Gourmet & Healthy in Franklin Square

Despite our shared history and ocean coasts, there are a lot of English foods that sound more foreign to American ears than even the traditional dishes of India, Mexico, and Japan. But at ChipShop, guests can finally taste English favorites such as bangers and mash, treacle pudding, and steak-and-kidney pie with a side of chips. The chefs separate their menu into three broad categories—different styles of fish ‘n’ chips, varieties of shepherd’s pies, and puddings—with each dish showing off regional flavors, such as the Welsh rarebits or Scotch egg salads. Guests can eat their fill in the English-themed pub, or take the food to go to experience the culture of both New York and England at once without convincing the Statue of Liberty to accompany you to London.

The edibles artists at Palaite Pleasures work with fruit and candy to fashion playful gift baskets for any occasion. Fresh grapes, pineapple, and cantaloupe cut into flowery shapes sit speared alongside frosted apples and chocolate-dipped strawberries in Halloween- or spring-themed arrangements or custom displays for weddings or birthdays. Baskets can be arranged in individual portions to treat a single loved one or in party platters as an offering to a single, insatiable Galactus.

Starting at two o'clock in the morning, trucks head out from Urban Organic's headquarters carrying boxes of organic, local produce to drop at doorsteps from the Bronx to Brooklyn and far-off lands such as Long Island and Connecticut. Each box holds a variety of seasonal fruits and vegetables, such as apples, chard, arugula, and bananas, each certified organic by the USDA. Since the selection rotates weekly, an included newsletter introduces the produce to families with handy tips on storage, cooking, and conversation starters.

The handy subscription service visits each of its delivery zones once a week so urbanites have easy access to organic, locally grown meals. Families can also take advantage of lower price tags than those at local grocery stores or black markets, since Urban Organic buys in bulk from organic farmers' cooperatives and distributors.

Bruno Cavalli left Italy in 1888 with big dreams of providing for his family. He could only initially find work busing and waiting tables, but he made an important discovery. Customers from the old country were craving fresh ravioli but couldn't find it in New York, so fresh ravioli is what he gave them—even though at first he had to pack his handmade pasta in shoeboxes and deliver it by bicycle. By 1905 he opened his first shop, which he fittingly called Bruno's Ravioli. His wife worked at the counter, and his sons slept in the back, within earshot of the youngest raviolis' nighttime cries for marinara sauce.

Four generations later, the King of Ravioli's legacy lives on through his family's gourmet market, which has expanded to include Italian delicacies and sandwiches. Shoppers there can still snap up traditional ravioli made with Bruno's old recipes, as well as newfangled varieties with fillings such as tofu or shiitake mushrooms.

Natural Frontier Market's shelves teem with certified-organic produce and a slew of natural foods, bath and body products, and dietary supplements. Scoops of bulk grains such as organic mung beans, quinoa, and flaxseed await trips to the scale, and pints of organic yogurt huddle beside dairy-free ice cream and Amy's frozen entrees in coolers. Flavored protein powder and locally sourced helium pump up muscles to massive sizes, health-boosting vitamins fill dietary gaps, and natural toiletries beautify bods without harsh chemicals. Juice and salad bars sate appetites on the go, and Natural Frontier's free delivery service ushers orders safely to doorsteps and Rocky Mountain summits.

Owner Andi Newville works alongside her daughters at Viva Oliva, stocking the shelves with more than 20 flavors of gourmet olive oils and 20 varieties of balsamic vinegar imported from Italy, Greece, Spain, and France. Olive oils add zest to entrees, infusing them with garlic, blood orange, and spinach, while balsamic vinegars flavored with black currants provide rich flavor. Customers can sample gourmet liquids before buying full bottles and preview suggested recipes such as barbecue rib glazes with honey ginger white balsamic and toasted sesame oil. Newville also stocks bath and body products containing skin-soothing olive oil and gourmet groceries such as balsamic pesto, pinot pomegranate jelly, and black truffle sea salt fresh from Mediterranean oceans of black truffles.