Boston's best grocery stores (Cambridge, Brookline: for sale, neighborhood, buying)

[corn823]

My wife and I are moving to the South End soon and really looking forward to it, but we're wondering about the grocery options. We come from a Midwest city with fantastic grocery stores that work hard to outdo each other in price and amenities. We also shop at an open-air meat and farmers' market on the weekends.
What can we expect in Boston? We've got a car and don't mind driving to a preferred store/location. But we also like to be able to walk to a neighborhood store for staples. Any chance of that happening in the South End?

[CityGirl52]

Look for the Copley Square Farmer's Market. The produce varies from one stand to another, so make sure to walk around before buying anything. The produce is organic and quite colorful. I really like the veggie color pallets!
Buy your fresh veggies, local meats, artisan breads, jams, delicious sandwiches, and fruits of all kinds here, it's so much better than the produce aisle at the supermarket. The beauty of this farmer's market is that many of the veggies and fruits have been picked within 24 hours-- in addition this produce hasn't traveled thousands of miles. A good idea in so many ways.
If you can, buy anything at all for your new digs? Buy at this farmer's market, it'll be convenient for you guys any way. Give it a try & you will quickly discover that fresh local produce is for you too.

Tue. - Fri.
It's from May 20th to November 25th so remember that..
10:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Copley Square
Boylston St And Dartmouth St
Boston, MA

There's a Trader Joe's located at 899 Boylston Street that's wonderful too, so don't forget about that place, they're awesome. 617 262-6505. There's also a good Bread & Circus/Wholefoods located near the Symphony Hall at 15 Westland Ave., Boston 617 375-1010.

Try not to go to the Star Market/Shaw's located at 800 Boylston Street in the Pru Center. It used to be better than what it is now. The stories I'm hearing are NOT good these days on it, so avoid it at all costs, it's a rip off, trust me. Ok if you have to run in for a few bottled, canned items though if you HAVE to!

Outside the downtown Boston area there's always the Super Stop & Shop's you know. Go to their website to see where they're all located, there's literally a LOT around the outskirts of Boston, so look for them and get your mapquest ready, they're pretty easy to find. ALSO, remember "The Market Baskets" they're extremely reasonable & great for sales! There's one located in Chelsea over the bridge & also the one up in Middleton along Rte 114 on the right hand side along that route is an exceptionally good one to go to if you're out cruising because it's not too far at all from Boston and in all honesty, it's a hop, skip & a jump from I-95 just north of Boston, it might be worth it for you two to travel up there for their awesome bargains & sales, you can't beat that store with a stick; they're out of this world with their sales & bargains, I don't think any other store can come up to it with their prices either, hands down.

Good luck shopping!

[clevedark]

Sadly, no Wegman's here, which is the super market I am guessing the OP is referring to. I hear they are incredible and I've never had the chance to shop in one.

[jed1982]

The grocery stores here are pretty bad. I grew up with Wegman's and there isn't even anything in the ballpark. The best I've found around me is Shaws, which isn't saying much.

[CaseyB]

The only Wegman's I've ever been in was in Ithaca. I agree, they are very nice stores. There was one scheduled to open in Westwood but the latest rumor has the store going to Sharon at the Sharon Commons development, so we'll see.

I like Roche Brothers, it's a family owned local chain.

[clevedark]

I like Roche Brothers, too. There's one in West Roxbury, not too far from the South End.

[CityGirl52]

I've never been to a Roche Brothers, but I always hear a lot about them from some friends of mine. In fact, I took one of them to "Hannaford's" just a few weeks ago & she thought the fruit & veggies were as good as Roche Brothers. I'll have to make it a point to check this Roche Brothers out soon, if they're that good!

[clevedark]

I'd like to try Russo's in Watertown some day. From the ads in the Globe it seems nice.

[jayrandom]

The Wegmans in Westwood Station has stalled, but there will most likely be a Wegmans in Northborough (FAQs Detail | Wegmans - About Wegmans).

Wegmans is a great grocery store, but probably not what the OP is referring to as they are not in the Midwest at all. The beautiful and spacious grocery stores of the midwest aren't here yet and may never be. In short, until the Wegmans opens perhaps in a few years, I don't think there are any grocery stores that justify a long drive out in to the suburbs from the South End. Roche Brothers is a nice grocery store, but it's pretty small and has only a modest selection compared to the behemouth grocery stores I've visited in the midwest.

[shiver]

I went to college in Ithaca and I miss Wegmans! Really, the best grocery store ever.

But, I digress. Trader Joe's is very popular around here. The closest to the South End is the one in Back Bay, but there isn't any parking. The ones in Brookline and Cambridge are a pretty close and have parking lots (and these locations sell wine and beer).

The South End has a lot of great little grocery stores to pick up the basics and fancy gourmet items, but these places aren't going to have the best prices. Stop n' Shop, Shaws and Roche Bros are all perfectly good grocery stores. You may want to check out some of the different suburban locations to find the bigger and nicer stores.

For farmers markets: at some point you should check out Haymarket (orange and green line T stop). Located near Faneuil Hall and the North End, there is a farmer's market on Fri/Sat and you can buy anything from lettuce to fish. The place is a zoo and not everyone's forte, but it's definitely worth experiencing.