One of the most frequent questions I get from moms when they learn that I raise my young family in NYC is “where do you food shop?” I guess that all the skyscrapers and museums distract them from the many supermarkets and other gourmet food shops that pepper the Island of Manhattan.
One of my absolute favorite foodie family destinations is the Union Square Greenmarket. Located on Broadway at East 17th Street, it is easily accessible from most subway lines at the 14th Street Subway Station. The Greenmarket began in 1976 and in frequented by over 100 farmers and specialty food vendors every Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from 8:00 am to 6:00 pm.
When the kids tire of walking the aisles of the Greenmarket, we stop by the Union Square park playground. Its a great space with two playgrounds, one for the smaller tots and another for bigger kids. (In the summer, the water features are really neat.)
Here are some of my favorite stops at the Union Square Greenmarket
- Martin’s Pretzels – Stop by and pick up a bag of hand-rolled, hand-twisted, stone hearth baked sourdough pretzels.
- Ronnybrook Orchards – This local dairy has an amazing assortment of fresh yogurt smoothies, ice cream and milks. We like to pick up small bottles of their low fat chocolate milk – yum really creamy – to drink as we nibble our other treats.
- Red Jacket Orchards – This upstate NY farm has great apple ciders. Lots of unique apple cider combinations – the apple/strawberry variety is one of our favorites.
- Andrew’s Local Honey – The kids love this stand. So many cool honey and beeswax products, and the vendors have so much bee knowledge to share with us.
- Roxbury Maples – Maple sugar candies bring back memories of my childhood trips to New England. You can pick up syrup for your pancakes and a candy to eat there.
There are also tons of amazing farm vendors with beautiful, colorful displays of pumpkins, apples, squash, salad greens, etc. Just being surrounded by this healthy bounty of veggies inspires me to browse my favorite cookbooks for fall-inspired recipes. If cooking isn’t your passion, but eating is – this neighborhood is packed full of amazing restaurants.
The Market’s official webpage at GrowNYC has all the information you need for a trip with your family. Check out their useful maps, hours, directions and schedules of daily activities, i.e. crafts and cooking demonstrations.
– That’s IT Mommy, Jill
