At 8 a.m. this morning, the doors opened to the long-awaited Trader Joe's on the Upper West Side corner of Broadway and West 72nd Street. Leis and steel drum musicians greeted shoppers (some of whom were waiting since 7:30 a.m.) as they ventured down escalators to the two subterranean floors featuring the store's signature groceries and competitive prices. People were marveling how beautiful and open the store was—but we happened to go there right when it opened, so it wasn't crowded (DNA Info says there was a line halfway around the store by 9:15 a.m.). more ›

The NY Times asked former Mayor Ed Koch about his Sunday routine and one of the West Village resident's activities is related to citrus: "I’ll go to Fairway because I love their orange juice. I’ll get the half-gallon container, which, believe it or not, I drink in two days. Sometimes all I get is the orange juice. I love orange juice. When I don’t feel like schlepping all the way up to the Upper West Side, I’ll go to Citarella, on Ninth Street and Sixth Avenue. But it’s not such a good buy. I probably drink, I’d say, three gallons of orange juice in a week. It’s refreshing." Refreshing enough for fixing Albany? more ›

Fairway has been heavily flirting with a location on the Upper East Side since February, but it looks like construction on the Second Avenue subway could Heisman the deal. The popular gourmet food market has been considering opening on East 86th Street between Second and Third Avenues, but as subway construction crews take over Second Avenue, truck loading and unloading zones will be blocked. As a result, more businesses will be using the East 86th Street truck zone, and Fairway lawyers tell the MTA, "We’re concerned we’ll be competing with everyone else." Oh nos, is Fairway doomed or.... Hey, wait a minute—you know, for a second we actually caught ourselves naively believing that the Second Avenue subway was actually happening! more ›

A Bald Eagle spotting isn't unheard of in New York City—but it's still neat to see one milling about in Harlem instead of, say, behind bars at the Bronx Zoo. One blogger recently spotted one heading to Fairway, saying: "Since the opening of the Harlem Piers I have always appreciated its close views of Hudson River bird traffic, all the while knowing that Bald Eagles sometimes ply these fish rich waters. So today, as I was about to head into Fairway, I scanned the rough ice and to my surprise, found a bald eagle in almost complete adult plumage." (Maybe he knows where that wiley coyote is.) Find out more about the city's history with the Bald Eagle, here. more ›

The Fairway in Red Hook has some new customers: birds! Lost City spotted the feathery friends after hearing them chirping on a recent trip. Upon telling the clerk that there were at least two birds perched in the organic food section, he was met with a blank stare — but he managed to grab some photos. Do you think they invade the bread section at night? Oh well, better than rats. more ›

Over the weekend, we had an up close and personal sighting of original Public Advocate Mark Green getting signatures for his petition at the Fairway on the Upper West Side (people seemed more focused on groceries than government). The Times was there as well for what Green's political director called "a humbling experience" for the candidate who was mistaken for Scott Stringer at one point and got the reaction from one woman, "It’s very sad. It’s like he can’t get another job." And she was a supporter! The campaign is a strange one for the man fighting the public's "Green Fatigue" after campaigns during his public advocate reign in the '90s and unsuccessful bids against Bloomberg and Cuomo this decade. Despite an early lead in the polls, Green has raised a fraction of his opponents' war chests. And there's even a humble tone coming from the man who is usually quick to tell you he came up with the idea for 311, saying, “Why would I have a press conference and have no one come? Who wants to come listen to the Mark Green economic development plan?” more ›

Red Hook, the Brooklyn neighborhood on the brink of perpetual change, is about to see some lobsters move into the neighborhood. Pardon Me For Asking has the scoop on the soon-to-open Red Hook Lobster Pound, a new business at 284 Van Brunt Street that will deal in retail sales of live Maine lobster at around $10-11 a pound. more ›

Passover may be more than two weeks away, but for those of you who love your soda with pure sugar (or just love your sugar), you can get Passover Coke now. The special Coke, which isn't made with the forboden corn syrup, is only available in two liter bottles for a limited time and is distinguished by its yellow caps with the symbols "OU-P" on them. Calls to stores around the city found that some aren't carrying the product yet (deliveries could be there as soon as Friday/Saturday), but some stores already have the product is on their shelves — the Upper West Side Harlem Fairways. A call to Coca Cola revealed that Passover Coke is already available in many markets, like Albany. Other establishments that Coke's corporate communications department recommended in our area include Key Foods, Associated and A&P. If your local grocery store isn't carrying it, you can even ask them to order it. Of course, the rest of the year, you can buy Passover Coke as "Mexican Coke." more ›

Only in New York, kids: The NY Times front page* features an article about a very slow elevator at a Manhattan grocery store. To be fair(way), it's the elevator that goes between just two floors at the Upper West Side grocery institution, Fairway, where shopping carts are turned into instruments of, if not death, then serious bruising amid well-priced products. more ›

While 850 Viacom employees got laid off this morning, we were taking our first look inside the Red Hook house of the Real World Brooklyn cast! MTV gave big ups to the borough by adding a cast member this season for a total of eight good-looking 18 to 24-year-olds. There isn't one New Yorker in the bunch--but this season features the first transgender (and the token Mormon, Iraq vet and gay dolphin trainer, naturally). If you'd like to meet the cast up close and personal yourself, they'll be joining the producers of the show tomorrow night at The Paley Center for Media. more ›

The most eco-friendly way to eat on Earth Day – and any day – is by growing your own food, eating it raw and composting the scraps. But for those of us who aren’t urban farmers, there are some good green options happening on or around April 22nd. more ›