1- You will need to go to at least 2 grocery stores weekly
And this is when you are lucky as it is usually 3 or 4…. Indeed, you won’t find everything you need in one place like Monoprix, Carrefour, LECLERC, SuperU or Auchan in France.
For example, I go to Trader Joe (Whole food is also a great option) for organic fruits, vegetables and diary as they offer a large selection of organic food at a very reasonable price (almost 2$ less than other supermarkets for organic milk!!!!). But Trader Joe’s doesn’t carry out popular brands or junk food that I let my kids eat with a strong feeling of gilt.
So for junk food, I go to ShopRite (I used to go to Gristedes or KeyFood in Manhattan or Brooklyn) where you can buy Doritos, Heinz Ketchup, ChipaHoy, Lays potato chips, little bites brownies, Hagen Dazs ice cream ….
Then I sometimes go to Fairway which actually almost carries out everything I need (organic and junk), but as it is a bit far from our house, I make this expedition to Fairway for cheese, fish, meat, and Milka chocolate, as you will find mainly Lindt chocolate in other stores.
2- Food costs about twice more than in France.
You get only 1 pound of tomatoes for the price of 1kg in France! And I don’t talk about French cheese that are imported: you won’t find the same selection as in France, your Camembert will be ‘bien fait’ as it has to go through US customs before arriving at the store and most good cheese costs at least 20$ per pound…. I will end this paragraph with French wine: the cheapest ‘drinkable’ (not outstanding) Bordeaux is at about 16$ the bottle, without tax. I regret my very good Medoc bottle sold at 12 euros (all included) at Monoprix!
3- Most of grocery stores don’t sell beauty care products.
So you need to go to Cvs Pharmacy or Duane Reade or Rite Aid. Same for pet food. You will go the pet store that are supermarkets for pets!
4- You can shop in bulk at Costco.
You might already know it if you live in France as one opened recently in France: cheap deals on organic and regular food, but only if you have a family of 6 at least or if you are planning a big party at home this weekend!
5- If you don’t have time to shop in stores…
Just order online at FreshDirect.com. It is expensive but they deliver almost everywhere and they sell good veal chops, duck magret and organic beef!
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