EmilyC

This store looks like it would be great to visit on our upcoming trip to NYC. It looks like they have great bagels and coffee - can you eat in the store or is it "just" a market??

We have also enjoyed Chelsea market and the market in Grand Central - any other spots like that?

Centralparkgirl

Next to the store is a cafe where you can eat, but in the store you can request samples and nosh your way through. It helps if you're actually making a purchase to ask for samples before buying.

Centralparkgirl

If that wasn't clear, what I meant was that you can't stand at the cheese counter, ask for five samples and then walk away - IMO.

janie

Zabar's is a huge (by Manhattan standards, anyway) store and there is a tiny stand up counter cafe next door. The "menu" there is pretty limited though--bagels, coffee, knishes, some soups and readymade sandwiches.
Saturdays and Sundays are the busiest in the store, but also the days with the most samples Lots of vendors come then to show off their products.
Though Zabar's bagels are fine, H&H right across the street is in a category by itself, so why not get your bagel fix there?

If you're a foodie coming to the area, also take a stroll a few blocks down to Citarella and Fairway.
Citarella started as a fish and meat market, but is a more general upscale gourmet market now. Fairway, right next door is a great big mess of a produce market, gourmet market, supermarket with a terrific cafe and steakhouse upstairs. I love lunch or brunch there.

EmilyC

Sounds great..maybe we will go up there on Saturday morning. Do bagels, then go to Zabar's. Would it be horribly crowded say around 9 on a Saturday morning??

EmilyC

oooppps. I meant to say H&H for bagels first...

janie

They open at 8 on Saturdays, so while there are definitely people there,(some waiting for the doors to open) the crush comes later.
H&H lines move fast.
Are you coming this weekend? Superbowl Weekend is a crazy time to be near food stores.

Aduchamp1

If you like Chelsea and Grand Central, you will love Zabar's. They claim to sell more lox and coffee than any other store in NYC. The preapred foods are extremely varied and excellent and they have their own spice brand. Their house brand extra virgin olive oil is a well known bargain.Do not forget to go upstairs for cooking utensils, it is among the best.

Also sharpen your elbows. It is usually a free-for-all especially on the weekends.

Scarlett

"This store looks like it would be great to visit ..."
I think this store is great to visit no matter what !
My children grew up on Zabars :- )

If you just go to http://www.zabars.com/ you can see what is in store for you ..

You will want to spend hours there, the food ranges from local and NY sort of foods to exotic and expensive and then there are the baked goods and cheeses and then there is the kitchen department with the pots and pans etc.

I still have ( living in Buenos Aires now) the set of Zabars dishes that our friend ( part of the Zabar family) gave me for my birthday, in the 80s... their stuff lasts !!

If I were asked what stores in NY I miss the most, Zabars is right up there at the top of that list !

Somewhere, I can't find it now- is a great photo, of a collage of photos of people in cities all over the world, carrying a Zabars shopping bag.. it is great..be sure to bring your bags home with you

sf7307

Do not forget to go upstairs for cooking utensils, it is among the best.

I'm not much of a cook, but I love kitchen stuff and markets. I go out of my way to visit Zabar's upstairs when I am in New York - that's how much I love the cooking utensils department! And Fairway - what can I say - Sunday morning at Fairway for me is like the Louvre for others!

Centralparkgirl

What's wrong with Fairway on Saturday morning?

Emily - if you're in the market for a great babka, there's a bakery near Zabar's on Broadway between 78th and 77th called Europan - it's to die for!

sf7307

What's wrong with Fairway on Saturday morning?

I've never been there on a Saturday morning

EmilyC

OK, I'll bite - what's a babka??

sf7307

Just google the word "babka" and the first thing that comes up is some pictures. Kind of a coffee cake.

Aduchamp1

A babka is a cake usually of chocolate or cinammon baked of Eatern European origin. Most versions are more crumbly than moist.

Both Fairways and Zabar's are human zoos. They have narrow aisles filled Upper Westsiders and other on a mission. One must remember that the UWS used to have the most pyschiatists per square mile than any other neighborhood in the world.

nytraveler

I think it still does.

Centralparkgirl

Babka is baked with yeast - inside kind of flaky with the top having crumbs loaded with cinnamon - it's usually baked in a loaf pan and you slice it. I mentioned it because that bakery has an excellent version of it. Some bakery's cakes are lead weights - this one is delicious.

sandi

To each their own, but H&H Bagels don't do it for me.

katrinab

i have such fond memories of zabar's! my grandparents used to take me there when i was little. we always ate their rolls--to die for!

mohan

Zabar claimed to make the best crossant in NYC. If you like chocolate, try the one with chocolate in it.

They also sell fresh squeezed OJ in a bottle. It is on the left hand side as you enter the store. I would get that and go over to the cafe to have coffee and crossant.

if you like cheese, you are in heaven as they have a good selection. The price is a whole lot better than most places.

The cooked food is also great. I usually make my trip worthwhile by getting a couple of salads, some prochutto, smoked salmon and nice bread. Cookies and chocolates are great too. Everything is great really.

There are teas you can only find there.

There is great bargain shopping like fllene basement etc right across the street, I usually do those for a couple of hours then go to H & H bagal for a bite. Then head a few blocks downtown on the same side to Barney's.

There is plenty to shop and eat in that neighbohood.

Enjoy!