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Greene Grape Provisions
Rating Details »
Categories: Grocery, Meat Shops [Edit]
Neighborhood: Fort Greene753 Fulton St
(between Elliott Pl & Oxford St)
Brooklyn, NY 11217
(718) 233-2700
- Nearest Transit:
-
Lafayette Ave (C)
Fulton St (G)
Atlantic Ave-Pacific St (2, 3, 4, 5, M, N, Q, W, R, B, D)
- Hours:
Mon-Sun. 8:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m.
- Price Range:
-
$$$
- Parking:
- Street
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- No
17 reviews for Greene Grape Provisions
dear people comparing this place to pathmark, go watch food, inc or king corn. though i really can only speak to the meat and cheese, i don't think it's overpriced for what you are getting (high quality and the expertise and stamp of approval of the butcher and cheesemonger) if you want eat animals that hung around in a feed lot for 6 months, munching it's way to death on gmo corn, then by all means, go to pathmark. grass fed animals are leaner and healthier which in turn makes humans leaner and healthier. you know, for when cannibalism is legalized...
i do wish this place sourced more LOCAL goods. i talked to the butcher about this and it sounds like there are legitimate limitations to the store's ability to stock local meat, BUT carrots from california and packaged salad greens. come on greene grape, do your part! you should really be stocking as much local produce as you can.
i buy at greenmarkets as much as i can, but when i just don't have time to get to union square for meat and cheese, this an excellent option.
Fabulous little neighborhood market. Lots of specialty items. I picked up some figs there last weekend (9/12/09), and they were WONDERFUL. There's a friendly and very cute guy who works behind the cheese counter. Definitely wanted to sample the wares. They have a good selection of 'old world' cheeses produced in Vermont; I was impressed by an aged soft cheese that I tried.
The guy at the checkout had some hot sauce, for the sampling. Burnt our taste buds out for a bit; good stuff!
I strongly recommend.
This is my favorite grocery store in the neighborhood since moving to Fort Greene.
You know how in big supermarkets, you can theoretically circumvent all the crap you don't need by shopping only the inside perimeter of the store? You could basically do the same with Provisions albeit on a smaller scale. There's the cheese, cured meats, deli food, meat, fish, ice cream, beer, and coffee.
Fruits and vegetables are fresh but yes, the general consensus is correct in that they're overpriced. They do make an effort to stock seasonal items like rhubarb and funny peaches, which is nice.
Their staff is young but knowledgeable. I've never been steered wrong in choosing between their sundry goods. For a few weeks I was addicted to their lamb bacon, but word on the street is someone blew up their spot and they now have to get permission to cure and sell it. I would maybe cry a little if that didn't work out. Their fish is always fresh.
Their iced coffee is also terrific. It makes my brain feel good in the mornings.
If this place didn't exist I'd probably be less happy about living in the neighborhood.
Definitely not fabulous. Nor is it a "foodie" place. An air of laziness belies the precious, corner-store image the store cultivates. For example, the freshness of anything they sell is best visually represented by the shriveled produce this store tries to peddle, just past the $6 potato chips. Regarding the cheeses, some of which taste deliciously fresh, I have ordered more than a couple hunks of (pricey) cheese whose storage was questionable. Lastly, anyone who has spent any appreciable amount of time underground in New York would not leave her basement doors open ALL HOURS OF THE DAY. That's all I'll say. Conclusion: this place is inconsistent, which, with its insulting prices, means that there is nowhere in the neighborhood I can shop for decent food. More steak, less sizzle, please.
Pros:
- friendly staff
- has butcher, deli, cheese and fish counters
- will rack up more miles on credit card
Cons:
- inconsistent freshness at butcher, deli, cheese and fish counters
- insulting prices
The produce at this store is terrible. Just down the block, at Green Farm, FAR fresher, cheaper produce is available. It's odd that a store with gourmet pretensions wouldn't turn over its produce stock at the first hint of limpness or rot.
This is a special occasion dinner party prep/foodie splurge sort of place. Unless you're Tom Colicchio, you're not going to shop here for your weekly groceries. And you shouldn't, unless you want to go broke.
I hate to say this since the service is great and the employees are quite knowledgeable; but if they are having trouble staying afloat without price-gouging they could probably stand to cut back on staff. Every time I enter there are at least 6 employees wandering around behind the counters, which is pretty remarkable for such a small place. I do appreciate the high level of service that overstaffing affords but I simply can't afford to pay the high prices it demands.
So Greene Grape Provisions shall remain an occasional treat. And I'm fine with that, as long as they're fine with only having me as an occasional customer.
On a side note: I do wish they'd bring back the half-priced sandwiches after 6 - that was such great timing for my work schedule (but that's just me being selfish)...
Like most of the reviews, I would use this place more if the prices were lower. It's an organic/fine foods grocer so the chances of that happening are slim.
Other than that, I've always had a positive experience with this place. The staff is polite, helpful, happy, friendly.
The lattes are very good.
The baked goods are good, but don't get the bran muffin because it tastes like barf with sugar on top.
I once bought wild salmon here and asked for them to remove the bones. I got home to find that they didn't remove the bones...
I recently bought two navel oranges and they both were WONDERFUL. I was very pleased.
Will I go back? Of course.
Agreeing to most of the other comments here - this place is extremely overpriced. Everything down to breakfast in the morning.
They are the only place around the neighborhood that have fresh meat and seafood, but buying a dinner there is as expensive as eating out. What I usually do and would recommend is to stock up on meat at Pathmark and just buy fresh vegetables during dinner time at Fresh Garden to avoid this overpriced place.
The staff there is a hit-and-miss. Most of them are as obnoxious as the pricing where some of them are friendly. But they don't offer you the same kind of friendly attitude you would expect from a neighborhood cafe.
PRO:
a GREAT high-octane cup of coffee (and coffee staff are so nice)
really excellent staff at the cheese counter
CON:
this place is RETARDEDLY (RETARDEDLY!!!) overpriced
quality/staff knowledge does not justify the retardedly high prices
Some of the stuff there is nice, but it's OUTRAGEOUSly expensive. Their markups are literally 100% on the one item for which I have actual knowledge (the local honey). The prices are to the point where I only buy anything if I'm over-the-barrel desperate for it right then.
Which is too bad. I wanted to like this place. I wish they'd try pricing their items at reasonable levels, and make it up in volume. I'd certainly spend 10x what I do there if the prices weren't so ridiculous.
I really wanted to like this place. But every time I shop there I walk out feeling like a sucker! Red peppers $9.99/lb...really?
Their cheese and meat selection is worth the price, but leave everything else on the shelf and save your self esteem.
UPDATE:
Since I wrote this, the owner wrote to me personally and said that the pricing on the peppers was a mistake on their part and that it should be 6.99/lb. Still expensive but not offensive. Plus, I appreciate the acknowledgment. Mission accomplished greene grape! I will probably shop there again.
The new grocery store in the neighborhood.
Just down the street from Fresh Garden, practically right next to its sibling, Greene Grape Wine, Greene Grape Provisions is a welcomed new grocery-option in the area.
I wish these guys were popping up on Myrtle, though, since it'll be closer to my apartment . . . but I suppose some parts of the universe is continuing to refusing to revolve around me.
When I stopped by the other day, they were still "moving-in" it seemed, with one of their shelves completely barren.
Sure, it's pretty cramped like Fresh Garden, but Greene Grape Provisions provides fresh meat and fish in addition to general goodness of all the fine things we've come to appreciate.
I may just hop on the bike and ride over to the other side of the neighborhood and forsake The Assos* forever.
* Associated Supermarket
Great selection of fresh meat and fish in the neighborhood. As to JN's review, it can be pricey just like every other gourmet deli in the city. However, how many people have the time or means to go to Fairway? If you do, have fun with the Ikea traffic...
Anyway, good sandwiches, coffee, Ciao Bella by the scoop, pastries from Balthazar, and lots of other delicious deli delicacies...
This is a tricky review for me to write. We need places like Provisions in the neighborhood, but we don't need another price gouging 'fresh foods' market.
For me, Provisions is hit-and-miss. Some things are obnoxiously overpriced while others are fairly priced (for NYC). I was addicted to the ground lamb for a while; now the price has jumped and I won't buy it on principle ($5.99/lb at Fairway, $8.99/lb at Provisions?!). I worried they'd raise their prices once they had people excited. Sure enough they have.
I recently went in and was so disgusted with the prices for items I needed that I just left. If you want to have a laugh, go check what they're asking for tortillas or macaroni salad. Shocking.
- - -
UPDATE:
Since I posted this, the Provisions' butcher has contacted me directly (I will also note that I got a nasty email which clearly originated from an employee or owner). I really appreciate his taking the time to contact me, and we subsequently had a good exchange, but I don't need a lecture on economics (trust me, I've studied macro and micro economics) or to be convinced they have good service when in my experience it has been spotty (note: I have always had very good experience at the butcher counter). The fact of the matter is, if they have to charge these prices to break even, their business model is flawed and they should not have agreed to pay the rent they do. I don't know those details so I can't speculate, but I do know their prices are too high for us and we continue to shop elsewhere (except for a few items, like milk, when we need them). The Fort Greene farmer's market, Fairway, Chelsea Market and other places are alternatives where we often get better or equal quality at a lower price. Yes, sometimes we have to travel to those places (though where we work makes it sometimes convenient), but that is a choice we have made so we can save money and eat well.
Fantastic quality meat and fish, among other things. Complaints about pricing are unfortunate: the quality does justify the cost, for the most part (with the exception of, say, Arm and Hammer baking soda.) True, this means it is not for everyone, but if you can afford to be picky with regard to quality and convenience, and appreciate knowledgeable service, this place is fantastic. If not, of course, there is always Pathmark up the street. Do agree, though, that vegetables are hit and miss for the price and that the farmers' market or the Paisley Farm CSA, for instance, are a better alternative.
I like this place even though it is kind of beyond my budget. It is about a 1 1/2 blocks from my apartment. I go there for specialty meat and fish. Everything is non-antibiotic, organicly raised food stuff. I just got a nice piece of skirt steak and a couple pieces of fresh Hadock, milk and snack, which came to about $30. This is a bit much, I could have gotten it less at Pathmark which is 2 1/2 blocks away, but it would not have been the quality nor would have been organically raised and processed.
I am a person who is trying my best to eat and do right by my body (most of the time). I have 4 servings of meat and fish, which is for 4 meals under $30. Not bad. So I give would give them 5 stars for quality, but only 4 stars because of the high prices.
The service is friendly and nice. I love their cheeses which are very good and tasty, but a bit pricy also. This place is not for the light of pocket. Even though my budget is so.
There are two organic grocery stores within a hundred feet of each other; the other is Fresh Garden. Isn't this overkill? They both charge about the same for similar items, such as a particular bag of corn chips for $6.99. Are they made of magic corn? I'd trade both of these stores for one decent non-organic store any day. In this neighborhood, you have a choice between a dingy cornerstore with no selection at all and an ultra-expensive store selling two kinds of organic Spanish peanuts. How about a happy medium? Whole Foods kills either of these places. At least WF offers some non-organic items.
