Organics for All Comes to Astoria, Queens

Organics for All is a new health food store in a sea of cheap jewelry and clothing store on Steinway Street in Astoria, Queens. This new store is a welcome addition to this otherwise unhealthy stretch of neighborhood that consists of at least five fast food restaurants and two sit-down restaurants.

Opening in October 2010, Organic for All owner Amir Shukurllaev recognized that neighborhood needed a place to buy organic and healthy foods including gluten-free food.

When you walk into Organics for All, you will first notice a juice bar and a deli counter. All of the deli meats are Applegate Farms, which are gluten-free and organic. There is also a very nice selection of organic fruits and vegetables which seem reasonably priced and fresh. As you continue through the store, you will come to the grocery section which includes snacks, flours, soups, rice, pasta, and more.

I was pleasantly surprised by the wide variety of gluten-free food at Organics for All. Amir said that the store is working with a nutritionist to help decide which food to put on the shelf. Since their grand opening, I would say Organics for All is doing a great job stocking up on gluten-free food.

Some of the gluten-free products and brands on the grocery shelves include: Schär, Nature’s Path cereals, Glutino, Enjoy Life, Mary’s Gone Crackers and Cookies, Pamela’s Products, Eden Organics, Glenny’s, Pacific Soups, TastyBite, Amy’s soups, Arrowhead Mills, coconut flour (this was a new-to-me-product), King Arthur flour mixes, Lundberg rice, and Gillian’s Pasta and Breadcrumbs.

In the frozen section, there were Amy’s Organics Meals, Garden Lite Souffles, Rudi’s Gluten-Free Original and Multigrain Bread, Soy Delicious desserts, and Van’s Gluten-Free Waffles. In the refrigerated section, Organics for All had Chobani yogurts, Bobbi’s Hummus, Applegate Farms sausages, and Evolve Kefir.

I am really impressed with the selection of products at Organics for All, especially the robust selection of gluten-free food. Owner Amir tells me they are still loading up the shelves and will happily order additional products if suggested by customers. This store is conveniently located less than one block from my house so I will most definitely be stopping in there frequently. In addition, Amir hopes to honor coupons and EBT soon but he is just working through logistics at the moment.

There are some grand opening specials that you can take advantage of today, so stop in. Be sure to let Amir know you heard about his store from Erin at Gluten-Free Fun!

Getting to Organics for All is easy. You can take the R or M train to Steinway Street and walk one and a half blocks; the store will be on your left. The Q101 also runs down Steinway Street so you can take that to either the 31st Ave or 30th Ave corners and walk to the store from there.

Organics for All doesn’t have a website yet, but as soon as it is ready I will share it with my readers. In the meantime, you can reach the store at organicsforall@gmail.com.

Organics for All
30-50 Steinway Street
Astoria, Queens
New York

Gluten-Free Surprise in Woodside, NY

When I got off the train yesterday in Woodside, I wanted to pick up some fruits and veggies for the week. Like in most of Queens and New York City, there are bodegas on almost every corner that sell produce. I was looking for a place to lock up my bike and noticed Jin's Big Apple Fruits Market on Roosevelt Ave. near the corner of 60th Street.

When I went inside, I picked up some fruit and then noticed a big display of Bob's Red Mill products. This display wasn't just the usual couple of bags of flour, but many of the gluten-free favorites including brownie mix, flax seeds, and even the All Purpose GF Baking Flour.

I literally must have passed this store 10 or 20 times in the past five years and never walked beyond their produce section in the front of the store. Big mistake! As I continued to walk around the store, I was pleasantly surprised by the huge selection of gluten-free food that they had in such an "average" looking store. It is so not just another bodega. ;-) They had products from Enjoy Life, Mary's Gone Crackers, Bob's Red Mill, San-J, and more. The prices were reasonable, but I only had a little cash on me so I didn't buy much.

With Jin's only a short bike ride away (and conveniently located off the 7 train and the LIRR) and lots of Irish pubs serving gluten-free Magner's on the same block, I am sure to head back to Woodside soon!

Jin's Big Apple Fruits Market
60-07 Roosevelt Ave @ 60th Street


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