The Market Report

On the next block south of Mi Pueblito and AM1 , but across the street, there is a small but full Met Foodmarket. Met and Pioneer two blocks north are the two major supermarket competitors in this neighborhood, and although they are both run by Metropolitan City Foods (formerly DiGiorgio/White Rose), they appear to have different owners. You enter on the left side with produce and dairy in the first aisle, meat along the back wall, butcher in an island in the first aisle, frozen in the last aisle, and a deli in the front corner here (where the deli sign is). Unlike Pioneer, this Met was renovated recently, ca. 2013. Although the store is clearly an older supermarket, it has been nicely upgraded with new fixtures in most areas. And this is clearly the place to be if you need soda crackers. This store had a Latin radio station on, which at the time of my visit played the remix of Despacito featuring Justin Bieber. That's not even really Latin music anymore! G

Following the model of A&P Preservation's online store (see the blog here and the store here  - UPDATE : links have been corrected!), The Market Report is pleased to introduce its online store just in time for the winter holidays! We have a selection of merchandise including men's and women's t-shirts, long sleeved shirts, hoodies, socks, bags, mugs, phone cases, and stickers. The store will be updated periodically with new merchandise. Check it out -- the perfect gifts for any supermarket fan! You can click on the picture above to visit the store, or use the link teespring.com/stores/marketreportblog .

Another small greengrocer/butcher shop is actually located on the same block as Mi Pueblito , called AM1 Grocery. AM1's address is 5724 5th Ave, Brooklyn, NY. Like many urban greengrocers, AM1 makes full use of its sidewalk space. In Korean, these sidewalk display tables are called jwadae . (However, I don't know the ethnicity of AM1's owner or owners.)

Mi Pueblito Market is at 5712 5th Ave between 58th and 57th St. Unlike many city greengrocers, Mi Pueblito has a full butcher along with its produce selection.  Interesting Spanglish on the (very tall) awning.

We're crossing the street from Mini Market Max to check out a Pioneer supermarket on the western side of 5th Ave between 57th and 58th St. Pioneer is in the middle of the block, but it's New York City, so we can jaywalk. Pioneer appears to be an institution in the neighborhood. I have no evidence that it's been anything else in recent history -- say, the last 20 years. The store has, as we'll soon see, been a supermarket for at least the last 50-60 years. The entrance is on the right side of the storefront. You can't miss the red, white, and blue awning. I'm not sure I love the blue -- red awnings generally look pretty good. But the storefront does look well-maintained, if not newly redone. I was expecting a significantly more modern store than the Pioneer in Jersey City based on the outside... The carts, which are stored inside, all match, which is nice. The first aisle, strangely enough, is frozen and dairy, which also continues along the bac