ave. and just love it. I am walking distance from a huge variety of chowhound havens (east village ethnic eats, LES- Katz, Russ and daughter's, NOHO,SOHO, NOLITA ...Chelsea Market and the Union Square Market is just a bus ride away via the M14 crosstown that goes down Ave. A and C. The Essex Market and Chinatown is accessible via M9 Bus that comes from Union Sq. and goes down to Ave. B. all the way down on Essex. to East Broadway / Chinatown to the Financial District by way of Water St. and goes all the way the other side to Battery Park. Loads of veggie stands abound and a fairly decent Key Food on Ave. A and 4th St. and a more latin accented Fine Fare on Ave. C and 3rd. Mama's on 3rd and A serves home style comfort food with a huge side selection and there's a puerto rican joint called Casa Adela's that serves one of the best roasted chicken in the city IMHO. Lots of high quality cheap eats abound. Further north are the great japanese groceries near the st. marks area...and more restaurant options.
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