• Blue Ribbon Bakery Market

  14 Bedford St., 212-647-0408

  Best known for its open-faced gourmet sandwiches, this city-slicker version of the country store is actually the de facto pantry of the Blue Ribbon empire. But the market’s more than a place to stock up on Blue Ribbon Sushi’s carrot-ginger dressing and Blue Ribbon’s matzo-ball soup. It’s a compact, tastefully curated one-stop-shopping destination for a picnic in the park or a weekend holed up at home. Brick-oven-baked breads (from Blue Ribbon Bakery up the street) are only the beginning. There’s cave-aged Gruyère, sheep’s-milk Camembert, duck confit, rillettes, cornichons, pickled peppers, and tubs of hummus. Apples from the country. Yogurt corn bread or oatmeal cookies, depending. Everything you need to stuff a basket—and oh, yeah, baskets too.

From the 2006 Best of New York issue of New York Magazine