| Author |
Message |
    
greenetree
Supporter
Username: Greenetree
Post Number: 1684
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Friday, August 8, 2003 - 12:36 am: |     |
Stopped in last night to pick up a couple things. The place is out of food. Apparently, someone made the brilliant decision to stay open during renovation. So as to make the job easier, they will not be ordering any more merchandise/food/whatever for the next two months.
Does this make a drop of sense to anyone? Why stay open if they have nothing to sell? |
Sarah McNamara
Citizen
Username: Smcnamara
Post Number: 9
Registered: 6-2003
| | Posted on Friday, August 8, 2003 - 9:07 am: | |
I agree. I was in earlier this week and encountered the same problem. I asked at the service desk about a particular cereal, and when the woman called the manager to check if they had any in the back, the manager said that she'd gotten lots of requests for this item and would order it and have it in on Thursday. It actually did reappear on Thursday. |
Mummite
Citizen
Username: Mummite
Post Number: 7
Registered: 6-2003
| | Posted on Friday, August 8, 2003 - 11:36 am: | |
I'm about to move to the area - where are the popular places to shop for groceries? I went in Kings which is lovely but is it cost effective for the weekly shop?! Is there a choice of large-chain grocers? I don't suppose there are any that deliver...? |
viva
Citizen
Username: Viva
Post Number: 277
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Friday, August 8, 2003 - 12:08 pm: | |
there is a whole foods store in madison, right on main street. why not go there in the interim? if you go on sunday, stop in the main street cafe for a nice, reasonably priced brunch. (they have a liquor license, too) |
newjerz
Citizen
Username: Newjerz
Post Number: 84
Registered: 5-2003
| | Posted on Friday, August 8, 2003 - 12:13 pm: | |
The best supermarket in the area is Pathmark on Valley . . . who needs this whole foods fancy schmancy stuff. |
viva
Citizen
Username: Viva
Post Number: 278
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Friday, August 8, 2003 - 12:20 pm: | |
to each his own, newjerz.
i hate pathmark. in fact, i hate any supermarket that i can't get in and out of in less than 30 minutes. i do my regular weekly shopping at shoprite on main street in millburn, and fill in at whole foods. since whole foods (fresh fields) opened, i only shop at kings if i'm walking in and around maplewood village. |
jfburch
Citizen
Username: Jfburch
Post Number: 686
Registered: 6-2001
| | Posted on Friday, August 8, 2003 - 12:55 pm: | |
I use Kings for milk runs, produce--selectively, a couple of things for dinner, deli and ice-cream specials, and their Kings card specials on stuff we buy anyway--they can be really good deals.
Trader Joe's about every other week for lots of staples and random good deals. Whole Foods for meat and a few things I don't find elsewhere, plus Milk and produce when I'm there, maybe once a month.
Pathmark or FoodTown for household/paper products (when we run out or can't get it at Costco), and a few things we don't find elsewhere, maybe once a month or every other. |
sac
Citizen
Username: Sac
Post Number: 656
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Friday, August 8, 2003 - 1:55 pm: | |
I'm like Viva. Every time I decide to give Pathmark another try, I regret the decision. I mainly shop at the Millburn ShopRite, even though I wish it wasn't so cramped. I do fill in at Whole Foods and make quicky trips to Kings fairly often and I also go to the Springfield FoodTown about once a month instead of ShopRite since there are a few items on my regular list that I find there instead. There are one or two items that I can only find at A&P, which also carries wine, unlike the others. But I avoid A&P otherwise. They do not do a very good job with meat and other perishable items which often seem to be past their dates or otherwise just not fresh. There is a bigger ShopRite on Morris Avenue in Union, but I really don't like shopping there very much. Despite the additional size, it always seems very crowded in the aisles and checkout lanes. The exception is for bakery items - see the Birthday Cake thread for that topic.
In general, there are no really nice grocery stores around here and I wish that something could be done to improve that situation. Every time I go on vacation and have a chance to shop in the very spacious and clean stores that seem to be everywhere else, I get envious. |
stefano
Citizen
Username: Stefano
Post Number: 343
Registered: 2-2002
| | Posted on Friday, August 8, 2003 - 2:08 pm: | |
Half Foods |
lnt
Citizen
Username: Lnt
Post Number: 3
Registered: 6-2003
| | Posted on Friday, August 8, 2003 - 2:43 pm: | |
Where's the Trader Joe's? |
gretchen
Citizen
Username: Gretchen
Post Number: 52
Registered: 8-2001
| | Posted on Friday, August 8, 2003 - 3:17 pm: | |
Trader Joe's is in Floram Park (stay on S.O. Ave past the Livingston Mall) and also in Westfield. The Westfield one sells wine, which is a big plus. I shop Trader Joes for parties. I used to shop Fresh Fields for the same purpose and spend 4 times as much.
I love to cook and I can't stand to shop at a store that doesn't carry many items or-worse-sells cilantro all shrink-wrapped and wilted. There's nothing worse for me than coming home from the store still missing one or two things from each night's dinner plan.
I will always remember the first weekend we moved here--we were going to make some guacamole and salsa and I went to 3 stores in search of jalapenos and had to give up. The produce guy at Kings told me "We used to carry them, but noone bought them". I think I looked at him like he had 3 heads. What kind of mistake had I made--moving somewhere where you can't buy a jalapeno!!!!
Anyway, I go all the way to the Livingston Shop Rite for my weekly shopping. They have the best produce department I've seen around here (I can't afford to shop at Kings on a regular basis) and it's a big store without huge waits at the check-out.
They used to have these clip on cup holders so you could drink coffee and shop. I'm still mourning their loss (I think people took them).
I think the Shop Rite at Essex Green is pretty much like the Livingston one, but the one time I went there they had shrink-wrapped the basil, which gives it a big black mark in my book.
If I had unlimited funds I'd probably shop at "Big Kings" on Morris Ave.
|
jfburch
Citizen
Username: Jfburch
Post Number: 687
Registered: 6-2001
| | Posted on Friday, August 8, 2003 - 3:18 pm: | |
There's one in Florham Park on the Columbia Turnpike and one in Westfield Center. I like the Florham Park store better but Westfield has beer and wine. |
jfburch
Citizen
Username: Jfburch
Post Number: 688
Registered: 6-2001
| | Posted on Friday, August 8, 2003 - 3:19 pm: | |
(slippage) |
Joan
Citizen
Username: Joancrystal
Post Number: 1841
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Friday, August 8, 2003 - 5:14 pm: | |
I do most of my general supermarket shoping at Shoprite in Livingston and fill in with monthly runs to Costco. |
Lizziecat
Citizen
Username: Lizziecat
Post Number: 14
Registered: 5-2003
| | Posted on Friday, August 8, 2003 - 6:57 pm: | |
I shop at Kings Livingston, Pathmark at Livingston Circle, Whole Foods for things like organic shampoos, soaps and toothpaste (I'm allergic to the preservative in regular toothpaste). I go to Costco for things like bottled water, paper towels and detergent, and sometimes books. I would never buy meat or perishable foods at Costco--it just isn't clean. And in summer I buy all my produce at the farmers' market. |
Phil
Citizen
Username: Barleyrooty
Post Number: 686
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Saturday, August 9, 2003 - 5:49 am: | |
Shoprite in Livingstone is very cool. |
Sylvester De Lilac
Citizen
Username: Delilac
Post Number: 7
Registered: 4-2003
| | Posted on Saturday, August 9, 2003 - 9:16 am: | |
Don't forget the fabulous Sbenois Super Emporium in Maplewood's Ricalton Square. The veggie and fresh fish departments are superb. So is the European bread selection. And the cheeses! The samples! Sometimes the samples are so big that I don't even buy any food for dinner because I'm already full when I walk out.
I've purchased some of the most exotic gourmet items in that place. There has never been a single time when I wasn't greeted at the entrance with an aisle map and a cup of cappuchino.
Sbenois, you sure do understand the importance of making your customers happy.
Kudos to you. |
Elizabeth
Citizen
Username: Elizabeth
Post Number: 216
Registered: 7-2002
| | Posted on Sunday, August 10, 2003 - 9:01 am: | |
And from the SO side of the tracks, people here go to the Shoprite in Livingston or West Orange with fill-ins from Whole Foods or Kings (in Maplewood village or Livingston). I hate the Pathmark on Valley.
My grocery store fantasy is that Wegmans realizes that millions in Maplewood/SO grocery money is going to Shoprite in Livingston and Millburn. So they buy the Pathway on Valley and turn it into a place we all love to shop. |
papayagirl
Citizen
Username: Papayagirl
Post Number: 100
Registered: 6-2002
| | Posted on Monday, August 11, 2003 - 12:38 am: | |
Shoprite (WO): About once a month, when i need to stock up on everything under the sun, and when i have lots of time to play and explore.
Pathmark: When i need lots of stuff that doesn't include meat. I find they have the largest & cheapest selection of canned goods, frozen items, etc. (And they always have jalapenos.)
Shoprite (Millburn): Weekly trips for recipe items, including meat.
Shoprite (Union): Similar to the above. I actually prefer this store over Millburn because they have more interesting items, but the lines are always inexplicably and prohibitively long.
Kings (the village): Quick trips for meat or missing dinner items in the 20 minutes between when the train drops me off and the jitney takes me home.
A&P (Maplewood): When i need 1-2 non-perishable items and have not a second to spare (e.g., guests will be here in 5 minutes).
Whole Foods: Fish, breads items, and when i'm in the mood to pay more for nice-looking produce.
Trader Joes (Westfield): About once a month, to replenish our supply of about 5-10 things we can't live without (mostly salad dressings and frozen stuff).
Costco: Veggies and hummous; meat and rolls for parties.
The Kings in short hills is nice, but i don't think they have anything that's worth going all the way there for. Ditto for the shoprite across the street. And the Stop & Shop in Union was pretty miserable.
I read on MOL a while back about a big A&P off of rt. 22 somewhere. I keep meaning to find it and check it out. And I can only dream of a Wegmans. |
shoshannah
Citizen
Username: Shoshannah
Post Number: 196
Registered: 7-2002
| | Posted on Monday, August 11, 2003 - 10:02 am: | |
Did anyone check out the report on food markets in the current issue of Consumer Reports? Wegmans is ranked #2 overall in the country. ShopRite is #18 overall and #1 in the NY/NJ area. Costco is #1 (out of three) in the warehouse category. Trader Joes was ranked excellent on price in the specialty store category, while Whole Foods, in the same category, was ranked poor on price. More than 50 stores were evaluated. |
sac
Citizen
Username: Sac
Post Number: 660
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Monday, August 11, 2003 - 5:41 pm: | |
If you have reason to be in the Chatham/Madison area (as I do occasionally when I take my Honda for service in Madison), you might want to check out the Stop & Shop there. It is in the same center as Jaeger Lumber, on the left along Route 124 before you get to the center of town.
I think that the big A&P mentioned above is the one in Kenilworth. I have gotten there from the Kenilworth exit from the Parkway. (The store is just west of the Parkway.) Like the Madison Stop & Shop, it is a nice store but just a little bit outside my radius of "normal grocery shopping". |
Iaowks Reingold
Citizen
Username: Noglider
Post Number: 370
Registered: 1-2003
| | Posted on Monday, August 11, 2003 - 6:34 pm: | |
greenetree, what are you talking about? I was at Whole Foods on Friday, and there was plenty of food. The only thing they weren't stocking was the bulk area, i.e. grains, nuts, etc. that you pack yourself and pay for by the pound.
Tom Reingold
|
amandacat
Citizen
Username: Amandacat
Post Number: 195
Registered: 8-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, August 12, 2003 - 11:23 am: | |
I thought I knew about all the supermarkets in the immediate area, but you guys are stumping me on this Kings in Livingston thing. There's a Kings in Livingston? Where? Is it closer to M/SO than the one in Short Hills? |
algebra2
Citizen
Username: Algebra2
Post Number: 1147
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, August 12, 2003 - 11:30 am: | |
No, I think Short Hills is closer. King's in Livingston is past the high school, past the 7-11 on the right in the same strip mall with the chinese place that has good boneless ribs.
Hmm, my directions aren't very helpful, are they? |
jem
Citizen
Username: Jem
Post Number: 758
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, August 12, 2003 - 1:39 pm: | |
It's on Livingston Avenue very close to the intersection with Mt. Pleasant Ave. You get to Livingston Ave. by taking a right from South Orange Avenue at the same light where you would turn left to the JFK Pkwy to go to the Mall at Short Hills. Cross Northfield Ave. and keep driving - you'll pass the Livingston Shop Rite on your right, and after awhile you'll pass Livingston High School on your left and fairly shortly afterwards you'll see the Kings on your right. It is definitely a longer trek to that Kings than to the one in Short Hills. |
greenetree
Supporter
Username: Greenetree
Post Number: 1687
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, August 12, 2003 - 3:10 pm: | |
Tom-
They were out of:
the brand of energy bars I like
soy flour
several types of canned goods
the bulk items you mentioned
They actually told me that they are not going to order stock for the next two months. Maybe they have come to their senses & gotten a shipment in. |
Dave Ross
Supporter
Username: Dave
Post Number: 5003
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, August 12, 2003 - 3:18 pm: | |
"boneless ribs"
think about that |
algebra2
Citizen
Username: Algebra2
Post Number: 1148
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, August 12, 2003 - 3:41 pm: | |
Hmmm, I never did think about that. They are a tasty treat though. |
chocoholic
Citizen
Username: Shrink
Post Number: 21
Registered: 2-2003
| | Posted on Tuesday, August 12, 2003 - 4:39 pm: | |
Where is the Shop Rite in Livingston? I just moved to SO ( I love it here!), but I have been disapointed in the Pathmark. I go to the ShopRite in West Orange. I still go into Manhattan often, so whenever I get the chance I go to Fairway near the west Side Highway. |
jem
Citizen
Username: Jem
Post Number: 759
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, August 12, 2003 - 6:40 pm: | |
deleted - edits below |
jem
Citizen
Username: Jem
Post Number: 760
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, August 12, 2003 - 6:43 pm: | |
Pathmark is definitely a disappointment. I only go there for absolute emergencies on, say, a Sunday night when everything else local is closed.
The West Orange (Essex Green) Shop Rite is closer than the one in Livingston, but if you want to check out the Livingston Shop Rite, you can either follow the directions that I posted above - South Orange Ave. to Livingston Ave., cross Northfield and you're there - or, since you already have found the way to Essex Green, I assume you know how to get to Northfield Ave. Just stay on Northfield heading west and turn right onto Livingston Ave. - you'll know you're there when you get to the traffic light where there's a men's clothing store called "Sam's." On Livingston Ave., you'll pass a few stores and restaurants on your right (one of them is called "Moshavi") and you'll shortly be able to take a right turn into the Shop Rite lot.
One tip: When you leave the Livingston Shop Rite, it's very difficult to take a left-hand turn back onto Livingston Ave. It's better to drive around to the back of the store where there's a road that leads out onto Northfield Ave. Even though you may have to wait to make that left, it's easier than the left onto Livingston Ave. Once you're familiar with the route, it's actually easier to enter the store from Northfield Ave. rather than waiting at the light to turn onto Livingston Ave.
The Essex Green & Livingston Shop Rites are very similar - the only difference that I've detected is that the Livingston Store has an even more extensive kosher section than the Essex Green's store's enormous kosher section. |
howardf
Citizen
Username: Howardf
Post Number: 180
Registered: 6-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, August 12, 2003 - 7:42 pm: | |
Our area markets suck dry rot. Nothing even remotely compares to Fairway, Zabar's, Citarella, etc. I used to think this was a city vs. suburb thing, until I went shopping in a nowhere's land New Hampshire Stop and Save, or Stop and Shop, a market in Atlanta, or Cape Cod, and realized our area simply has no good markets. It is the great unspoken scandal of our time. |
1-2many
Citizen
Username: Wbg69
Post Number: 227
Registered: 6-2002
| | Posted on Tuesday, August 12, 2003 - 7:57 pm: | |
it seems to me a missed opportunity for a good grocery store to really kick financial a$$. I come from Atlanta, where most of the grocery stores are excellent, and ALL that I patronized beat those 'round here. I have written many of those stores asking them to look in to locating here. No reply at all, except from Trader Joe's (referred to in another thread), which is exploring the possibility.
I figure the next good target for this request is Wegman's, since they already operate nearby. |
sac
Citizen
Username: Sac
Post Number: 662
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, August 12, 2003 - 9:38 pm: | |
There are lots of nice supermarkets in New Jersey, too ... but they aren't right around here. I have always figured that it was due to the cost of real estate that they always seem to try to squeeze too much into a small space, but perhaps other factors are also in play? |
Maxsdad
Citizen
Username: Maxsdad
Post Number: 30
Registered: 12-2002
| | Posted on Thursday, August 14, 2003 - 4:09 pm: | |
The best ShopRite in New Jersey is way out on Rte. 22 in Branchburg (past the Bridgewater Mall). It is absolutely amazing and much better than the Livingston ShopRite. Fabulous bakery, very fresh take out food sections (including chinese, sushi, olive and salad bar, pasta station, bbq section, etc.), great produce, and all the regular items at lower prices than we see in Essex County. It was voted the #1 ShopRite in the country. A must if you are out in that area (my son goes to school out there so I get to go about once a month). Other than that, I'm a regular at Costco, Trader Joes, and Whole Foods. I grew up in California and lived down the street from Pronto Market, which became the first Trader Joes in the late 60's. I remember my parents buying wine for $1.69 a bottle. |
growler
Citizen
Username: Growler
Post Number: 217
Registered: 11-2001
| | Posted on Friday, August 15, 2003 - 1:28 pm: | |
Wegmans RULES!!!! Oh how I wish Wegmans would take over Pathmark. I remember way back when a Wegmans opened in town (Upstate NY). It was better than sliced bread. And they sold sliced bread too!
On a funny note, they had a singles night. Dancing, bowling with fruit and papertowel pins, cart races, pie eating contests. Now that's the way to run a grocery store. |
AZ
Citizen
Username: Azaltsman
Post Number: 182
Registered: 1-2003
| | Posted on Tuesday, August 19, 2003 - 8:28 am: | |
Sac - Squeezed in? Try doing your food shopping at a Food Emporium in Manhattan. The cart barely fits the isles. Wait a minute, that reminds of Kings. 
I've been pretty happy with the Shoprite in West Orange although I am now tempted to try the one in Livingston. |
knak
Citizen
Username: Knak
Post Number: 1
Registered: 5-2002
| | Posted on Wednesday, August 20, 2003 - 12:26 am: | |
At Whole Foods tonight: no white spelt bread, no tube yogurts (Stonyfield Farms healthier version of the Gogurt). They'd been out of the bread Sunday too. Big disappointment after having finally figured out how to feed my kid with a wheat allergy & the usual 7 year old preferences for food that's like everyone else's. The dairy and bakery sections were half empty, which seems hard to justify when the reorganization looks like it's focused on shelf food. Nuts! (ok, so we DID find cashews & almonds)
knak |
Closed: New threads not accepted on this page