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If you're uptown, I'd go to Eli's Vinegar Factory. Of course, I have the sense of direction of a can of tuna fish so I don't know if this is feasible in relation to where you're staying. It's an incredible gourmet goods store with a restaurant, bakery, you name it. I used to go there when it first opened and I was attending Peter Kump's Cooking School.

There's always Zabar's which might be closer to you (someone with a sense of direction, please chime in here).

To be honest, I think it's worth a trip to SoHo to places like Gourmet Garaga and Dean & Deluca. I just love that area and whenever I'm in NY regardless of where I land, I try to get down there.

Happy Hunting!

On second thought, I do urge you to go to Fairway,. It's an interesting place, and you'll get a real slice of life trying to survive your way out of there. They have great stuff. If you go after 5, be sure to wear your new york elbows.

@chiff0nade,
Thanks for these. I will indeed enjoy my hunting and gathering!
@renzata,
I agree about the Upper West Side - but I don't know Gourmet Garage and will seek them out. I can go a distance, if it's worth the detour, and we always think we have out best adventures when we get lost - as long as it's not really completely utterly totally lost! Thanks!
and @ lemons,
This looks really interesting. Markets are always my favourite, and I can take photographs at all these for my website, http://www.whatamieating.com - which I certainly can't at the premises of the "pantiless dame"! Cross town bus sounds fun and I can *never* visit NY without coming home with some utensil from Zabars which, every time I use, takes me briefly back to the city......

for an amazing shopping experience, you can't beat kalustyan's on 28th and lex. there's also the grand central market, which i love because they have german chocolates and a penzey's.

Zabar's (Broadway at W.80th St.)is on the Upper West Side, across town from where you'll be staying on the extreme side of the Upper East Side. Not really convenient, but I think it is worth the trip. It will be crowded most of the time. Excellent cheeses, smoked fish, and coffee (which they will grind for you) among many other things. Fairway market is south of Zabars at 74th/B'way. That's great too, just don't go on the weekend. There are crosstown buses that will get you more or less there. In fact, walk about 6 blocks west of your place and you'll get to the Lexington Ave. subway(up and downtown) at 68th/Lex. or you can go to E.67 and catch the M66 crosstown bus to Broadway, then switch to the M104 northbound to 79th St. Or you can just walk that part). I'm not 100% sure of the M66 at your point because I rarely take it. I'm sure someone here will know better.Because of your location you are going to be doing a lot of walking or cabbing, so bring very comfortable walking shoes and $$$ for taxi fare. Buy a 20 ride MetroCard in the subway station(also gives you 2 free rides). You'll find the vending machines for these as you descend into the subway. You can use the card on buses as well. Forgive me if you know already know this.
For bus/subway info, if you haven't already done so, pick up a laminated bus/subway map. Barnes and Noble in NYC carries these. There is one which folds up in 3 small sections so it fits in a bag.
As to where to shop...Zagat's has a 2008 NYC Gourmet Marketplace edition. It lists every kind of foodie/wino shopping paradise there is in NYC. Obtainable in lots of places, obviously in bookstores.
You are staying near great hospitals but for some reason there is a dearth of good places to buy food around there. I could be very wrong because I don't travel to York Ave very often. I'm sure someone on this board knows that area better than I do.
On Wednesday and Friday, take the 6 train downtown to Union Square. Union Square Greenmarket is the largest in the city. It is getting better by the day as more crops become ready. You'll find fresh artisanal almost everything there, including cheese, fish and meat. Bring a tote bag to carry away your finds. Bread Alone has terrific bread.
Gourmet Garage, Eli's Vinegar(E.91 btwn 1st and 2nd Ave) and Dean/DeLuca are glorified food markets carrying expensive stuff you can get just about anywhere, unless you are in the market for one $50 truffle. The nearest D and D for you is at 85th and Madison Ave. Nearest GG to you is 301 E.64th btwn 1st and 2nd Ave. if you want to find out all this for yourself...you are allowed to say I'm all wet ;-) if you love them.
For coffee buying I'd suggest Oren's Daily Roast. They have great coffee beans which they'll grind for you, and also have coffee-to-go and H and H bagels. The closest to you is 985 Lexington Ave. at 71st. St. Orwasher's Bakery is at 308 E.78th st. between 1st and 2nd Ave. Great Jewish bakery..I love their rye bread. If you are interested in Jewish deli not that far from you, try Pastrami Queen on Lexington btwn 78/79th st. It isn't a tourist attraction and there are very few tables, but the pastrami and brisket are amazing. Get it to go along with some delicious sides.
Your best bets for specialty food shops are in the East and West Village and parts of the Upper West Side. Murray's Cheese Shop on Bleeker St. in the W. Village is one of my favorite places to go dairy, for example. I'm not saying that there is nothing between Central Park South and the Village, of course there are, but the places I've mentioned will do very nicely for you. On the Lower East Side I like Kossar's Bialys and Russ and Daughters for smoked fish and "appetizing". I'm just giving you a random smattering of my favorite places. You will get a host more from the others who respond to your post...and I might add some more too!

As for Per Se, from what I've heard about it you'll love and adore everything but the bill!

PS: What does "fur coat and no knickers" mean?

@renzata.......I put a note about this elsewhere, too, but your phrase........"be sure to wear your New York elbows" has to be as classic as "In a New York minute". I can't get it out of my head. Is it original? I never heard it before and I just love it!

Yes lemons, but have you been to Fairway? The years I spent in New York confirmed that most places are not at all as crowded and manic as people like to say, with the exception of Fairway (and tourist-heavy places like 5th ave). Horrifically narrow and jumbled aisles, labyrinthine store layout, and a mad crush after work and on weekends, you almost need a freakin helmet.

You've got some great recommendations for sure from everyone above, Foodlexi. I have not added any for I've not been to the place I think of as "home" often enough in past years to trust anything I'd say - as the city is such a live thing, always moving, shifting, and altering.

As to "fur coat and no knickers" you'd have to know that when I read a metaphor it appears visually in my mind. What I saw in this case (forgive me, too many Damon Runyon-esque tales read in the past) was a lady of the night. To use a euphemism. And we do know what ladies of the night do, don't we? ~ cough cough~

Thanks Joannabar,
Some more places to go..... We were in China last year and the markets were like nothing I have ever seen. As everywhere else in the world, when I asked if I could take pictures, stallholders enthusiastically cleaned the tanks with the crabs piled up one on top of the other inside them, or so that I could see the completely unidentifiable dark, deep-sea fish wrapped up on itself in another. Mantis shrimps, very large and with flat backs, were forced onto their backs in a shallow tray of water and proved that they were alive to the serious shoppers by waving their many legs in the air, while on other trays, sea slugs with black antennae wandered about. Frogs were piled up in other tanks, and abalones sucked onto the glass sides so that flesh could be looked at to help the selection. Dried mushrooms, (dried abalones which looked rather similar!) were thrown onto the floor of this fishy, stinking, froggy hell and sorted into sizes to be put into huge bags for sale. It really was a sort of Heironymous Bosch hell, where monsters of all shapes and sizes were sold for consumption.

But again, I must say, stallholders were so helpful and thrilled to show me their wares and to let me photograph them. And I won't mention the dogs on sale in the market in Xian.

and Karen - Damon Runyon will do it every time. And you are right, there would be a fur coat and high heels and no knickers!

Not to be forgotten and a hop away by subway: Carroll Gardens and Red Hook !

i just thought of something else you might like. there is a wonderful german butcher on the UES on second avenue in the 80's called schaller and weber. they sell all kinds of meats and imported groceries.

If you go to Shopsin's, don't let the menu throw you. It has over 400 items. Lots of cursing from the kitchen, but that's part of the charm. Don't order what "they are having". The food is very good.

If you love excelently prepared seafood, go to La Sirene at Broome and Varick. It's BYOB which makes it less expensive-=-and the mussels, especially, are fantastic!!!!

oh, my bad. You are coming on Monday. All the rest of what I said holds true, however!
I hope you have an uneventful and pleasant journey to NYC....

You've already got fantastic advice here - the only thing I would add is, Come to Brooklyn and visit Sahadi's! Fantastic Middle Eastern market (but they sell EVERYTHING) on Atlantic Ave., close to every subway (at Borough Hall), an all-around fantastic experience. And I may be biased, but I don't think a trip to NYC is complete without a visit to the Better Borough! While you're there check out some of the great restaurants, like The Grocery, Saul, Chestnut or Lunetta. Stop at Stinky Brooklyn on Smith Street, the friendliest cheese shop ever, have a cocktail at JakeWalk, sample some treats at Sweet Melissa Patisserie. There's a ton to see and do if you love food!

Enjoy!

Karen - great idea! You can get them at the Lexington Candy Shop (lexington around 82nd or 83rd). They used to have them at Katz's deli, not sure if they still do. They're delicious! Milk, Fox-s U-Bet chocolate syrup and seltzer... served with a pretzel rod.... yum!

Morning all,
We have just got back from walk to acclimatise on a really *beautiful* morning, and a pleasant breakfast at Java Girl on 66th between 1st and 2nd. Nice guys, very welcoming, and a bird feeder with muffins for the sparrows! I have just finished drawing up a map of the places you have all recommended. I should have done this before bit last week was hectic, with various deadline before I came away.

I shall certainly be heading to Union Square, probably tomorrow as Friday and Saturday are already taken - but I have to go to Citarella. I took some really good fish pictures there last year and I have printed out some nice quality ones to take into thank the really nice man behind the counter. He has been there for years, and helped me to set the fish up so I could see the whole of them.

What a glorious day. And off I go......

Karen,
This sounds amazing, but we are guests of someone who lives on Long Island for the weekend. But we will definitely, definitely, put this on the list for our next visit! This is like Cambridge. You can go to evensong on any day at King's College Chapel and hear their choir. My mother used to do the flowers in Gloucester Cathedral when I was a child and we used to hear all the rehearsals for the Three Choirs Festivals. Priceless. How I should love to hear the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir.

Today we were driving along and my partner pointed out a sign that said "New York Tires". He laughed and asked where was the sign that advertises "New York Exhausts"!

We were on our way out to the Botanic Gardens in the Bronx and then the zoo. Please bear in mind that we are not completely bonkers - this is our 11th or 12th time in New York and we are usually very good on doing the cultural things .... but the weather was so gorgeous today we thought this would be a good plan. So off we went and passed the turnings to Throgs Neck which I used to take to drive into Connecticut when I was a 19 year old living there = and yes, I went to Woodstock!

Driving into and out of the Bronx we saw, to us, unfamiliar views of the East River and the Harlem River. What a great city. And then - at the Botanic Garden the blossom was like washing on a line, bright and fresh in the sun. In this country you have these spectacular birds, that just line up to be looked and admired. turn about so that you can get a better view of them. Where we live they are all small and brown and hide in bushes! But also in the Botanic Gardens you have wonderful woodland walks and the Bronx River, and paths beside it to a cascade...... What I would give to have such a lovely place within Cambridge.

On the way back into town, my other half dropped me off at 93rd and Lexington and I started the business of the day. First stop Kitchen Arts and Letters, where I always get great help and advice. Wonderful place specialising in books to do with food. Aladdin's cave of books you never expected to see again and new ones you never heard of.

Next was Eli's Vinegar Factory. One thing I should admit immediately is that we have found that we don't have an apartment where we are staying. We were misled and it all we have is a fridge! So my remit has changed slightly. However, Eli's I thought was interesting but not necessarily worth the detour, unlike Schaller & Weber which I thought was wonderful and they had me tasting all kinds of weird and wonderful things. Then on to Lexington Candy Shop where I tried the egg cream Karen! It tasted to me like an unfrozen vanilla ice cream mixture, with a slight fizz on the tongue that I couldn't quite identify. Does this sound about right? I think I got a decent photograph of it.

So then I walked from there down to Tender Buttons at 143 62nd Street, between 3rd and Lexington - passing a couple or Oren's Daily Roast as I went. At Tender Buttons I had tender feelings as I viewed the current window - a doggy motif, with buttons embossed or enamelled or embroidered with dogs all beautifully displayed. After which, having mislaid a Fairway that I expected to find at 64th and 2nd Avenue, I staggered home to be greeted with MOH proffering a glass of wine.

Tonight we are off to Gramercy Tavern. For me it is presently 1.15 ish so I must go and have shower to wake me up. Tomorrow I am off to Union Square and as many of those other places down there that you have so kindly recommended. I deserve my supper after all this walking........

It sounds as if you had a vanilla eggcream, Foodlexi. :)

Which is good "starter" egg creme but next you must move up with the big guys and try a chocolate one.

What a whirlwind of activity you've had!
Funny story about the refrigerator. NY kitchens can often be small but that is very minimal indeed. But they really shouldn't call it a "kitchen" unless there's a hot plate hidden in a cupboard to use and maybe a plastic tub to wash the dishes in, even if it has to be done in the shower. With a microwave oven on the counter it might shift to being called a "luxury kitchen". I'm not sure whether this is native optimism or BS.

On the other hand, there's always Per Se to drown the pain in.

Yes, one of the best cities ever. Always. Even the birds agree. :)

I had some problems with connectivity yesterday so didn’t have a chance to let you know how things are going. But *so* many thanks to everyone for your recommendations. I am only sorry that I am not going to be able to make all of them - but, next time!

I had an early start yesterday at Union Square Market, and though it may not be so good as Fridays and Saturdays, this was my only opportunity. I 'wasted' the entire morning there in the most glorious sunshine and met lovely traders who were passionate about what they were selling. I *love* photographing in markets. I got some quite good pictures. Showing them to traders is always fun as I am quite good at spotting patterns and so on that even they haven't realised they are incorporating in their arrangements. Check in a couple of weeks and you will see picture of ramps, broccoli raab, turnip tops, fiddleheads, oyster mushrooms, cheeses, radishes and more on http://www.whatamieating.com - not to mention egg cream though that will probably have to be the girly vanilla version. It's quite a nice picture, even so!

Anyway, the whole morning having passed in this wonderful occupation, I then headed on down to Citarella to hand Frank Marotta the photographs I took last year of sardines and pompano : http://127.0.0.1/foodglossary/?b=1&d=1&t=main&s=pompano&r=All and it was well worth it as he was thrilled. What did I do then? Oh yes, wended my way to Murrays Cheese shop (gorgeous) and Chelsea Market. But I have to say that my absolute highlight was the Union Square Market with thanks to Lemons, Joannabars and James18n. If I come away from a journey with two usable pictures I am really pleased, but I took a couple there which I like so much that I think that they will go on next year's calendar!

By now it was around 3.00 pm and I had a camera to buy. With camera equipment much cheaper in the US than in the UK (around the same number of dollars as it would be pounds at home) plus the exchange rate being so favourable, the camera of my dreams was now accessible. So three years of my savings disappeared into the American exchequer yesterday afternoon and I am the very proud owner indeed of a Nikon D-300.

So then I had to go 'home' and lie on the bed with a cold flannel on my brow to recover……. After which we went out for an uninteresting supper as someone's guest, though it was good to have cieche (elvers – baby eels) for the first time since I was a child. I was brought up in a tiny village beside a great river from which elvers were fished by the ton and we had elver-eating contests at the village fair in August each year.

And so today, cooler and a bit damper, I walked from 66th to 28th taking in the sights, admiring the Chrysler building looking as though it had been drawn on the sky in pencil; wondering why about 30 policemen were gathered on 51st and Lexington; admiring the shoes but knowing I could never wear any of them and looking at weird people and beautiful people, sometimes rather difficult to tell which they actually were. On the way I stopped at the Grand Central Market where, Cybercita will be delighted to know, I photographed some of the wieners. Sadly at Schaller & Weber there was not enough space and too much glass, but at the Grand Central Market, and using my magic new camera which seems to be able to function when it is practically dark, I got some good usable shots!

And then on to Kalustyan's. Boy. Another highlight. The smell as I went through the door was enough. The great tubs of apricots and prunes, green Persian raisins, every imaginable kind of chickpea; the spice room, the source of much the smell, with shelf upon shelf of different types of paprika; the rows of pickles and chutneys. Again, and with their permission, some great pictures, but I will have to think of what I can use them for as an entry, as they are essentially of the shop itself. I will have to do an entry for 'food store' or something, and say something along the lines of "If only they were all like Kalustyan's". I will think of a way to use it.

All the way there and back I popped into places to ask if they did egg creams, but most just laughed. So I am yet to join the ranks of the big boys Karen!

Tonight we are guests at the Chef's table at Park Avenue Café. Looking forward to that but had better run and shower. As MOH's mother says "Far from this you were reared!"

I am sure I have left some things out, and I have had to be doing one or two other work-related things in between. Tomorrow's my big day and I have realised why I am in such a state about it – I can’t rehearse it. I can't (as when I give a lecture) get myself organised, know when I am going to change the picture, tell the joke, ask the audience something. This is going to be just as it comes. Eeek. Mind you, shutting me up is often a difficulty, as you may have gathered……

Thanks Karen and glad you have enjoyed it. The interview on Friday went well (phew) and there is an MP3 on Wisconsin Public Radio's website. I was on Jean Feraca's 'Here on Earth'. I was relieved, though a bit sad that most of the conversation seemed to be about 'Toad in the hole' when I wanted to stress that I have 61,000 entries in multiple languages - so if you want to know the English description of a Spanish dish, rather than a description of an English language dish, this is the place to go!

We're off back to England today but when I get back I will describe the night on the chef's table at Park Avenue Spring and the wonderful, wonderful meal at Per Se. Oh my goodness. I came slightly prepared to look down my nose at it but I had my breath taken away. Must go as we have to check out of our kitchenless 'apartment'!