Fairway vs. Fresh Direct

I haven't tried it yet, but Amazon.com just started a grocery delivery service (non-perishables only). They're also getting into the DVD rental market (a la Netflix).

I've done some comparison shopping on prices that I buy all the time and Fairway is not more expensive than Key Foods or Pathmark - in many cases they are less expensive. In many cases MUCH less - like grapes for $1.49lb instead of $2.99/lb (Key Food).

I think people might spend more at Fairway because there are so many nice things to buy. I know on my first trip I spent $30 on beer and cheese, which I don't do at Key Foods.

I buy a lot of stuff from Fresh Direct b/c I live in a 4th floor walkup. so - cases of San Pellegrino? FD. Kitty Litter? FD. Fizzy Lizzy & Diet Coke? FD. Their cheese selection is also pretty good, and staples, like pasta, are also well priced. perishables are tough to buy from FD. I'm single, so I don't want more than a few potatoes and one onion. I want to buy one steak and one chicken breast. FD won't sell groceries that way, and I hate feeling wasteful when I have to throw stuff out because I just can't eat that much food. also, their fruits (like cherries and tomatoes) tend to be ready-to-eat immediately, so if I don't have some massive food orgy when the truck shows up, it all tends to rot in my fridge over the course of a few days. so now I don't bother.

I went through my reciept from Fairway and found that I would have spent $50 more at Fresh Direct for the same items. I do tend to spend more at Fairway because of the selection. The last few times I shopped at there I've ended up having to toss things that went bad because I overbought :x .

kensingtonmom wrote:
I have found the produce to be usually very fresh at Fresh Direct. In fact, we had a bunch of asparagus from Fairway and a bunch from FD and the FD was much fresher and lasted a lot longer. The organic bananas come wrapped in styrofoam wrap and then a plastic bag.

I guess I'm mostly thinking of the fruit -- mealy, tasteless, practically inedible peaches and nectarines, in the middle of summer. And of course they were encased in layers of styrofoam and plastic wrap. I haven't ordered from them in a long time, so maybe things have changed. I remember a lot of people on the dreaded Urban Baby complaining about their produce.

I did like some of their prepared food, but it was hit-or-miss and the misses seemed to be more frequent as time went on.

Rose wrote: I stopped using Fresh Direct because their produce was so awful, and I hated the way everything was encased in layers of packaging. Fairway has great produce. I'm not a good comparison shopper, so I probably spend more money on groceries than I should. Right now I'm alternating between Fairway and C-Town.

Speaking of awful produce, I am aghast at the rotten produce at Key Food on 7th avenue in park slope. Out of all 5 boroughs, it's the most expensive key food I've ever walked into featuring the nastiest "fresh" produce I've ever seen. I feel sorry for any fragile seniors with poor vision who must there.

there's a great and really cheap produce market on the corner of 15th/5th. they have just about everything except good cauliflower.

raw wrote:

Interesting about all of the packaging. While the produce does need to be protected from getting bashed as the FD truck drives over Park Slope's many pot holes, having that much packaging stinks. That's exactly why I hate dry cleaning -- each item I have dry-cleaned comes wrapped in a pound of plastic and cardboard.

I hate that too. I iron my husband's work clothes like a 1950s housewife to avoid bringing home all that plastic wrap.

trixieNYC wrote: we are all aware though that Fresh Direct is owned by Fairway, correct?
Agreed on the fruit/produce, I'd rather select my own at Key Food on 5th. Although I have to say their pricing is just as high as Fresh Direct. No one can compare to all the fish/meat options. the korean skirt steak alone has become the main reason I order from them week after week (if you have a BBQ grill)
Still opt to buy my sausage/pork products from AS on 5th. and their provolone as well.

Trixie is making me HUNGRY

Are you sure? I thought the owner of FD was once a partner of Fairway but then left to start this business.

hmm, I dunno now...this is what I found online. same shite in my opinion, LOL

The fish at Fresh Direct is very fresh and the only place with better fish is the Farmer's market.FreshDirect's advantage is its ability to cut out middlemen, says Fedele, who also co-founded the Fairway Market, an upscale grocer in Manhattan. FreshDirect cuts its own meat from whole carcasses, roasts its own coffee, develops its own relationships with seafood suppliers and inspects every piece of produce that comes through its doors.