Strip district questions (Penn: sales, coupons, neighborhoods)

[pic-chic]

Someone recommended that I try shopping for fresh produce in the strip district. Can someone clue me in to the best days of the week to go and where to park? Also the better places to shop to find organic or at least low pesticide? I'll have my baby with me so I don't want to have to walk too far, but can handle 1/2 mile or so.

[rugerjitsu]

i'm not too sure about the parking...we always go on saturday or sunday b/c i work mon-fri, and we park in the large $5 lot just to the north of the main strip.

as far as fresh produce, there's only a few places to shop...and they all look good. i recommend going and just visiting all of them, it's not that long of a walk, i'de say maybe 1/4 mile or less one way, so maybe walking up and down the strip would be around 1/2 mile total.

i'm betting during the week would be best, as far as traffic (people and cars), but like i said, i've only visited on the weekends...hopefully someone else will chime in and help with that.

[groar]

right by nature, on smallman and i think 22nd, has a good, reasonably priced selection of organic produce. they also have free parking with purchase. i'm not sure if there's a time limit or if you can just park in that lot and then take off for the rest of the strip. i have friends who work there so i can probably find that out. their lot is near the easten edge of the strip, so if you park there and walk west for 5 blocks or so you'll hit most of the places.

it is very hard to park on the street in the strip on weekends and on weekdays around lunchtime, so i'd avoid those times. there are a lot of flat rate $5 lots in the area though, so if you don't mind paying a bit for parking it's no big deal.

besides right by nature and the farmers market (saturdays from 9-1 at 21st & penn), i'm not sure who has organic produce in the strip. stan's has cheap produce but i doubt it's organic. the big italian and asian markets also have produce but again, probably not organic.

[jay5835]

Originally Posted by pic-chic

Someone recommended that I try shopping for fresh produce in the strip district. Can someone clue me in to the best days of the week to go and where to park? Also the better places to shop to find organic or at least low pesticide? I'll have my baby with me so I don't want to have to walk too far, but can handle 1/2 mile or so.

If you go during the week, say 10 am-noon, it's not that hard to find a parking spot on Penn Avenue (note that most retail places close around 3 pm). There's a produce stand around 20th and Penn on the north side of the street. You can also buy produce at Wholey's Fish Market or Pennsylvania Macaroni (Penn Mac), which is also the best place in town for cheese and Italian deli items (antipasto heaven). I don't think any of these places feature organic produce, but I may be wrong. Whole Foods and sometimes Giant Eagle have the best selection of organic, and this time of year, much of it is local. There are also farmers' markets, different neighborhoods on different days.

http://www.wholey.com/aboutus.html
http://www.pennmac.com/
Farmers' Market

EDIT: Yes, Groar. Right by Nature. It's a nice, local WF competitor. I guess I forget about it because it's so new. http://www.rightbynature.net/

[johnnytang24]

During the week is definitely the best time, but be warned the stores close early! There is free street parking available any time. I have never had problems finding parking, even on weekends.

The Strip is not so large you need directions on which stores to go to. Just visit them all and decide which ones you like.

[groar]

Originally Posted by jay5835

Whole Foods and sometimes Giant Eagle have the best selection of organic, and this time of year, much of it is local.

i feel bad for right by nature (natural foods supermarket in the strip with a giant organic produce section, which i mentioned in my last post) cause it seems like no one knows they exist. the must be doing something wrong, i guess.

their produce section probably isn't as big as whole foods, but it's bigger than any giant eagle organic section i've seen (except maybe robinson) and cheaper than either last i checked.

[jay5835]

Originally Posted by groar

i feel bad for right by nature (natural foods supermarket in the strip with a giant organic produce section, which i mentioned in my last post) cause it seems like no one knows they exist. the must be doing something wrong, i guess.

their produce section probably isn't as big as whole foods, but it's bigger than any giant eagle organic section i've seen (except maybe robinson) and cheaper than either last i checked.

"My" Giant Eagle is the Market District in Shadyside, so I see lots more produce (both kinds) than I probably would in a smaller GE. I feel the same way about Right by Nature, too. I go sometimes on Sundays with a friend, and while it's not exactly empty, I just know there are more people at Whole Foods. I'll bet that if they could have opened on Penn Ave, they'd've gotten a lot more foot traffic.

They have good sales at RbN, too. I see coupons and get e-mails offering $10 off of a $50 minimum purchase from time to time. Here's one I got while we've been talking: http://www.rightbynature.net/WeeklySpecials.cfm (broken link)

[Aqua Teen Carl]

I go to Right By Nature whenever I'm in the Strip due to the free parking. Prices there are a bit steep so I just end up buying milk and bagels. The farmers markets all over town are key for finding good produce. As a previous poster said, the best thing to do would be to walk around and visit all the places in the Strip and see which one you like the most.

Also groar, you can park there and walk all around the Strip at your leisure, I do it all the time.

[fleetiebelle]

How are farmer's markets with regards to organic produce? I'd think since there are so many in the area they'd almost be a better bet than the Strip at this time of year.

[Aqua Teen Carl]

Originally Posted by fleetiebelle

How are farmer's markets with regards to organic produce? I'd think since there are so many in the area they'd almost be a better bet than the Strip at this time of year.

At the last farmer's market I went to there was only 1 tent advertising that his produce was organic but I talked to other small farmers who said their stuff didn't use pesticides either. Many Amish farmers are against pesticide use and they had 2 tents as well. So honestly there might be more than just the people that are advertising their organicness.