H & T Oriental Grocery

Right next to the Bay Parkway subway station, this tiny little grocery store sells only fruits and vegetables. Competing with the nearby large Chinese supermarkets, it holds its own pretty well. A lot of it probably has to do with the lazy convenience of the shoppers and the alluring deals on the luscious, ripe fruits and vegetables right outside the store. They offer fantastic deals on fruit that you generally have to eat right away; it’s not that the fruit is rotten (after all, you’ll see a lot of less perishable fruits when you go inside), but I usually fall prey to the fruit outside right as I’m about to enter into the subway station. I pause, think about it as I continue striding into the station, and return later at night to get some fruit. They’ve had incredibly sweet, perfectly ripe pineapples and pints of round, indigo blueberries for $ 1, almost-​bursting persimmons and large, fragrant papayas; everything is always seasonal and fantastically-​priced.
H & T gets a star docked for store appearance; I love hole-​in-​the-​walls for restaurants (since it means that the prices are for food, not ambiance). I think the same goes for H & T, but it’s a little more disconcerting when the store has a slightly seedy look. I trust all the fruits and vegetables, and checkout is fast (no lines, ever), but the general feeling is to get your produce and leave, ASAP. I have no desire to linger the way that I do at Whole Food’s or Trader Joe’s. It’s not really a bad thing because I hate the lines there, but … right, I digress.
Overall, H & T is fantastic. Do take advantage of it if you live nearby!