Best and Worst of Fresh Direct
This one's for Lockhart Steele and all you new Fresh Directers:

Best of Fresh Direct

three-potato salad - perfect for hangovers, and hangover prevention

FD alfredo sauce - made with chicken stock base so you can pretend it's not as fattening

parbaked demi-baguettes - from the freezer to the table in 15 minutes. For all the times you forget to pick up bread on the way home.

mascarpone and mushroom risotto - perfectly nice, though short expiration date

FD teriyaki marinade - convenient, but another short expiration date

lamb kabobs with Moroccan rub - nice because they're already cut, seasoned and trimmed of fat. Though when I made them, I still ended up adding red wine and the teriyaki marinade.

FD cafe mocha cheesecake - better than you might think, though the taste definitely declines after a couple days, so don't plan on secretly scarfing on it alone for a week. (As if I'd ever do that?) Only get it if you've got a few friends coming over.

The other faves on my list have to do with weight (beer, water bottles in 6-packs) and convenience (Original Ruffels are impossible to find in Park Slope.)

The only bad things were the frozen chocolate-chip cookie dough, fish cakes and some crab legs. They weren't off, just not flavorful enough for me to bother with again.

And keep in mind that my list in no way represents my favorite meals of the week. The Fresh Direct stuff is all about convenience. I still get all my fruits and veggies, milk, juice, cheeses and most fish and meats at the Park Slope Food Coop, which is far cheaper, better quality and almost always organic, produced regionally and farmed responsibly. Fresh Direct stuff stuff is seldom organic, though everything we've ordered has indeed been "fresh." FD is good for sticking stuff in the freezer or fridge and preparing a decent meal within 20 minutes when you're tired and take-out takes too long. The prices aren't horrible, and the delivery guys carry all that heavy stuff to your door in one trip -- saving you probably three trips for the week.

Last thing -- I don't have much sympathy for the whiners who claim to be mad at Fresh Direct for not yet deliverying to their neighborhood -- especially when FD has made clear one way they choose new areas is whether enough potential customers have signed up on the site. And oddly, all the complainers have failed to mention the DAGNYC.com option, which has been available in parts of Manhattan for a couple years.
- posted by Amy @ 2/25/2004 09:10:00 AM