Westerly Natural Market

Profile

This Midtown natural foods market has the selection of a suburban grocery store and the specialization of an organic market boutique, with a feel that’s much more granola co-op than Whole Foods slick. An ample organic raw food bar offers appealing prepared fare for those who prefer not to cook; Amy’s organic meals and Boca everything provide options for the microwave set. But Westerly is about more than food: A labyrinthine assemblage of supplements, vitamin kits, flaxseed oils, and wheatgrass pills supplies the store’s urban customers with cleansers and fortifiers, and helpful staff advise on products and procedures. The narrow aisles may be a tight squeeze, but the goods they offer, from exotic sea salts to unhulled rice, reward persistent shoppers with a quirky cornucopia of healthful, eco-minded foods, body products, and cleaning supplies (for home and body, inside and out). — K. Emily Bond