Amish Market

Profile

These stores are Amish in name only—no bonnets, suspenders, or buggies in sight. With the exception of a few nominal Amish touches at the downtown branch—baskets hanging from the eaves and a rack of plain china in the upstairs eating area—this is a thoroughly Manhattan gourmet and takeout shop, complete with dozens of deli sandwiches, wraps and panini, brick-oven pizza, sushi, pasta and a range of hot dishes. For grocery shoppers, the shelves and refrigerated cases stock specialties like imported full-fat European butters, tiny speckled quail eggs and prepared salads, and the lovely chilled vegetable room displays jewel-perfect produce, next to an olive bar with a dozen mix-and-match options. Though there's scarcely a cube of Amish cheddar among the artisanal cheeses, the hordes of lunchtime customers hardly seem to care. — Helen Zelon