Posted on October 28, 2012 at 2:04 pm by West Sider



The line at Trader Joe’s stretched around the block at 72nd Street on Sunday before Hurricane Sandy hit.

At the first sign of danger, Upper West Siders tend to go food shopping. We saw that with Hurricane Irene last year, and we’re seeing it again as Hurricane Sandy approaches. On Saturday night, as the city started to hunker down, so many locals flooded into Trader Joe’s that security had to ask people to wait outside the store in a line. Once enough people exited the next batch could go in, just like in a nightclub. The next day, the line stretched around the block — at least 100 people were waiting.

The thought of going even a day without the right provisions sets off our danger signals. And here, based on a tour of the aisles at a very packed Fairway late on Saturday, is what we buy hoard.

Bread and bagels, but not pita bread



The bread and bagel bins were completely empty. Baguettes ransacked, rolls gone, organic bread snatched. But the pita bread racks looked virtually untouched.

Smoked fish was still well stocked



Turkey burgers, but not sausages



Newman’s pasta sauce, but not the other brands



Barilla pasta



Original and Honey Nut Cheerios (a few desperate people even bought the chocolate flavor.)



Oreos (but not chocolate-filled Oreos), and Original Chips Ahoy (not the chewy kind)



Scallions, but not radishes or artichokes



Also completely gone: large bottles of water, although the more expensive distilled water was still available. Beer, surprisingly, was also available in abundance. But chocolate Haagen-Dasz was in short supply. In fact, I think I got the last pint (sorry).

In line with the general trend, we hear that Silver Moon Bakery was packed with a line out the door, and there was a run on bread and milk at the D’Agostino on 91st and Columbus. Supposedly, Westside Market on 98th had lines at least 200 people long. They were only letting 10 people inside at a time, and folks stuck outside were getting “nasty,” said our food columnist Laura Weiss.

What does this say about us? Sociologists will still be considering that question decades from now, when they find the ruins of our skittish well-fed civilization.

Let us know about your shopping experience in the comments. And follow West Side Rag on twitter and facebook for more serious and un-serious hurricane coverage.

Photos by Avi.