THIS SUMMER WE'RE EATING IN GROCERY STORES

They're more affordable, more flexible, and a lot more fun than restaurants right now. HERE ARE THE 65 BEST SPOTS TO GET STARTED.

- By Chris Crowley, Charlotte Druckman, Anna Hezel, Daisy Leepson, Zach Schiffman, Matthew Schneier, Alan Sytsma, Tammie Teclemariam, and Emma Wartzman

SOMETHING EXCITING is happening inside the city’s supermarkets, bakeries, spice emporiums, Italian grocers, butcher shops, and Korean delis: They're becoming eating destinations of their own. Shops like Kalustyan’s, Casa Della Mozzarella, and Marlow & Daughters have long bridged the divide between market and cafeteria; now that tradition is carrying through to an entire generation of spots that are more than stores but not quite restaurants, either. They offer the freedom and flexibility we crave in the summer, when we plan ahead as little as possible and do the bulk of our eating on sidewalks, in parks, or, in the case of one place on this list, inside a butcher shop that cooks whatever you want on-site. The dozens of businesses here are a fraction of what's available throughout the five boroughs, of course, but taken together, they demonstrate the range of eating opportunities—the bougiest Tribeca farm stand, a Guatemalan deli, a weekends-only tamale destination to nurse a hangover—that keep everyone in this city so well fed. A.S.

HAPPIER GROCERY

AMONG THE CITY’s many Erewhon aspirants, this maximart with a smoothie bar has the best claim to the throne. Graphic-designed to Instagrammy perfection, long on health crazes and status ingredients, it’s a little oasis of Silver Lake in Soho. Lamb-and-beef meatballs are a nice pairing for wild-rice salad dotted with peas, and pints of Harry's Berries strawberries are available during the season, just as they would be out West. 365 Canal St.; happiergrocery.com

DELI EL CHAPINCITO

THIS GUATEMALAN bodega-slash-restaurant is for midtown deliveristas what Punjabi Deli has been for downtown cabbies: a much-needed rest stop. Here, there's pan dulce from Brooklyn’s Totopan bakery, Guatemalan snacks and sodas, and dishes such as