Unpopular opinion, but I don’t think the corner produce carts deserve the neighborhood institution treatment unless you’re shopping for one or two items. I used to live off 30th Ave and watched people do a full dinner shop at a wooden stall, paying per piece for peppers, a tiny bunch of scallions, and a few apples. It felt thrifty because it was a few bucks and change, but the unit cost was worse than the supermarket sale price on actual staples. Yes, the tomatoes can be better on a hot day, and the guy will give you one lime without a plastic bag. But that’s a convenience, not a grocery strategy. Are people actually comparing prices, or just buying the open-late, no-line vibe?

I just moved to Dyker and was literally wondering this. My aunt told me the stands on 13th Ave are wholesale, so I assumed cheaper. I bought a bag of cherries there and then walked into C-Town and saw cherries for less, but maybe I was comparing a bigger bag or non-organic. Do the carts post weights, or do they just charge by the quarter-pound and you have to trust the scale? Is it rude to ask where the fruit came from? I don’t want to be the suspicious new person.

Depends heavily on the operator, but the “wholesale” line is often more story than fact. Most independent carts buy through the same or similar regional produce distributors that supply small bodegas and independent greengrocers, but they don’t have the same cold storage or turnover volume as a supermarket. That means three things.

First, carts are best for high-turnover items you plan to use the same day or next day: leafy herbs, chilies, citrus, avocados if you know how to pick them, and seasonally fragile fruit. Those are the categories where the cart can beat a chain on quality because the produce hasn’t been sitting in a refrigerated back room for days.

Second, supermarkets tend to win on staple vegetables, especially when they run weekly specials. If you’re cooking broccoli, onions, potatoes, carrots, or salad greens for more than one meal, the price per pound and shelf life at a store usually beat the cart.

Third, the exception is household size. For a single person, buying two carrots, one onion, and a small bunch of parsley at a cart can be cheaper in total than buying whole bags of each at the supermarket and tossing half of it. That’s not the same as cheaper per pound.

We split it: one supermarket trip on Saturday, then a cart run on 30th Ave for herbs, limes, and the occasional emergency vegetable. I would not use one for a full weekly shop.

Honestly, you just have to learn the specific cart. There's one on 30th that charges a fortune for a single avocado and another by the library that will basically hand you bruised tomatoes if you ask nicely near closing. The front row is the show fruit; the real value is in the slightly ugly stuff behind it. I treat carts the way I treat a bodega: good for what I need right now, bad for stocking a kitchen. If you're in Astoria, the spot near the 30th Ave stop is fine for herbs and limes, but skip the peppers unless you see a sign with a price.

I'm new to Bay Ridge and there's a stand on 5th Ave near the bank that has fruit out in winter. I bought two lemons and a little bag of green beans last week. It felt cheap, but I didn't compare to the Key Food down the street. Should I not buy green beans there? They tasted fine but maybe too old? Also how do you know if a cart is 'good'—do they all get deliveries the same day of the week, or is it just whatever the guy brings from the market?

Fair pushback. @astoria_arch, the single-person household point actually lands for me. I cook for one, and my supermarket waste is real—half a bag of spinach goes bad while I'm eating takeout. So maybe my complaint should be narrower: carts are a supplement, not a replacement. They're great for small quantities, but people oversell them as cheap when they mean low total spend at the register. @AstoriaAndy, the before-close move is the one real hack. I once got a whole bag of peppers because the guy didn't want to pack them up. Still wouldn't call that a weekly plan.

Thanks @astoria_arch and @HighLineHater—that makes a lot of sense. I think I was doing the new-person thing where I assumed 'small and local' equals cheaper. I'll use the 13th Ave cart for herbs and maybe fruit I eat the same day, and do real groceries at C-Town. One more question: do the carts typically take cards now or still cash only? The one I went to had a little QR code but I wasn't sure if it was for Venmo or just a tip jar.