A & P Supermarket Review

Last night Dasha, Austin, and I made the trip to Mahwah to A&P to pick up some groceries.  We’ve been trying to lock down a supermarket for ourselves for quite some time, unsatisfied thus far.

We’ve been to Shoprite, Pathmark, Stop & Shop, but nothing feels complete.  We find certain items better at each one it seems, and nothing completes our whole spectrum of food selection and quality.

We love Whole Foods but find that it still doesn’t provide us with a complete feeling.  Perhaps you’re wondering where to shop? Well perhaps I can shed some light on the subject for you, since I’ve been to them all.

This will be an individual series of posts rating each supermarket, capped off with a final ranking.  Remember this is my preference and if you buy different items or have other factors for shopping somewhere else, than that is ok.

Why we like A&P

The only reason we really visit A&P is for the fruits and vegetables section.  We honestly think that they have the best quality.  When we buy items from here, they actually last a few days refrigerated.  Almost everywhere else we find them to go bad rather quickly.  We can buy fruits and not worry about having to eat them in 41 hours before they’ve turned into a rotted mess.  This department actually takes up a good portion of the store, as opposed to some other supermarkets.

We love fruits/vegetables but we don’t eat everything we buy upon arrival.  If we could shop more (which I will be doing, more to come on that later) than we would love to, but its just not possible.  If you can go daily or every other day, than A+ for you.  The way people used to shop is a lost art form.  Having fresh food bought daily is a thing of the past.  Thats why we like our stuff to last a few days.

What We Don’t Like

Dairy section is so tiny and has almost zero selection.  Its disappointing really.  We actually buy very few organic items, but milk is one of them. A&P only seems to carry one brand in the gallon size.  Where is the selection?

The seafood section closes at noon it seems because anytime I go, they’re closed up.  I am wondering what types of fish they carry but have yet to find out.  Same goes for their deli area.  They have about 2 brands of deli meat, and I dont know either.  This doesn’t mean they are not good, I just don’t know who they are.

So how would I rate A&P?

Average.  The reason we go to the Mahwah A&P is for the fruits and vegetables like I stated.  Aside from that, the store isn’t impressive.  Could be because I am not totally used to it perhaps.  But either way I’ve found out that the “managers special” meats mean “should’ve eaten yesterday.”  If you live on the Suffern side of Mahwah, than this is your closest choice.

I ran into someone I know there and we talked a bit about the different grocery stores and he said he usually doesn’t shop there because of prices. Something to think about.  Stay tuned for my review of Shop Rite, Stop and Shop, and Whole Foods.