My one suggestion to Fairway would be to establish a relationship with the Red Hook Community Farm and carry some of their produce. Even though Fairway being there seems like an overall positive thing due to the major need for a grocery store like that in the neighborhood, I worry that people who have traditionally supported the Community Farm will start shopping at Fariway.

See this post:

http://liftwhileclimbing.wordpress.com/2006/10/16/economic-model-2-sustainable-agriculture-in-red-hook-bk/

Well, I picked up the B61 bus under the BQE in Clinton Hill today, a half a block from my front door on Clermont Ave. The B61 runs plenty during the day, but taking it from this side of town always means waiting out the bottlenecks as the route crosses downtown. Maybe a 40 minute ride to Red Hook, and less than a five minute walk to the store.

I'm a semi-retired 5-star chef, so a good market is a wonderful thing to find. The convenience (for me, anyway) would save many trips across the river if the sourcing in Red Hook is good.

It is good. Not great, not the West Side, but good. Definitely the best one-stop supermarket in Brooklyn, at least from what I saw today.

There's a nice split between high-end stuff and good quality stuff that everyone needs to run a household. Everyone can shop here if they want to.

Suprisingly, the perishables were among the least impressive things on display, but that's not uncommon at a just-opened market. A local crowd tends to take time to get to know the offerings, and ordering and stocking are adjusted accordingly to suit particular demands.

Much of the produce is large-scale commercial, with a decent section of organics. There was nice rhubard, which delights me greatly. Yukon Golds for 1.29 lb., which suddenly puts potato dishes back into rotation. There's also at least 8 different kinds of pears. Very nice papayas in abundance at 2 for 4 clams. Vine-ripe tomatoes at .99 lb.

But fresh herbs were very scarce. Also, while organic greens were a nice price at 2 for 5 clams, the variety was nothing special. A true French mesclun mix with fragile herbs would be nice.

A big question for me was the cheese counter, given the residence of Steve Jenkins in the Fairway corporate structure. I was expecting something fat and abundant, but again, the store is just opening.

The department has plentiful space that will work well with customers once regular rapport and buying habits take shape for the location, but the offerings are pretty standard and run-of-the-mill for a New York cheese counter, and nowhere near as deep as the West Side's offerings.

There are almost no aged goat cheeses of distinction, and the fresh goats are mostly industrial as well. There are no fine roqueforts or French bleus, and the sheep's cheeses are very thin as well. Vento D'Estate was a good buy there, 6 bucks a pound. Much of what was on display seemed young, not much age yet on the cheeses in house. This department will deepen and grow much better with time.

There also seemed to be an absence of a legitimate cheesemonger on staff as well. I didn't say anything when the young man gave me almost 3/4 of a pound of good English Stilton when I had asked him for half (and severely corrected the knife portion he had first showed me), but I should have when he couldn't handle the cheesepaper for a proper wrapping.

The meat and fish are all nice selections, but honestly, they were looking a bit tired by Monday. Freshness will improve as inventories are adjusted less for massive display and more for actual demand.

The baked goods all were mostly pedestrian, and sourced off-premises. I'm not sure how much actual baking production will be done in Red Hook. Fresh almond croissants for 1.99 looked good, though.

There's a great, rustic cafe space between the bakery and the rich-smelling coffee bean department, and that space apparently opens onto outdoor space right at the wharf's edge dead ahead.

There were some nice finds among the meats, including the most fresh looking ground chicken I've seen in NYC. Lots of fresh ground veal in abundance, and plentiful, fresh meatball mix for Brooklyn's Italians. Very nice skirt steak priced very well, excellent buy to break down into smaller portions for storage and use at home. Very fat-looking veal chops, porterhouse. Wishing they had some rabbit and quail.

There was tasso, though the producer is from Conneticut and not Louisiana. I'll try it soon and get back to you. It looked like the real deal on the outside, though.

Cornichons available in bulk. Worth a bus ride alone! Also some very nice olives of many available. Brought home some garlic-stuffed green olives. The black oil-cured olives looked fantastic.

Lots of nuts, beans, dry goods and such in bulk, including French Green Lentils, Steel-Cut Oats, lots of kinds of granola, and fantastic fresh dates as well.

They have a dazzling selection of honeys. Just start trying them until you find the ones you really like.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not disappointed in the Red Hook Fairway...it's by far the best supermarket in Brooklyn, and it will get better with time as it becomes more of an actual working, regional market, but there are some kinks to work out.

The staff seems mostly local, which is a good thing. Jobs make a neigborhood thrive.

It's going to be an interesting scene down in Red Hook. I'll become a regular shopper. I made the trip from my couch back to my kitchen in 3 hours flat, and that's accounting for downtown traffic both ways.

One note for bus riders: walk one block to the right past the stop you got off of, and then one block up to the left for your return trip--the route going back towards downtown Brooklyn begins at the next stop.

My boyfriend and I went on pilgrimage to Fairway yesterday from Prospect Heights. It takes about an hour to walk each way, so we couldn't buy much, but we had good sandwiches in the cafe and a mind-bendingly great cream puff from the bakery. The staff were unbelievably nice Red Hook locals. They're still figuring out some things, like how to streamline the crowd at the tiny cafe, but they have a clear policy for taking care of lost children, which must be needed all the time. (We found one and an employee calmly took over.) The layout is a little labrynthine to keep it from being overwhelming, but the aisles are wide enough to prevent havoc. Around 2pm, things got a little crazy and one woman shouted "GET OUT OF MY WAY!" in the produce aisle. Go in the morning, I guess? But definitely go. The selection is phenomenal, cheap, attractive, well-lit, and delicious.

That parking lot is unfortunate. Isn't there enough astham in Red Hook?

They are open until 10pm every night. That's on the circular and I was there tonight shopping from 8:30p to about 9:30p. It is wonderful. I would dare not try to go there on the weekend though. Only during the week during odd hours. Once the masses get put on, it will be chaotic. It's gorgeous and it has a parking lot.

No bike rack and a security guard told me I could not ride my bike in the parking lot for insurance reasons, I told him I was trying to find a fence to chain it up. What is with the bike phobia and not being better prepared for the people without cars. Oh well, other than that is was a great experience. The people were friendly and I think that it will bring people who live in the neighborhood closer together. It seems that most of the employees are from the neighborhood, and the customers were a good mix. It was a very good day for Red Hook. Hats off to Greg O'Connell, he brought in the right type of business. Oh and Van Brunt desperately needs a bike lane.

Captain! The ‘who-gives-a-shit-o-meter’ is approaching critical levels! I don’t think I can hold her together!

I'm sure that the bike rack is an oversight. They've been busting ass for a couple of weeks now trying to get the place open. I'm sure they'll install one. Hell, LeNell's, the wine and spirit joint down the street just put one in after waiting forever for the city to do it.

As for them being open until 8pm, maybe it'll change. Other places in the neighborhood are open late, so I can't imagine that the residents mind too much.

Dave - Its not enough that you whined about no bike parking on Brownstoner - you have to do it here too? What is wrong with a fence you freak??

O'Connell is Fairway's landlord. I could imagine he would not want a busy store open late, disturbing his fancypants residential tennants upstairs.

For the sake of accuracy, they probably don't kick people out of the park, but it is on his land (within view of Fairway) and last I checked, the park closed earlyish.

What means you by "O'Connell demand"? Curious.

Is it true they are only open until 8pm? If so that is probably an O'Connell demand, just like kicking people out of the beautiful nearby waterfront park before the best part of the day -- sunset. Seems a pity to have such food abundance nearby and not be able to satisfy those late night cravings...

The place is spectacular. I was one of the first dozen through the door, and not everything was quite right; a lot of the price signs in the produce section didn't make it up in time.

You come in through the produce section, then get brought past deli and cheese into the immense service meats and fish counters. Organics are on the left, pre-wrapped meats ahead and coffee, bakery, and grocery on the right. They're gonna have traffic jams in the bakery, just like in Harlem.

But the aisles are wiiide and long. And gorgeous.

The store was teeming with managers today, and they went way out of their way to help people find stuff. And the local help was well-trained, too.

I bet if you go back there in the first week and ask someone in a Fairway Red Hook sweat shirt about the bike rack, it'll happen soon.

I've been schepping from Brooklyn Heights to Harlem every other week for about four years. It takes me about an hour each way. Red Hook was 15 minutes from home. I'm a happy guy.

For all those obsessed about the upper west side Fairway, come to the Harlem Fairway at 131st. Lots of parking, less crowded, and a great range of stuff. I have to walk about 20 blocks each way, but well worth it to avoid the otherwise substandard supermarkets in the area.

I'm a total oyxgenie.

Tim N. - you are absolutely right. I don't have a large supermarket with a good selection within walking distance and, let me tell you, it is a tremendous pain in the ass. Having a nice supermarket nearby is a huge quality-of-life improvement.

No Fresh Direct delivery, either, so don't ask.

I hate when people call themselves "foodies" as if that means they have a deeper understanding of food than the rest of us poor schlubs who buy groceries at Key Food.

i just got back from shopping and it rocks!!! i have been waiting for 2 long decent-food starved years for this place to open. the selection is incredible, well labeled and reasonably priced.

i had to make two laps- one to take it all in and one to actually shop. the staff was really friendly and the line was not long at all- there was only one person ahead of me when i got there. for a die hard foodie, this is heaven.

Tim N. - you're probably right about the bike rack. It may actually be planned, but they're waiting to see where best to put it, but when I go there, I'll see if I can find a manager to mention it to. I own a car and have driven to the Harlem Fairway, but I ride my bike more often and live close enough to the Red Hook Fairway that I would be inclined to save the gas except in cases where I need to load up for a bbq.

Guys... people revel in these things because THEY DIDN'T HAVE THEM BEFORE. It is surprising... no, shocking... how many neighborhoods, of all economic stripe but usually lower ones, don't have a decent supermarket, of all things.

Dave... that bike rack thing is shocking. All kidding aside, I'm going to guess that if someone brought that to the attention of the Fairway honchos they'd rectify the situation.