Supermarkets

For the average American, supermarkets are a crucial part of everyday life - we rely on them for the essentials like chips, cereal, milk, and beer, not to mention the occasional pint of Ben & Jerry’s. I, for one, have never been a huge fan – the linoleum floors, the depressing muzak, and the dirty carts have always made shopping a chore that I have reluctantly participated in. So it came as quite a surprise that one of the things I miss most about my West Coast lifestyle is the local Safeway, and even more-so my Safeway Club Card.

Supermarkets, in the traditional sense, do not exist in Manhattan. There are no spanning 40,000 square foot spaces to house such businesses, and thus most Manhattanites are relegated to shop at simple grocery stores, or even worse, delis (a.k.a. corner stores, or as some upper-crust New Yorkers call them, “bodegas”). Local grocery chains like Gristede’s, Food Emporium, and D’Agistino have locations throughout the city, but their selection is scarce – I recently couldn’t find pickles at one of these establishments - and their prices are ridiculous.

That said, I feel lucky to be only a quarter mile from the closest grocer. We all need to eat, and it is conveniently located for when I need a $5 box of Triscuits, $1.40 yogurts, or $6 boxes of cereal – not to mention the $4 soy milk to accompany it. Given these outrageous prices I have been known to try and hunt for deals in the city, though I have found the exercise to be about as hopeless as looking for Catholics in Israel. Visits to Rite Aid for sales on cereal are often unsuccessful, as the other thrifsters tend to beat me to the good boxes. And a trip to Trader Joe’s always sounds like a good idea until I remember that it takes about forty minutes and two Subway lines to get there. The reality of city life is that deal-hunting just takes too much time. Who wants to spend their day looking for cheap toilet paper when you could be at the theater watching Patti LuPone?

Manhattan’s high grocery prices, coupled with a general lack of time for food preparation, explain why so many New Yorkers eat out on a daily basis (not to mention the plethora of fantastic restaurants). You can get a $5 wrap from a deli or pay $8 trying to make one for yourself. And, with nearly every restaurant providing free delivery, you can have good Thai, Chinese, Indian, Japanese, or American food at your door within twenty minutes of dialing. This also explains why Manhattan refrigerators are miniature versions of their suburban counterparts - they normally only contain alcohol, a bottle of ketchup, some leftovers, a Brita purifier, and gruyere (don’t ask me why, but everyone seems to have gruyere).

Given that I have absolutely no talents in the kitchen - save for a mean Kraft Mac & Cheese - and that I have never invested in good kitchenware, I am making the adjustment to the eat-out lifestyle fairly well. Yes, I miss Safeway and the 2 for 1 deals on Tostitos. And I feel sure I will always have a soft spot in my heart for pints of ice cream that are under $5. But until my Club Card can be used in the city, I guess I’ll be eating with sporks and plastic containers. Now if we could only figure out how to make take-out more eco-friendly…