Who Stocks the Best Out-Of-Season Fresh Produce Selection in Connecticut?

It's been tougher and tougher for me to find fresh, out of season produce in local grocery stores lately, and the prices, yikes. Some days I feel like making fresh guacamole, and there isn't a sprig of fresh cilantro or a ripe avocado anywhere. Who are your go-to retailers for fresh produce in the wintertime in Connecticut?

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There are two grocery stores/markets in Waterbury that are the first stops on my list, the first is Jarjura's Farm Market, and the other is Cherry Valley Marketplace. Both are located in the downtown area, and stock an incredible selection of fresh produce year-round. Jarjura's has been family-owned and operated since 1913, and the interior probably looks the same as it did 40 years ago, but damn, they have an excellent pipeline to the good stuff. Cherry Valley Market is in the Colonial Plaze, and I've been shopping there since the days of Pathmark. Cherry Valley carries a wide variety of Caribbean, Latin American, and Asian produce, and the prices are great compared to the chain supermarkets.

I love the selection at Woodbury's New Morning Marketplace, but the prices are just a bit too high for me. Big Y, Stop & Shop, LaBonne's, Caraluzzi's, and The Fresh Market are the major players that I usually go to, and most of the time I am not disappointed, but my favorite selection lately has been at Stew Leonard's.

The Stew Leonard's stores in Danbury and Newington are the ones that I frequent, and the produce selection at both is tops in my view as far as being in stock, and selection of products.