Just had a thought - where do native New Yorkers buy their everyday groceries? (You know, stuff like jars of coffee, eggs, bacon) Do you go out of Manhattan to get them? I don't remember seeing anywhere last time we were there but then again I wasn't really looking!

Gytha

No, there are tons of grocery stores in the residential areas of Manhattan - although prices are very high due to the costs of rent/taxes, etc. People who live in the city often do shop in the suburbs if they have a job there/are visiting friends, etc. to save money though.

Tourists just rarely see residential areas. The relatively few people who live in the tourist-frequented areas either use delis or have groceries delivered. (Yes, groceries - and everything else - are routinely delivered in Manhattan - either for a $2 charge or a tip. Inexpensive restaurants do a huge part of their business via delivery.)

Yep -- grocery stores just like you have where you live. Only much smaller and with less selection (generally). NYers also tend to shop more like Europeans -- they frequent specialty markets like a cheese shop for cheese, a butcher for meat, a fishmonger for fish, etc. They also tend to shop more frequently -- it's a necessity when you have to carry it all home! Sometimes I would hit the grocery store 4-5 times a week.

We tend to eat out or take in more often than people. My GF and I do so on average of 4-5 times a week, most often in Chinatown, the East Village or Chelsea. It's much easier after a full day of work and running around in NY.

We buy vegetables, fruits and fish from the local shops or street stands in Chinatown.

Weekends we hit the Union Square market or the specialty shops in Chelsea Market. I'm a coffee lover and buy my beans whole from Porto Rico on Bleecker Street or McNullty's on Christopher Street.

We have regular supermarkets, but honestly, it is just cheaper and easier to pick up prepared food. Especially if it is just 2 of you otherwise a lot of it goes to waste. I usually run into my local gourmet shop on my way home and grab a few things that I need. Like most people in the city I have a small kitchen and don't have the room to bulk shop which is why grocery items are more expensive. I also do a major shop through Fresh Direct once a month for canned goods, beverages, frozen stuff, etc. Fresh Direct is an on-line grocery. Just click, order, and it arrives at your door. Gotta love NY!

My local supermarket is absolutely vile and I have refused to shop there for many years. Dirty, abominable customer service, rotten selection, disgusting produce, overpriced. I used to drive to NJ every weekend to shop, but like bugswife, I have become a big Fresh Direct consumer. I still go to NJ once in a while for a better selection of grocery items like soda and cat food, but I buy all of my dairy, produce, meat, deli etc from Fresh Direct. And you can't beat delivery to your door. Fortunately, I, like most of the other posters that have responded, can afford to use these decidedly middle class options. Unfortunately, my neighbors of lesser means are forced to shop at places like my local Gristedes market, keeping these sad excuses for markets in business.

I live on the upper west side and within a less than 10 minute walk from my apartment there are 5 Mom and Pop grocery stores, three mini markets and 5 large supermarkets. We are not lacking for places to shop for groceries.

I live in a residential area of Manhattan, very close to Central Park, and have two well-stocked & clean supermarkets within 3 blocks, not to mention zillions of specialty stores.

Despite all that, I buy most of my eat-at-home food from Fresh Direct, which absolutely rocks, www.freshdirect.com. The prices are better and the good stuff is delivered to my door -- and it doesn't matter if I'm not home 'cause my doormen will take care of it for me. I love New York!

There is nothing like ordering your groceries from the comfort of your home, then having someone deliver them.
I just have to get someone to put them away and cook them and I will be all set.

I always say I have to go to 4 different stores just to make a sandwich (one for bread, one for lettuce/tomato, one for sandwich meat, one for condiments). Crazy as this sounds, all are within about 4 blocks of where I live. I also do go to the local grocery store for the basics, but also hit costco in queens or NJ and suburbon grocery stores when I have a chance, or better yet, Stew Leonards in Yonkers! If only they would put a Fairway in my neighborhood...

Like many others on this board, I go to local grocery stores in my neighborhood for perishables. There are lots of chain groceries such as D'Agastino, Gristede's, Food Emporium. But I eat out a lot and I also go to Costco in Brooklyn for bulk items.

Some of the large grocery stores in the city are actually below street level which may be one reason why you are not so aware of them.

I've got my small Korean grocery store a block away, which I stop at every other day for milk, fruit, snacks, etc.

For large grocery orders I go on the internet and order thru Fresh Direct - one of the best things to ever happen to NYC! They're much cheaper than grocery stores and deliver for $4 and don't accept tips. They also have the best cuts of meat and very good produce. The days of schlepping groceries half a mile are over for me - thank God!

But the truth is...I only cook at home once or twice a week anyway. Most nights I eat dinner at the office (my leftover lunch) or out with friends.

Shop? We go out to dinner every night. Who needs supermarkets?

Heh, heh. They're there - you just didn't notice them. They're not like your surburbian/exurbian supermarkets with the huge sales posters using up all the window space.

Gristedes
D'Agastino's
Food Emporium
Eli's
Dean and DeLuca
Fairway
Citarella
Zabar's