A Look Inside Forest Hills' New Trader Joe's

 Much to my pleasant surprise, the store seems enormous, bigger than I expected. My brain was actually having trouble wrapping around the idea that my carless self can now buy anything in this store and not mastermind some complicated method of getting it home. I can finally just walk! I'm a pretty jaded New Yorker, but I have to say this was a lot more thrilling than I expected. The below photos barely capture all the new store has to offer...

Greenline Has Flatlined

Well, that is apparently the end of Greenline Organic.... As a commenter posted here this afternoon -- and I just confirmed with my own two eyes -- the organic grocer has been taken over by the marshalls. It's a sad development, but probably not a huge surprise given Natural and the Organic Market so close by... nevertheless, it is always sad to see a business try and fail, especially here in Forest Hills.

A Carless Culinary Trifecta

For those of you in Forest Hills or nearby who are looking for a convenient way to do your holiday food shopping, I have figured out a great way. And guess what? You don't need a car! If you are like me, one of the many residents of Queens and Forest Hills who does not have a car, you no longer have to pine with jealousy at all those suburban-sized stores you hear about from your car-possessing neighbors. Here is my holiday shopping trail, just for you carless (and just think about it, no traffic, no feeding meters, no parking tickets, etc...!) :

First, hop on one of those shiny new F trains at 71st/Continental. Sit back, read, relax, enjoy your subway ride and in about 25 minutes pop out at the 23rd St./6th Avenue stop in Manhattan and you will find yourself in gourmet food wonderland, with three of the best stores just a block or so away!

Your first visit: Eataly, the gigantic new Italian food superstore at the corner of 5th Ave and 23rd. I love their incredibly fresh rustic bread (about $5) which I run in and out to grab whenever I am in the area, but this place is brimming with tons of Italian specialties from pasta to fish, hundreds of sauces, desserts, cheeses, meats, the list goes on and on. And you can sit down and eat there too if you like, they have like 5 different restaurants.

Next, walk one block over to 6th Avenue and a block or so south, where you will find between 21st and 22nd the newest Trader Joe's. Unlike the Forest Hills Trader Joe's down near Metropolitan Avenue, this one is actually easily accessible to those of us without cars! (Go figure, we can't shop at the one right here in Forest Hills, in our own neighborhood, but the one in Manhattan we can easily get to via subway. Just one of the quirks of city life I guess!) Anyway, this new Trader Joe's is much bigger than the one on the outskirts of Forest Hills anyway.

And finally, walk a couple of blocks north to 25th St. and a block west to 7th Avenue and there you have the final stop on my Carless Culinary Trifecta Trail: Whole Foods!

So, there you have it. Who said you need to have a car to live in Queens?? One quick and cheap 25 minute subway ride away and you are in the middle of the best holiday food shopping there is! And you didn't have to get stuck in traffic to get there!! Enjoy, and happy holidays!

Cascading Closures

After we reported to you a couple of weeks ago about the closing of the long-time mom and pop fruit and vegetable store next to the Key Food on the north side of Queens Blvd., today we bring you an update to the story: the long-time deli next door to the mom and pop has gone up and vacated the adjacent premises as well. Leading to a rather intriguing possibility.... now, hmmmm, what can fit in a bigger space in an albeit rather worn and seen-better-days strip of stores? We will try to find out asap!

First Casualty of Organic Wars?

It's interesting how developments in one part of town can sometimes have unforeseen impact on an entirely other area. Case in point, I am not sure but it seems as if the small mom and pop fruits and vegetable store next to the Key Food on the northern side of Queens Blvd. is kaput. I've passed it over the past week or two and noticed it was closed. But it was always such a quiet, unassuming little place I never paid it much attention. In any case, I am pretty sure that after years of doing business from that location it has now closed. If you know any differently, please let me know by commenting below or sending me an email.

The strip of stores to the north of Queens Blvd.

I named this post what I did because this is a rather unscientific assumption, but I wonder if this small mom and pop just couldn't hack it any more because of the competition from the three organic/natural food stores that are now just several blocks away, Natural, Organic Market and the newest of the lot, Greenline Organic, and of course the Key Food right next door and the newer Twin Value Supermarket that is just a couple of blocks away.