There are no shortage of supermarkets in our hood. Personally, my go-to has been Trader Joes. Despite the long lines, questionable produce and inconsistent stock, they carry product that I trust at prices I can afford. And for a busy, single gal, it’s hard not to appreciate their diverse selection of cheap and healthy frozen dinners.
Brooklyn Fare, across the Hoyt/Schermerhorn AC subway stop, opened its doors rather quietly about two years ago. While Chef Cesar Ramirez’s pet project, The Chef’s Table @ Brooklyn Fare, was gradually garnering a foodie following, its supermarket sister seemed to be struggling to find its place in the landscape of Bococa grocery stores. Outside of its hot/cold prepared food offerings, there was nothing unique enough to bring in the masses – and being tucked away in a sometimes sketchy street between Downtown Brooklyn and Boreum Hill didn’t help.
I’ve stopped in on my way to the subway for a banana or a latte but those times have been few and far between. So, I was pretty surprised to walk in today and find that the store had practically doubled in size. While I thought BF was on the verge of shuttering its doors, apparently it’s been doing better than I presumed. What’s gotta be in large part due to the success of the now 2-star Michelin rated Chef’s Table, Brooklyn Fare’s latest expansion may have just upgraded its status from stop-in to go-to.
The store’s stock is a good balance of mass market and specialty, local products. Whether it’s oreos or organic, my needs as a a shopper have a lot of range. So the new and improved Brooklyn Fare appears to be the perfect pitstop for stocking your pantry with everything you need in one visit. They also feature local products which is nice for Brooklyn purveyors looking to get exposure to a wider clientele. Additionally, along with a bunch of weekly coupon cutting sales, their price points are pretty competitive. For example, today I bought 4 Chobani greek yogurts for 5 dollars and their Rao’s homemade marinara sauce is sold for $6.99 a jar where others may charge up to $7 or $8.99. Finally, their produce section appears to be pretty fresh and their spread of cheeses quite broad. I’d say a comparable shopping experience would be like a much smaller but closer version of Fairway.
NYmag’s Grubstreet reports that they also intend to build a more affordable version of the Chef’s Table next door! Well, looks like I was wrong all around and will be frequenting this corner more often than I thought!
UPDATE: Goblette Xtine and I went to BK this weekend to shop for our Dress Up Oscar Party. Produce is actually not that great and priced a bit high. But other products were good and a plenty. Will definitely still be a supermarket option.
