Upper East Side Whole Foods Market #NYC

I finally made it over to see the new Whole Foods Market on 87th street and 3rd avenue in New York City. The decor is basic and even though the two level layout can be cumbersome–there is an escalator in place just for the shopping cart!  Considering space is at a premium on the streets of Manhattan, this natural food supermarket is a blessing for the residents of the upper east side. The Kitchen or prepared foods, located on the street level includes fresh breads, pastries, a thin-crust pizza bar, salad bar, soup bar, hot foods bar, sushi bar, taqueria, sandwiches, coffee/juice bar and more! Everything else, typically found in a natural foods supermarket is located on the 2nd floor.

Third avenue has become a mecca for health and wellness. There are boutique fitness studios and juice and salad bars sprouting up all over the neighborhood. However, it’s been challenging to find supermarkets with an assortment of natural and organic fresh foods–until now.

As I stood by the take out counter, I couldn’t help overhearing a conversation between a young couple in their early 20’s. The young lady was talking to her boyfriend about a situation in her office that sounded so unusual, I perked up my ears. She said, “I still can’t get used to everyone doing sit-ups and push-ups every 2 hours near their cubicles. It makes me feel uncomfortable.” I excused myself for eavesdropping and then asked why she felt uncomfortable that her coworkers were enthusiastically keeping in shape despite long hours of sitting at a desk. She said “Everyone randomly drops to the floor, even when I am about to give a presentation.”  I asked if this was a practice started by the management and she no—it was just what everyone does at their own free will. Then she said, “I am new at this job, and I guess I just need to join in.”  Then I thought to myself— wow, this is brilliant! Why can’t every office in America be like this one?

Thank you Whole Foods for coming to the upper east side and bringing like-minded people together. Please offer those muffins made with avocado, dates, banana and walnuts instead of the ones filled with butter and sugar. Please use organic ingredients in the prepared foods and soups. Try not to put the “mom and pop” stores out of business—it was sad to see one of the local health food stores on Lexington Avenue shut down. Take a look at A Matter Of Health with its two upper east side locations on 1st avenue, which sells only 100 percent organic produce. If you’re an organic food shopper (like I am), the experience is so much nicer and you save so much time when you don’t have to keep checking to see which products are organic and which are conventional, especially when it comes to perishables!

Here are a few photos taken on the street level of the Whole Foods Market:

Chopped Liver
Vegetarian Chopped Liver
JuiceBar
View near the Juice/Coffee Bar

 

Cake
New York Coffee Cake

 

Maplewater
Vermont Maple Water

 

NY Bagels
New York Bagels
Organic
Organic Salad Bar
Peruvian-style Cauliflower
Peruvian-style Cauliflower
Pizza
Pizza!
shopping cart
My Essential-Shopping Cart
Tofu
Tofu at the Deli
Tzimmes
Tzimmes at the Deli

Whole Foods Market Upper East Side is located at:

1551 3rd Ave, New York, NY 10128

(646) 891-3888

For healthy recipes and a diet geared towards optimal health, pick up a copy of Layne’s book: Beyond The Mediterranean Diet: European Secrets Of The Super-Healthy.