Been in Gowanus for a while now, but the grocery situation still drives me a little nuts. I usually hit the C-Town on 9th for emergency stuff, but the produce can be sad by Tuesday and the aisles feel like a game of Tetris. Whole Foods is a whole trip and I don't always want to cross the canal. Where are people doing an actual weekly shop without a car? Is the Foodtown on Union worth the walk from 3rd Ave? Do you split it up? Trying to stop spending way too much on four things at the corner spot.

Honestly I split it up. Key Food on 5th for pantry/meat and whatever is on sale. C-Town for late night eggs and emergency butter. If I can wake up early, the Saturday market at Bartel-Pritchard has good greens, but that's more of a weekend errand than weekly shop. The fancy market on 4th? No, not for a full run. Good for a snack and an overpriced yogurt.

Wait, have you tried the little Mexican produce spot on 5th Ave near 18th? The one with the guac avocados up front? They are so much better than the chain stuff and the cilantro isn't already wet. Also! The bulk bins at Union Market are underrated if you just need oats, rice, lentils. It's not a full run, but it stops me from paying for packaging. Have you tried their coffee? Not the point but wow.

Depends on what you mean by full run. I've done the no-car grocery loop in this neighborhood for years, and there isn't one store that gets everything right. I use a folding cart with a sturdy base and do a loop on Saturday morning: C-Town on 9th for dairy, eggs, cleaning stuff, and some frozen staples; Key Food on 5th for canned goods, pasta, cereal, and meat when the sale is real; then the greenmarket at Bartel-Pritchard or Mr. Lime for produce. Foodtown on Union is fine, but it’s a bit of a walk from 3rd Ave if you’re carrying more than two bags, and their layout makes a quick trip slower than you'd think. If you have a cart, the distance is less annoying, but I wouldn't call it a weekly destination unless you live closer to the canal's western edge. Delivery apps solve the heavy stuff, but not the produce problem—you get whatever the shopper picks. One caveat: if you’re buying for more than one person, the Key Food on 5th can get cleared out on Sunday nights, so later in the weekend is hit or miss. Mr. Lime on 5th is small but reliable for limes, avocados, and sometimes those little peppers you can't find at Key Food. I don't buy meat there, but the produce turnover is high. I keep the cart by the door because it folds flatter than a laundry basket, and I bring a cold bag if I'm hitting the fish guy or buying dairy in warm months. If I had to pick one store for emergency heavy items, C-Town on 9th is the least bad option after 9pm.

I'm uptown but I do the same split. No car, two heavy bags max. The trick is don't sleep on frozen vegetables for weeknights, then fresh produce on the weekend. I'll do a Trader Joe's run when I'm already downtown. The C-town near me is solid for eggs and milk but the meat is hit or miss. A cart is undefeated.

CobbleHill_C, yeah the overpriced yogurt got me exactly once. And RiverdaleRambler, I have not tried the Mexican spot—adding it to the list. The cart advice is probably the real answer; I've been stubborn about it because my building is a walk-up, but I'm tired of the two-bag shuffle. Also, not to drag us across the water, but the Pulaski Bridge bike path at 6pm: are the stripes just decoration now? Pulaski Bridge bike path at 6pm: are the stripes just decoration now? thread came to mind when a delivery cart nearly took me out near Key Food. Same energy.

LOL the two-bag shuffle is a civic identity at this point. I finally got a cart with the little stair-climbing wheels and now I feel like I should charge for advice at the corner. Gowanus_G, if you go to the Mexican spot, go before 11 on Saturday. After that the good avocados are gone and the line wraps past the ATM.

The stair-climbing wheels! Yes! But wait, have you tried the fish guy outside Russo's on Saturday? He's not there every weekend, but when he is, the whole striped bass is actually reasonable and he'll filet it if you ask. Also the zero-waste refill place on 4th has dish soap and laundry powder by the ounce now! I know it's not a grocery run, but it's on the loop. Has anyone compared their prices to Key Food? I refuse to do math on the spot but I want to know.

One caveat about the zero-waste refill place: it's great for dish soap and laundry powder, but the unit pricing can be misleading unless you bring the same size container each time. I compared it to Key Food's sale prices last year, and for laundry detergent it was roughly a wash once you factor in the container weight; for dish soap it was cheaper per ounce than the name brand but not cheaper than the big yellow jug at C-Town. I still go because I hate throwing out plastic. As for the fish guy outside Russo's, I'll vouch for the filet job. He does a cleaner job than the counter at Key Food, and he doesn't over-handle the fish. Just check the ice situation—some Saturdays the fish is sitting on more melt than ice, and that's when I skip. For the original question, my full-run loop has stayed the same for a while: C-Town for dairy/eggs/frozen, Key Food for pantry/meat on sale, greenmarket or Mr. Lime for produce, and the refill place once a month. I keep a collapsible cart by the door, and I bring two reusable bags inside the cart so I can split heavy items low and light items high. If you live on the east side of Gowanus, do not sleep on the weekend greenmarket at Bartel-Pritchard. It isn't huge, but the greens and apples are better than anything in the supermarkets nearby, and the line moves if you go before 10.

The fish guy tip is exactly why I read this board. I don't even live down there and I'm about to take the F over for striped bass. For dish soap, I just buy the big jug and refill a little bottle under the sink. The zero-waste spots are nice but you have to know your per-ounce baseline.

Appreciate the loop breakdown, astoria_arch. That's pretty much what I'm going to try this weekend: cart, C-Town, Key Food, maybe the Mexican spot if the line isn't crazy. My back already feels better. Will report back if Foodtown on Union turns out to be a hidden gem, but I'm not optimistic.