Greene Grape Provisions

We come here a lot. Usually when I am visiting friends in FG and my bank account is subsequently ballin’ for the day. They are pricey as hell but the quality for certain items is great.
I’m a little addicted to the Kale soup they serve. Like it is really really really good!!! My last visit I kind of went crazy getting a lrg kale soup, some roasted sweet potatoes and a cous cous salad with shrimp (the latter two are charged by the lb) 45 dollars later my items are bagged and I leave. Sadly only getting a block away before all my items bust out through the broken bottom of the bag. My la croix soda can suffering the worse and bursting open completely spraying cran-​raspberry soda all over Fulton St. I went back with my broken bag on the verge of tears from losing my entire meal to the mean no streets. When I explained why happened they were soooo apologetic immediately replaced my soup, sweet potatoes and cous cous (throwing in an extra ½ lb fo free!!!). They know how to make a loyal out of me!

The Greene Grape is a godsend in our neighborhood for many reasons, mainly the excellent meat and cheese counter.
Too bad the produce consistently is a let down. Not that the prices in that area aren’t up to the stor’s rather high end of the spectrum, but unlike the rest of the store where a few extra dollars guarantees great quality, the produce is pretty low quality for what you get. Sure it’s organic and responsibly sourced, but it is often unrepentant or rotten, or just plain mediocre. They should be able to do better.

Good stuff but pricey and not a lot of selection.

This small grocery store has a great selection of speciality goods, but it’s really pricey!

After living in France for a year and moving my frenchie husband to BK, I needed a fresh butcher. Yes, this is a very pricey spot for everything else. But my go to for fresh, sustainable meats and cheeses. I don’t shop here for much else… maybe grassfed milk, but that’s it. Bottom line, never had a bad cut and guaranteed freshness. Well worth the cost. I go out of my way to buy meats here once a week. The wine shop next door is great all round!

This place offers great stuff, but you’ll pay for it. I refer to them as Price Rape. I’m a transplant to this ‘hood and I’m still getting used to the fact that prices for good food are more expensive than Manhattan. I don’t understand that. WTFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF infinity. $ 11.99 for a pint of strawberries from Mexico this time of year… no thanks. After I’m finished shopping here, I feel like I’ve been anally violated with an heirloom cucumber. Besides the substantial sticker shock, the stuff is good. It’s not a big place, but they have an OK cheese selection and their meat is solid. But when I have a few extra minutes, I grab meat at Paisano’s in Cobble Hill instead.

Great selection of bread, cheese and specialty products like white moustache yogurt! The produce could be a bit fresher.

Before marketing execs coopted sustainability, local, organic, and DIY as buzzwords…20 years ago, marketing execs pounced on gourmet food terms. Polenta, semolina, delicate water crackers and soda bread, any food that sounded European or produced with an exacting process. Unlike current local and vegan snacks, this food was dainty and elitist without being healthful. I still haven’t forgotten a new yorker caption ‘I’ll buy anything that says poids net on it.’
Greene Provisions straddles this line as a specialty foods store masquerading as some general store. Everything is freaky expensive. It has a usual suspects selection of organic produce that’s good in a pinch. I can cherry pick for my weird health nut needs, raw turmeric root, Jerusalem artichoke, satsuma, organic lemon. But also limp Satur Farms greens, tasteless basil, and overpriced sliced fruit not ten blocks away from the great fort Greene farmers market.
Specialty foods is so 90s. Yet Greene Provisions keeps up the locavore illusion. A tempting salami and cheese counter with a local twist. Grass fed beef in the butchery section. The guy who mans this counter is solicitous.
The small batch hot sauce counter is nice but extensive enough to be self congratulatory when I’m just looking for local Sriracha. Theres an oil with chili flake and sun dried tomatoes imported from Tunisia in an oily jar (?) but cooking oils are from the suspect brand Spectrum naturals and no nutiva extra virgin coconut oil to be found.
A twee luxury brand called Pork Clouds convinces middle class hipster parents to eat pork rinds (they’re like puffy single origin clouds!) with its matte packaging. A good brand of coconut water is housed next to flower flavored sodas.
I seem to find many highly specific things but not the macadamia oil or coconut yoghurt I’m looking for.
The best thing about this store for me is the extensive freezer and snack isles. They stock my favorite fine and raw chocolate in their extensive local chocolate section. They also used to collaborate with a bakery that made its own delicious twinkies and ding dongs.
The dairy section has products i cant resist:
white mustache yogurt, the best, richest dairy yogurt I’ve ever eaten in a glass pot with tangy sour cherry on the bottom. A dark and creamy chocolate pudding. Soy milk but no almond milk because f me right?
The cashiers are usually friendly and casual, sometimes accommodating my random remarks that pass for small talk.

I only buy meats here, but what meats they are! I really appreciate their effort to let customers know about the farms products come from and while there’s always a chance it’s all in my head, I could swear their stuff tastes 10x better than what they have at my supermarket. I don’t eat meat too often, so the meat prices fit my budget and the staff’s super friendly.

I always get what I need. Fruit are always fresh. They have a wide variety of cheeses. I like that they have every type of condiment possible.
Also they have different types of milk and peanut butter for us picky eaters.
It’s kind of understandable they overcharge, market value people. Tell me how many stores in this area consider the vegetarians and special need eaters?

Greene Grape Provisions is a truly impressive store but it will never be on my regular shopping rotation. A lot of space is given to meat and cheese (not my thing even if it is organic, humanely raised and locally-​sourced). I’ve seen many gourmet or health-​food store brand grocery items such as oils a lot cheaper elsewhere, like at my food co-​op or the organic aisle at Stop & Shop. The produce is organic and good quality but again, not worth paying more than I already do. Looking around at prices that would only seem reasonable to the 1% kinda makes me feel poor… not a great feeling. But I think it’s nice that people with that kind of money can spend top dollar on top quality if they choose.

Sorry I keep harping on you, Green Grape, but I keep getting disappointed.
The other day I went in to buy some guacamole and some rice crackers. I paid $ 8.99 for the small container of guacamole. I remember thinking that it was a little higher than normal but chalked it up to the fact that I had read about some avocado shortage. Fast forward a couple of days and I go and buy another container of guacamole but this time it costs only $ 4.99. I mention the difference to the cashier but he just looks at me blankly and asks me, «credit or debit?»
I really want to support local vendors and local farmers but I just feel like it’s costing me more than it should.
Oh– and I also bought a rib eye steak the other day and again was disappointed in the quality– even when cooked to medium rare, it was very very tough. When Green Grape first opened, they had a kick ass butcher and I could always count on the quality of their steaks and other cuts of meat. Now– not so much.
Pros: house produced sausage, baked goods, ice creams, cheese selection and prepared foods (esp. the sandwiches)
Cons: high prices, produce can be iffy and the meat/​fish selection is not quite up to par

Minus one star. They ended their contract with all the vendors who made the baked goods.
That, and the guacamole has so much lemon juice in it, you’ll get a tummyache. No mas.

Small grocery store with nice fine foods. Cheesemonger and a meat counter available.

What can I say? Greene Grape Provisions is, as my buddy Zane posted on Foursquare, the place where white people come to spend $ 8 on a shallot. Two things: Zane can say that because he is white; and he is absolutely correct.
Provisions is pricey. But they are also wonderful. Fresh fish, excellent cuts of meat, produce that seems to have been blessed by the agricultural gods themselves. Not to mention some delicious sandwiches and a cheese selection that far surpasses that of any other within the borough.
The staff are amazing as well. Friendly and knowledgable, everyone who works at Provisions has a great attitude and make shopping here a pleasure.
If you’re in the Fort Greene/​Clinton Hill area, I encourage you to shop at Provisions at least once. No, it’s probably not going to be your everyday grocer, but on occasion it’s nice to stop by, say hello to the good folks working here, and pick up a shallot or two.

Yea, it’s a bit cramped so it can seem a bit chaotic when it’s near mealtime. And sure, this place isn’t somewhere you go for a bargain. But they definitely have specialty items to offer, and if you shop right, you can leave with some very nice ingredients without breaking the bank.
They get in a cow and a pig each week on the regular, so you can plan and call ahead to reserve the cut that you want. The sausages are absolutely delicious, the seafood is always so fresh, and they have a great selection of charcuterie. Plus, they get in a variety of produce according to the season and this week they offered wild ramps and ferns! I have no clue what to do with them but I am happy to see that they are available to me if I wanted to try.
Anyway, I love this place so five stars for Greene Grape Provisions by me!

I love this place. I probably shouldn’t because its pricey, but it’s such a cute little specialty shop. They have great cheeses and really nice meats and fish. I’m not sure where they get the meats/​fish but it’s the best in the area IMO. They also have tasty sweets, (I love the double chocolate cookies!) nice breads, and pretty good coffee. They also sell local produce, which is nice, but otherwise I wouldn’t purchase produce from there as it’s about the same quality as other, cheaper, produce in the area.
I’ve never tried the prepared foods, but based on the quality of the raw materials, I would imagine its pretty tasty.

This place is near a lot of places I frequent a lot, and being a lover of coffee that I am, I am both drawn here for the price of the coffee, and the quality of the coffee. For the area, I think it wins there.
However. Where I win with price and quality, I lose repeated (REPEATEDLY) by the customer service I receive. And listen, I get it. I’m not a high roller. I just want to come, drop my $ 2, sweeten my cup and leave. I don’t need much extra care. Just for you to accept the money, maybe acknowledge my existence, and do it with a little bit of respect. Am I asking too much?
The last time I came in there, there was a long line at the regular cashier, and so I did the self-​serve coffee and was preparing my smile and hello to the woman in front of the coffee-​drinks cash register. She growled at me and said that register was closed and that I needed to go to the end of the other line. I go to the end of the other line. I hear, «This cash register is closed, please see the register at the end of the counter.» Back where I started. She snatched – literally snatched – my two dollars, gave me my whatever change. No thank you. No sorry I led you astray in this already small store. Nothing.
I’m not sure the winning is worth it.

Adequate selection and the prices are what you would expect for Ft. Greene. The line seemed long because of the organization of the store and how crowded the cashier’s area and door can become, but it goes by relatively quickly.
I ordered a hot chocolate here but disliked it because I didn’t know it was made with soy milk. That should be noted somewhere. If it is, I apologize for overlooking it.
I like how they have an area outside to sit on benches and people watch while you eat your baked good etc. but that is maybe the only plus for this store. The prices are expensive. Unless you are looking for a specialty item or in a bind because of time, I would try to find a less niche marketplace.

This is one of the many reasons why I love Fort Greene.
Every morning before ducking into the G subway stop on Fulton St., I manage to walk inside and grab my morning usual.
They use Stumptown Coffee and the iced coffee is always strong, fragrant and refreshing. They also carry a lovely assortment of pastries. I have been very bad lately. I really like their cheddar and scallion biscuits. Oh, and the date and blue cheese scone is out of this world. You wouldn’t think a pungent cheese like blue cheese would be the first thing to eat in the morning, but wow does it wake up your mouth!
They offer high-​quality meats including prosciutto (which I have used to bake cookies), sopressata, and speck. There is also a generous selection of cheeses including cheeses made with raw milk, sheep milk, and goat milk.
They have a very good selection of high end chocolate. I am a chocolate fiend so I have tried a different bar almost every week. They carry Taza chocolate (this is stone ground chocolate that has a grainy, sandy consistency) and it is amazing. I can eat the whole bar in a one sitting. They also carry Vosges chocolate, the Goji berry and Himalayan salt is my favorite flavor. They also sell Nunu chocolates and that is next up in the queue for me to try…
And although the prices are a bit higher than average, it is well worth it. They choose their products carefully, and they always carry high-​quality, fresh products. I highly recommend this place.