Avoiding the Grocery Store
Winter weather and Covid make shopping for groceries a new kind of challenge, but your savvy neighbors have workarounds that don’t include the usual suspects of Amazon, Fresh Direct and Instacart. Here are their suggestions to get fresh produce and damn near everything else delicious delivered to your door.
Marvel Home Fresh
Located in Valley Cottage, this wholesaler has nipped and tucked its operation so that individual households can enjoy restaurant-quality staples at reasonable prices. They also offer some organic items. The site is a little confusing to navigate, but it’s local and I’m told delivery is fast and reliable.
marvelhomefresh.com
Old Hook Farm
This small New Jersey gem is buried in the burbs. They stock a good selection of pantry staples and grow organic produce in their greenhouse. The fresh ricotta (local) is spectacular and they often have fresh Meyer lemons. Orders are placed online and confirmed by telephone when ready for curbside pickup. Expect to wait a few days between ordering and pickup.
oldhookfarm.com
Baldor
A posh restaurant supply company based in the Bronx, Baldor sells to some of the best eating spots around. Venison, micro greens, exotic mushrooms…they have it all, but look carefully at quantities when ordering. One Palisadian innocently put pickles in her cart and a barrel of deli-sized dills was trucked to her doorstep.
baldorfood.com
D'Artagnan
Excellent quality poultry, meat and game. Founder Ariane Daguin practically created the organic poultry movement thirty years ago when she and her partner co-founded the company with a spectacular foie gras mousse and a rented truck. D’Artagnan products are now in stores everywhere, but the online selection is copious. Quantities are large and prices are high, but if you have freezer space, the taste is worth it. It’s also a great source for fancy foodie gifts such as a French Pâté Sampler, Duck Foie Gras, or a recipe kit for French Cassoulet.
Dartagnan.com
Barney Greengrass
The venerable Westside deli supplying New Yorkers with smoked fish, cheeses, bialys, bagels and breads for over 100 years. This place is a treasure. Whitefish salad, sliced pastrami, matzo ball soup, pickled every- thing…Yum! Deliveries are carefully tracked so perishables arrive only when you are home to receive them.
barneygreengrass.com
The Spice House
Founded in 1957 by an enterprising Chicagoan couple, this company has what you need to make everything taste better; eighteen kinds of pepper, five types of paprika, every kind of dried herb, and pre-mixed rubs and marinades that span the flavors of the globe. Products are delivered in reusable and resealable flatpacks, which might revolutionize your spice drawer.
thespicehouse.com