Old World Food Market

Yesterday as I was going to a doctors appointment, I noticed a big beautiful new store called "Old World Food Market" in Nyack. I wanted to check it out. This was sort of impromptu, but this is what I found:


This is over by the dry foods, I especially liked the decoration on that back wall.

Here is a wider shot, also towards the dry section, but you can see the gorgeous olive bar. More (but terribly lighted) pictures are found here.

So basically, this place is stunning. There is no doubt about that. The owner said in an interview (that I can no longer find) that he wanted to return to an old way of shopping, and have prices that are reasonable, despite being gourmet. I noticed first that there were organic bananas by the produce room, big and beautiful ones at that. My local stores have been seriously slacking in the organic banana department, sometimes having one "ok" looking bunch to none left! That was a big plus. The fish area smelled very much like an old world fish market...possibly unavoidable but not so pleasant. The Cheese area in the center was HUGE. I didn't actually spend much time there, but could tell they had a very wide variety that you might not find in many other stores. As far as dried foods, there were many known organic brands, some that I can find elsewhere and some that are a little trickier. I saw a few foreign items on the shelf as well that I have never seen before, but things like a dairy item from Switzerland. The kosher section, unfortunately, was stocked with the same crap every other supermarket has, that no one born after 1932 actually eats. Thankfully, much of these natural or organic foods end up being kosher as well, so that's a big plus for those concerned. I ended up buying $37 worth of mostly snack foods. I liked that the chocolate covered goodies weren't made with a ton of additives, like the generic brands are. Bear Naked granola, which rules, and Newman's cookies, which also rule, were in my bag but not rare finds. There were, however, more flavors offered here than other stores. I also found a Darrell Lea licorice, but I found more flavors at a smaller, more local natural store. The olive bar had interesting flavors offered, but I thought it was only 'ok' in taste. Lastly, I found spices that I needed, and hope they are a great quality to match the price. Our local stores also carry these spices, but there aren't too many companies offered. The same thing happened with tea. I enjoy interesting tea, especially chai, so it was an opportunity to find more brands of it, but not the most exotic item either.

Overall, the store itself felt a lot like a Whole Foods kind of deal. I think I had the impression that it would carry more 'worldly' foods, so I want to try an experiment, just in case I missed it.


HOLY HELL! They actually passed!! I just called to ask if they had an exotic spice mixture and they did! Points for that one homie. I wonder if its the Crate and Barrel version or the real deal. It seems whole foods carries it or at least uses it in their prepared foods as well. There are no Whole Foods or Trader Joe's nearby, so I think if I am in the area and need some bananas or a really nice tea, I would stop in again. But I know I won't (or can't, since they don't accept food stamps!) do my regular shopping there. In the town of Nyack, where there are a lot of wealthy trendsetters, I'm sure the store will do well.

UPDATE: I bought spices that were hard to find there, and found them much cheaper in an Indian market. They are still sealed, but because I don't have the receipt I can't return them! LAME!!!