GreenGrocer
Chelsa Salesman owns and operates a pair of old-fashioned groceries with a modern-day twist: Her stores in High Bridge and Bloomfield offer from-Garden-State-farms produce, hand-made artisan fare, and all the conversation and guidance you can drink in.
Ed’s Market
It’s not every day you can eat in a restaurant and then segue next door to buy the same ingredients used to make the dishes you most love. You can do just that at a small strip mall in Teaneck.
Morris Winter Market
Farmers and food artisans unite outdoors to create a kind of head-to-tail shopping experience for those who care about what and how they eat. Consider it a public celebration of all that’s in season and fresh – right now.
Gert’s Snacks & Spices
Better than Zingerman’s? On the main drag of Highlands, next door to Sandy Hook, is a small shop that stocks a United Nations of ingredients designed for curious culinarians and adventurous home cooks. More, please? Its peripatetic proprietor also cooks for the takeaway crowd and educates drop-ins.
Mitsuwa
A thrilling and practical place to gather foodstuffs year-round, and especially at holiday time, this emporium for Japanese edibles in Edgewater is a prime inspiration for the Smart Shop column. Eat at its food court, shop in its vast marketplace and be merry.
Hung Vuong
An Asian uber-market in Cherry Hill offers a bounty of ingredients to cook things Vietnamese, Korean, Japanese, Filipino and Chinese. It’s the bigger, brawnier younger sibling in a mini-chain born across the Delaware, and it’s well-stocked with condiments that add a world of flavor to everyday dishes.
Delicious Orchards
The family-run produce mecca in Colts Neck is one-stop shopping for holiday meals. Shop it right and you’ll have what you need for a spate of unfussy cooking.
The Greek Store
Prepared foods, pantry items, store-baked pastries and olives, olives, olives: Bring sunny Mediterranean flavors from this must-stop in Kenilworth to your table, and ring in the long holiday season ahead.
Van Hook Cheese and Grocery
Our Smart Shopper Lynley Jones explores the world of Serious Cheese – and expands your view of what this beloved staple can bring to your home table.
Patel Brothers
The culinary diversity of India is on full display at markets that celebrate flavor and spice. It all makes for wide-ranging store-to-plate eating.
Superfood Fresh Supermarket
It’s back! Our monthly column features two food-centric shoppers exploring a market and assembling ingredients to make – at two price points, $50 (high) and $20 (low) – meals that are a little bit off-your-beaten-menu path. We’re stamping your culinary passports and taking you on a cooking journey.