Where do you grocery shop? archived

Tom Reingold recently made a google map...do a search and you will see so many people ask this same question!

As for myself, I go to Eden for produce and quick necessities, Costco to stock up on certain pantry items, organic milk/eggs, etc, Trader Joes once a month or so for things we like from there, and Pathmark once in a blue moon if I need something I know I can get there, or if I see they are having a great sale on something we like.

Have not been to the farmers mkts. this year, but I believe Mon is Maplewood (2-7), Tues is Millburn and Weds. is in SO.

Stop and Shop in Union is okay. I don't love any place around here, but that's the place I've settled into using.

the A&P on Valley is small, neat, and easy to park! I been going there for 40 years!!

Posted By: shh
As for myself, I go to Eden for produce and quick necessities, Costco to stock up on certain pantry items, organic milk/eggs, etc, Trader Joes once a month or so for things we like from there, and Pathmark once in a blue moon if I need something I know I can get there, or if I see they are having a great sale on something we like.

Pretty much the same here, except instead of Trader Joes and Pathmark, I pick up whatever I can't get at Eden and Costco over at the new Fine Fare on Irvington Avenue where the sketchy Food Town use to be. Nice place, great prices and for the time being, much better than Pathmark.

Pathmark, Extra, Eden, Shop Rite and Whole Foods in WO, Fine Fare...whever the wind takes me...mostly Pathmark though....

Corey

Fishy, what do you like at Fine Fare? The location is certainly convenient.

Shop Rite in Elizabeth, Whole Foods, Eden, Pathmark and Trader Joe's I have not been to the A&P, Fine Fare or Stop and Shop but will check them out. I go to Kings only a few times when I really need something and I am already in town.

two words: Cost Co. $4.99 pre-made oven roasted whole chicken.

Eden, Shoprite (Milburn or Garwood), Trader Joes (Westfield or Florham Park), Costco (Union or East Hanover). In an emergency we might go to Pathmark or the West Orange Shoprite.

Wow James. Metallica isn't paying what it used to!

Same chicken at Whole Foods = $11.99 (okay a little tastier but its still chicken).

Shop Rite -WO or Livingston, or on way home Millburn or Short Hills. Amazing how unique and different each Shop Rite is, except for mostly nasty cashiers which they seem to specialize in (the cashiers who have been working there for years are the exception, especially morning people)

Whole Foods- West Orange and Millburn-watch for specials, great pricing

Stop and Shop in Union is great IMO. Great prices, clean, organized and can always find what you need.

Mostly Eden's for produce, Shop Rite in Millburn and Costco in E. Hanover for staples, and Whole Foods for a few other items. I have to try the Stop n Shop in Union at some point.

Posted By: shhFishy, what do you like at Fine Fare?

The prices! :rolling:

I've tried some REALLY well priced meat there (though I know that's not relevant to your diet). I smoked a three and a half pound Purdue chicken last night that I bought for $2.61. It was delicious.

But yeah, they have a fantastic international sections and well-priced packaged stuff... Cans, rice, that sort of thing.

Oh cool...I might have to try it.

$2.61. Even uncooked, thats cheap.

(Sorry, my post was slightly confusing. It was uncooked. I cooked it. And quite fabulously, I might add.)

spenn66,

If the local Pathmark is too large and overwhelming for you, try the A&P next door. It isn't the most appealing place, but its pace is definitely less frenetic. When I was recovering from a surgery and in PT I found I preferred to go there. In the past the store has been cited for selling meat beyond the sell-by date, so I'd be diligent about inspecting the meat packages.

Eden Gourmet in SO is also smaller and very nice. If you stick with what is on sale you can get good prices on very nice meats and such (same with King's in Maplewood). It is unusually arranged, so that takes some getting used to.

If you are stuck shopping on weekends you might find Eden G too crowded, but during weekdays it is very civilized. King's in Maplewood can be too crowded if there are a couple of mom's with baby carts (why can't they leave them outside!!!!--the strollers, not the babies).

In general, I cry with jealousy when I am traveling and visit grocery stores almost anywhere else in the U.S. Somehow this region just s....ks when it comes to matching the quality of grocery stores the rest of the country takes for granted.

As for where I shop on a regular basis: Pathmark, ShopRite on Morris Ave near Short Hills. Both take some getting used to. Other pit stops (dirven by sales, when I want a specific specialty, where I happen to be): King's Maplewood, other ShopRites in WO or Millburn, Eden Gourmet.

I cannot find anything I used to buy in the old Whole Foods at the new one on Springfield Ave, find the store somewhat overwhelming and dislike dealing with the other customers (who, much like those at the Kings in Short Hills, seem to stop in the middle of aisles, dawdle over every purchase and eminate a sense of entitlement).

I like Stop & Shop in Union. It's clean, spacious, and I like their line of organic foods.

1. Shop Eden for all fresh stuff...fruit, vegetables, meat, fish
2. Shop Costco for bulk items...paper products, laundry products, soap, drinks
3. Shop Shop Rite/Livingston for all other items...normal quantities of canned, refrigerated & frozen products
4. Shop CVS/Millburn for prescriptions and OTC's
5. Shop Trader Joe's/Florham Park for dried fruit & nuts
6. Shop Sorrento's/East Hanover for bakery items

Eden for our daily shop (veggies/fruits) and cold cuts. Costco for bulk stuff, plus meats, Goya rice and beans, milk, OJ, butter. Trader Joes for cereal bars (90% of my kids' diet) and pretty much all snack and premade food. (We love their frozen french fries, frozen risotto, frozen veggies, frozen pizza and my husband loves their indian lunches.) Once a month I hit a grocery store for Marie's Salad Dressing (I'm addicted) and Glass Plus for my dishwasher. ALTHOUGH! Target has just started selling this stuff called LemiShine, which works better and is cheaper than Glass Plus.

Nothing can beat that Costco rotissere chicken.

For those who think chicken is chicken. Watch some of those shows that show you how they are raised...scary!

It's about what they are fed, whether they are free range, what kind of farms they come from. Murray's chicken is one of the best grades, small farms within the tri-state area. See below quote from their website.

EDEN GOURMET carries Murray's, it's worth the price when you think of what you're putting into your body.

http://murrayschicken.com/farm_verification.php

"Murray’s Chickens are raised in the heart of Pennsylvania’s Lancaster countryside by a select number of family farms that embrace our vision. The royal treatment at their homes meets and exceeds the guidelines as specified under the Certified Humane Raised and Handled label. Our birds have access to fresh air and sun and combine an all-natural, all-vegetable diet with plenty of exercise."

Oh--Antonio's Mozzarella Factory for sausages and of course mozzarella.

Its nice to know that Murray's treats their birds humanely (before they slit their throats, that is). Are the under $4.99 (cooked) or $2.61 (uncooked)?

The rotisserie chicken at Eden is usually just $6 (the wife says it's on sale for $5 this week) and it's great. We're big fans.

Nice.

I don't do the shopping anymore (other than quick trips, mostly to PathMark or Kings, for something we've run out of between big trips or if I'm at Target for something else and sometimes pick up a few items in their grocery dept.) The shoppers in my family (husband and kid #2 who is also chief cook) go to ShopRite in Millburn and Whole Foods on SA for the big trip each week. Occasionally we go to Eden and like it very much, but since we live on the Millburn side of Maplewood, it just doesn't seem quite as accessible. When my shopper kid starts up with art classes at the Baird in the fall, Eden may figure in more frequently again. She LOVES it!

My basics are generally from Stop & Shop in Union. I, too, really like their organic/natural brand: Nature's Promise. The store is clean and laid out well.

However, my all-time favourite (at least in this part of the country) is Wegman's in Woodbridge. Totally worth the 20 minute drive. Again, big fan of their store brand items for the most part. It makes a significant difference in my grocery bill compared to shopping around here.

Usually Shop rite in Millburn or Stop n shop in Union...costco for the bulk items and once a month Wegman's in Woodbridge...Love that store...buy certain items there plus love their produce...