A friend who misses The Bread Butler, maybe even more than I, told me that there was an excellent…read moresourdough bread being baked by Anicca Bakery in Troy and sold at the Honest Weight Co-op. I was at the Co-op the next day. A variety of their breads are located in a shelf display across the aisle from all the other breads. I saw sandwich rolls, French baguettes, plain sourdough, three seeds sourdough, whole wheat sourdough, plain challah, everything topped challah, and a couple of variations that I don't recall. Some of the loaves are also available in half-loaf sizes. I purchased a loaf of 3 Seed Sourdough ($8.69) and a loaf of Everything topped Challah ($7.29). Both are excellent in their own right. The 3 seeds on the sourdough are organic dry roasted pumpkin, organic dry roasted sunflower, and organic golden flax seeds. Anicca makes a point of stating that they make every attempt to obtain all their ingredients within 200 miles of the Troy bakery. The sourdough has a nice chewy crust and a decent sour flavor. The challah has a softer crust than the sourdough, just a bit of sweetness and a slightly lighter colored crumb. The challah is also double bagged for some reason. The loaf is placed in a plastic bag before it is placed in the outer paper bag. Maybe that was to protect the everything topping? If you visit their web page https://aniccabakery.com/ you will learn that you can order online and pickup your order at Alias Coffee Shop in Troy. You may also notice that their web page does not mention all the varieties of bread that I saw at the Co-op and shows a more limited production schedule. Maybe their web page is just not up to date. Another issue I ran into was knowing whether the bread was fresh. Glancing at the information on the label of my two choices, I saw that the sourdough was labeled as "Date Baked on10/29/25" (GREAT! That was today), while the challah was labeled as "Date Baked 10/30/25." WAIT!!! How can that be? 10/30/25 is not until TOMORROW!!! I checked several other packages and found that all the packages of challah were labeled with tomorrow's date. As an aside, does that mean I wouldn't be able to eat the challah until tomorrow? LOL Or better yet, if I eat it today does that mean the carbs don't exist yet? Still, LOL. In any event, a Co-op employee noticed my confusion and insisted on informing management while wondering if this meant the sourdough could have actually been sitting on the shelf since 10/28/25. Today or not, but probably tomorrow also, both breads were excellent. I'm looking forward to trying a whole wheat sourdough.

I've only been here once but had a wonderful experience! I came to pickup a catering order for a…read morefriend, as well as a few specific items, and was so impressed with everything. The store was organized, carried a large variety of items, and amazing bulk section. Every associate I interacted with was also friendly and helpful. When I asked one where to find a specific cheese, she stopped what she was doing and walked me over to the case. If I lived nearby, I'd shop here all the time. Until then, I'll continue to stop in as I come back to visit the area.

This store has some "your neighborhood grocer" feel to it. Maybe it's due to its smaller size…read morecompared to other "mega stores" in the area (and maybe that's why it hasn't been converted to a Market 32 yet). Maybe it's because it's not at a super-major intersection or state highway. But I also encountered friendly employees. Several went out of their way to say hi to me and be helpful. Being smaller, you may not find every item, or as much of items in stock compared to other stores. The produce department is certainly smaller, yet still efficient, though some of the produce could have been fresher. All areas of the store were well stocked, and it was quite clean. Though I wonder how much their seafood department can appomplish. I wish the self-checkout area was a bit less cramped as well. An entrance sign on Osborne Rd. would be useful too. Still, it's a decent place to shop.

No lines at 6am, but self service should also be available at 6am. In addition, you should hire…read moremore competent people that can keep the prices correct so people don't blame the cashiers for what is NOT THIER FAULT.

Albany's proverbial "#1 overall pick" Pine Hills Market is the best market. Pine Hills has…read moreeverything you could ever ask for - Pancake mix? Check. Arnold Palmer Lite? Check. Beef Jerky? Check. Kool-Aid packets? Check. Salt, Pepper, Ketchup? Check. Catnip? Check. If you don't know who Monty is than you obviously have never truly been to Albany. A friend once told me a story about Pine Hills and his sister's ex-boyfriend's roommate. This guy, Philbert, said he was on vacation with his great grandparents in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan and he saw Monty's new commercial during Dancing with the Stars and his senile Great Grandpa Cox was so adamant about having one of Monty's famous Lettuce Sandwiches that he forced Philbert to call Pine Hills and order him one... and DELIVER IT TO CANADA! Monty, a man of the people, accommodated that poor old man's interests and some 7 to 10 days later, he had that lettuce sandwich and it was the best god damn sandwich of his life. I don't think much else needs to be said about the overall quality and customer service of Pine Hills Market.

The younger employees are extremely rude! They THINK that they are being funny, but it comes across…read moreas disrespectful. First, when you walk in, they act like the customer being there is a burden to them and then, when you ask for something that they have BEHIND the counter, they stare at you as if you have 7 heads and you're taking up their time. If you get any groceries from here you better use them quick because they're either past the expiration date or just gonna expire before the exp. date anyway. The ONLY good thing about this place is the music they play. Save yourself the trouble of this place and go to Trios up the street or Maple Leaf on Yates/Ontario.

I'm not sure if I loved this place because I went there with my mother for the first time or if it…read morewas because a new world opened up for me. I think it was a little of both. Great prices and amazing new products. Well, new to me, anyway. We found the rice that was the sticky rice we used to get in grade school! I like to go to places that offer new culinary ideas and vista's. The Asian Supermarket is one of those places.

Selection and price - this Asian supermarket called Asian Supermarket has en edge on these two…read morepoints over competitors. If you're like me and can't live without a variety of Asian goodies like tea and crackers, your jaw is bound to drop at the sights as you walk in. Sure, the aisles are only wide enough for one person to walk through straight on, but that's a small concession for what's on offer here. Their produce section is surprisingly extensive, there's even a seafood section, and it looks like they've finally revamped the hot food next to the front entrance. The staff at checkout here are always quick and efficient, and I'm grateful they're such a decent Asian supermarket in the Capital District to complement the wonderful Kim's and Jang Tuh. They have their own parking lot and we have come close to not finding a parking space here, but there's a constant flow of people coming and going, so we've never actually not found parking.

Wow. Times have changed. I LOVE Fred's so I'm sad to report this, but they've lost me. Just…read morepurchased almost 12 lbs. of picanha for $14.99 a pound. I asked for the four plates to be cut into steaks which I've done on occasion when feeling lazy on 10lb+ orders, but this time seemed different and they kept all the points -- the plate is a triangle. I didn't realize that they'd keep so much of the "trimmings" so I went from 11.88lbs to just over 9 which means they kept just over 2.5 lbs which presumably goes into their ground beef. Works out to $20 a lb for me. I did have a pleasant FB messenger conversation with someone, but I've been a member at Costco for 20 years (kept my membership active) so I'll be going back to them full time. My advice to customers. Ask for the trimmings if you're asking them to butcher any meat product. Especially picahna which is super easy to do. My advice to Fred's. Ask the customers if they want the trimmings.

I visited for the first time and was pleasantly pleased. I bought ground Lamb and french lamb rack…read moreplus Angus Burgers. The burgers were the best ever and I loved the Lamb. I would shop there again for sure. Everything is top quality.

It's hard to imagine a more dangerous place for a food lover…read more Adventure in Food Trading supplies gourmet provisions to some of the best restaurants in the region... and they are open to the public... selling amazing food at wholesale prices! Seriously, once you go wholesale, it's impossible to return to the world of retail shopping. Granted, some items come in wholesale quantities. For example if you want some pork belly, you have to buy an entire eight pound pork belly. But theirs isn't any pork belly, it's Berkshire pork, which is a prized heritage breed. I went in for a pack of fresh grass-fed skirt steak, which at the time was less than $6 a pound, and came in convenient two pound packages. However they were out of stock so I left with a pork belly (and a bunch of other delicious stuff). If you go, bring a jacket. You'll want to spend some time in their walk in refrigerator, and you may want to spend time in their walk in freezer (that's were all the farm-raised game lives). Also bring a sense of adventure. None of the prices are marked, but the staff is incredibly friendly and loves talking about food. They are incredibly knowledgeable, and will gladly look up prices for you. Since my initial discovery of the place, I've now started an account. So I can show up without any money and they'll just bill my card. And that's pretty dangerous. Because it's really inexpensive for what it is. But when you are confronted with duck and foie gras sausages, tubs of duck fat, cured Ibierco loin, Old Chatham Sheepherding Company cheeses, bottles of extra virgin olive oil, caviar, and cured salami made from happy pigs, it requires a lot of willpower to leave the caviar behind. Oh, it's also hard to find the place, the below link has the right address and directions. It also is another love letter I wrote about my favorite store in the area. http://alloveralbany.com/archive/2011/03/22/adventures-in-food-trading

Giant capers on the stem. Wild boar meat. Python. Antelope. A 1-oz tin of saffron for $103. Are you…read morein your car yet? Then there's Korean citron juice. 3 liter bottles of white balsamic vinegar. Green peppercorns. Lavender buds. Truffle salt. More cheese than you can shake a stick at. And did I mention the Kobe and Waygu beef and the pigs' tongues and trotters? And the pheasant and squab? Adventures in Food Trading sells mainly to the restaurant trade, but Jordan in the warehouse is super friendly, will show you around, and is happy to sell to you in small quantities. Prices are fair, not inflated, and you don't pay shipping as from some web gourmet shop. This place is REALLY hard to find, in an industrial park just before the bridge over the Hudson to Troy. Look for the Midlands dairy facility, enter at the public road south of the facility, then proceed past Ace Hardware and Midlands and turn right on a private road. From there, wander around until you find it. If it's a hot day, be sure to bring a cooler, but Jordan will be happy to throw in a cold pack. Open Monday-Friday only, from 8 am till 4 or a bit later.

Immediate check out for my groceries. Always have great prices on fresh fruit. Bathroom was also…read moreclean.

ALDI in Albany had some problems recently and inspectors removed food. There were no problems at…read morethis particular North Greenbush ALDI. It's a big space. The refrigeration system seems to be working well. There was a lot of fresh fruit selling at exceptional prices. Egg prices here are very good, too. There wasn't a lot of staff. That's why I was very happy to see a self-checkout area. I got in and out quickly. It's not like a regular grocery store. There are just some things they don't carry. For instance, I didn't see a lot of fresh vegetables, but what they do have is well priced.

Great store for middle eastern supplies! I get my labaneh and halloumi from here and it's always…read morebeen great quality,the price is great too! The cheese has been better than what I get from whole foods.

Clean nice little grocery store. I but meat from here. Always very clean. They also carry foreign…read morecandies and drinks which are yummy.