Jowny Market

I know what you might be thinking. How different can these bodegas be? They can be very different. This one stands out. It’s the best one I have yet found.
Cleanliness doesn’t seem to be the highest priority for the folks who run bodegas in the city and even less so for the other boroughs, but Jowny is my go-​to. It’s got a mid-​sized hot and cold buffet in the back and any time of day it’s clean and attractive. No one can keep food alive forever, but if there’s one place I can rely on for fresh vegetables no matter when i make it by, it’s this place. Always fresh, always tasty, totally reliable.
One day I went in there and wanted to get a little experimental with what I was going to drink with my lunch. I grabbed a bottle of… I have no idea… something, and I went up to pay. The young lady at the register looked at the bottle and noticed the expiration had just passed the day before. She apologized, asked me to get something else and told one of her guys to pull it all off the shelves (which he did that very moment). I thought that was great because I myself pay no attention to such details. I should, yeah, but i don’t. Even had I known I probably would’ve still bought it.
Most of these bodegas, you go in and you know they’re phoning it in. They couldn’t care what you think about their place. They tend to be cramped, disorganized and dirty. The people at Jowny raise the bar without raising the prices. They’ve got pride in their little store and it shows. I cross all the way over from 5^th ave to go there for lunch, passing by countless other bodegas.
This one’s right next to Candle Café. See for yourself.