94th St. Blueberry Farms

(This venue is closed.) Blueberries, I've never found here.

Chayote, yes, also aloe, and even quenepas (15 or so for $1). They're an ovoid fruit a little larger than lychees (to which they're related) and eaten much the same way: Peel off the thin, green rind, pop the pulpy, almost gooey white fruit in your mouth, and work it around until all that remains is the (relatively large) seed. Like a sweet lime with a hint of banana.

More recently I compared Jumex and Goya tamarind nectars (about 12 fl. oz.; $1.25 each). The Mexican drink is 25 percent juice, the Puerto Rican, just 14 percent; neither is too tart, and they're just about the same for wetting your whistle.

For a snack, it was hard to beat the three-for-a-dollar hardboiled eggs at the checkout. As of my last visit they're up to 50 cents, but what irks me is that the basket has migrated from the front counter to the back, out of reach; I miss the hand-on sensation of selecting my own eggs.

94th St. Blueberry Farms
2518 Broadway (at 94th St.)
212-222-1790

Comments

[terri]

any pic of a quenepa for an ignorant me?love ur pics btw

[Dave Cook]

Thanks for the reminder, Terri; I'd totally forgotten I had that picture. It's not one of my best, but it'll do as a placeholder till quenepa season arrives again; I bought these toward the end of August 2005.

"Quenepa" is their name in Puerto Rico, BTW (despite the fact that Blueberry Farms seems to be Korean-owned); check the appropriate page on Wikipedia for the many other names they might take at your local market.

Thanks again for the nudge!

[terri]

thnx,pic is great! will wiki it. am thinking hard to stump u with a fruit frm here (Borneo)just to see if u know tt much, coz u seem to!:)