I live near West 145th and have been trying to shop smarter rather than more often. I’ve rotated between the C-Town on 145th/Fred Doug, the Fine Fare on 153rd/Amsterdam, and the Key Food on 136th/Broadway. My issue: bagged greens, berries, and even onions sometimes turn before I can use them. I don’t mean bruised from the store—I check. But within two days, the scallions are slimy, the cilantro is a wet paper towel, and the strawberries have fuzz. I know it’s summer, but some stores clearly keep their cold chain better than others.

At the C-Town, the produce is usually well-stocked but the misters are either off or set too high, and the fluorescent lights seem to cook the spinach on the top shelf. Fine Fare has a decent turnover but I’ve noticed the bagged carrots are sometimes sitting in condensation. Key Food had the best-looking display this week, but I had to pick through four boxes of blackberries to find one that wasn’t already leaking.

Am I just expecting too much for a city supermarket? Is anyone else uptown finding a store where the produce actually holds up until Thursday if you shop Sunday? Would especially love to hear from people who cook a few big meals and don’t want to run out midweek. Specific cross streets and days of delivery help.