Super Markets

Serious Eats: Tiny market with lots of pantry staples for Thai cooking.

Serious Eats: Huge Chinese grocery in the heart of Chinatown. Excellent selection of Chinese goods and Asian candy.

Serious Eats: Great Middle Eastern market with a generous selection of olives and olive oil, plenty of spices, and a deli case in the back.

Serious Eats: This small shop near Curry Row is packed with dried spices and grains, fresh herbs, and plenty of beer. A neighborhood destination for Indian and south Asian pantry goods.

Serious Eats: If you're looking for obscure spices and specialty ingredients from India, the Middle East, Asia, and beyond, Kalustyan's probably has it.

Serious Eats: Destination Middle Eastern market for spices, olives, coffee, yogurt, cheese, prepared foods, and more. Be prepared to get lost in the aisles; bring a big shopping bag.

Serious Eats: 100-year-old Italian specialty market with incredible mozzarella and fresh porchetta. Expect long waits, but they're worth it for Louie's selection of imported and deli products.

Lily: NYMag 2014 Food & Drink Issue: "Every one of its departments, from produce to meat, is better than it needs to be. And the ancillary stuff—dairy and pantry items, fresh pastas and dried—is top-notch."

Lily: NYMag 2014 Food & Drink Issue: "The single most impressive assortment of caviar in the city outside of strongholds Petrossian and Caviar Russe."

Serious Eats: Jewish appetizing store that's one of the last of its kind. Your go-to source for every kind of smoked and cured fish, caviar, whitefish salad, and more.

Serious Eats: Great source for smoked and cured fish with interesting variations like kung pao salmon.

Serious Eats: Excellent one-stop shop for Spanish specialty ingredients: cured meat, cheese, oils, and more. We dig the sandwiches, too.

Lily: NYMag 2014 Food & Drink Issue: "The focus is on underrated fish caught mostly in the waters between Long Island and the coast of Maine."

Serious Eats: This butcher shop sells a wide variety of humanely raised meats sourced from local farms. A selection of cold sandwiches and hot dishes is available for lunch.

Northern Spy Food Co: Meat, pure and simple, cut and sold the way it ought to be. Ask the manager, Jason, for advice on what to buy, he's fantastic.

Lily: NYMag 2014 Food & Drink Issue: "Knowledgeable meat cutters man the counter to cut Delmonicos and vend lamb sausages alongside jars of whipped lardo and a handful of cheeses."

Lily: NYMag 2014 Food & Drink Issue: "The swanky new Irving Place shop (spun off from the Williamsburg branch) holds regular classes and 'meet the maker' events. But you can learn a lot just by browsing."

Serious Eats: One of the city's top cheese shops with incredible selection and always-friendly staff. Grilled cheese sandwiches and sweet snacks are winners, too.

Serious Eats: Market with some excellent sandwiches, many of which are regional American varieties rare in New York.

Lily: NYMag 2014 Food & Drink Issue: "Gold's horseradish shares shelf space with Brooklyn Delhi's Indian pickle, penny candy and fresh cake doughnuts, Iowa-made speck and Rancho Gordo beans."

Lily: NYMag 2014 Food & Drink Issue: "It's perfectly acceptable—inspired, even—to treat this friendly Brooklyn bistro as your local boulangerie."

Serious Eats: Pricey but lovely market with great sandwiches, cheese, pantry and prepared foods, ice cream, and more, with many products made in Brooklyn.

Lily: NYMag 2014 Food & Drink Issue: "Team Boulud bakes the baguettes and makes the charcuterie; Gallic groceries include Hervé Mons-aged cheese, Burgundy snails, and candied clementines from Corsica."