Union Market: Delish But No Bargain
Given Clinton Hill’s limited selection of gourmet food (L’Epicerie, that’s it), we decided to head over to Union Market (at Union and Sixth Avenue) in Park Slope on Saturday to shop for a dinner we were giving that night. We had a great experience–decent cheese selection, great meats, not too crowded–until we got to the…
Given Clinton Hill’s limited selection of gourmet food (L’Epicerie, that’s it), we decided to head over to Union Market (at Union and Sixth Avenue) in Park Slope on Saturday to shop for a dinner we were giving that night. We had a great experience–decent cheese selection, great meats, not too crowded–until we got to the cash register. Ouch! $1.79 for an Emmi yogurt? Manhattan prices to be sure. But the pork loin that we seasoned with just a little garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper and threw on the grill turned out great so we weren’t complaining. Guess you get what you pay for!
*A Fresh Direct truck makes many deliveries to a neighborhood each day and reduces the number of personal car trips for shopping.*
One of the reasons I live in an urban environment so I don’t need to make a car trip for groceries. I’d be surprised if the FD trucks weren’t replacing as many or more walking trips as car trips. I think their omnipresent rattling and idling Does reduce the quality of life in our neighborhoods. They are, afte all, great areas to take a walk.
I am glad the driver (anon 12:56 and earlier)is so articulate that the best he can come up with is to call a critic an idiot.
I do not use Fresh Direct but have some experience in transportation planning. To make any comparison between the use of a personal car with a delivery truck is absurd. A Fresh Direct truck makes many deliveries to a neighborhood each day and reduces the number of personal car trips for shopping. It also reduces multiple deliveries by truck to local markets.
While Fresh Direct does not pay rent to a landlord for retail space, it pays for warehouse space and workers there, trucks, drivers, taxes, etc.
I live in Carroll Gardens and have many choices for fresh food. If your local market sucks, use Fresh Direct. Your local market will improve or die.
Clinton Hill’s amenities simply have not kept up with changes in the neighborhood and Fresh Direct fills that gap admirably. I’d be first in line to shop at a local alternative, not least because FD takes a bit of planning ahead, but there isn’t one currently. Any entrepreneurs out there? I’d say Clinton Hill is one of the worst served neighborhoods when it comes to grocery shopping. Has anyone been to the Key Foods on Fulton? Their produce is a disgrace.
I’m a cheese fiend and I must say that Bierkraft (5th ave. between Union & Pres.) is by far the best place to get it. The selection is the best in Brooklyn, the cheesemongers are friendly and very knowledgable, and you get to taste everything before buying. MMmmmm…
And no, I don’t work there, I just go there all the time and am never disappointed (except last night, they were out of the Beeler Appenzeller, damn them!).
A 31ft wide mansion on Montgomery Pl. in Park Slope just came on the market for 7.5 million. Could this one break the 6.4 million record for Park Slope?
http://www.brownharrisstevens.com/detail.aspx?id=449406
Not a fan of Fresh Direct…
http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F20C17F8355B0C738FDDA90994DD404482
Be my guest David — I went there once and was as I said pleasantly surprised. That doesn’t mean I like the structure and certainly not the rest of Bruce Ratner’s plans. And I am by no means a regular shopper there — I just happened to find myself in Fort Greene on a Sunday evening in need of fresh tarragon 🙂
Did you beat the offended shopper who snatched food from your child with an oversized zuccini or something? That would have been the appropriate response if you ask me. 🙂
I love that a successful NY based start up biz is being attacked for destroying “local” jobs – How local does thi line of thinking get – should I protest a store if they dont hire people from the actual street they are on??
As for the enviromental damage caused by FD – I am faily confident that by not setting up stores all over the city (each requiring seperate deliveries to keep stocked) which each require heat lighting, and air conditioning, as well as eliminating car trips by customers and not taking up ground space for parking lots, the FD biz model is far more enviromentally sound then retail supermarkets. Idiling trucks not withstanding.
BTW – Babs you can denegrate the place all you want but I will be sure to mention during the next Atlantic Yards debate that you are a satisfied (Atlantic Mall) Pathmark shopper 🙂