As a child of New York City, “bodega” is as much a part of my native vocabulary as “schmear,” “knish,” “bagel,” “plain slice” or “black and white.” I am not Spanish, nor do I have any Jewish blood (or religious yen) in me although, my culinary smorgasbord includes both of these cultures to a degree that perhaps, at heart, I am a little of both. Bodega means small store or small warehouse in Spanish and the typical New York City bodega was a colorful accumulation of just about everything to satisfy a mobile biped in a rare moment of urban need. Bread and milk? Plantainos? Brillo pads? Smokes? Cerveza? A Fanta or a banana? No problem. The rural cousin to the bodega is the General Store, and hazy memories of mine still exist about a General Store in the town of Garrettsville, New York where we’d shuttle—in an old Dodge station wagon—to town (from our hillside perch) to buy laundry detergent, bread or milk (full fat, there were no 1% or 2% options then) or an ice cream or even rent a movie—on VHS. Bodegas and General Stores were places that encouraged community, happenstance visits with neighbors, a laugh and hug but in the last ten or so years, have been replaced by specialty stores which were subsequently eradicated by the Box Stores. Rural General Stores seem to have fared worse than their city brethren, perhaps because the sheer number of people (demand) combined with the famous lack of space (as, say, opposed to Iowa) precludes box stores’ capacity to proliferate. New Yorkers are also an individualistic, out-spoken and tenacious lot. Recall how a neighborhood in Queens rallied and successfully overturned a proposal for a box store: not in my neighborhood, thank you! In recent years, with more urbanites relocating to rural areas like the Catskills, a strengthening of environmental concerns combined with a blossoming of niche farming and a more holistic way of life, General Stores are being recycled, perhaps into something best described as general health stores.

The Catskill Region has Lucky Dog Farm Store in Hamden and now, the Masonville General Store in Masonville. Perhaps more citizens in more hamlets and towns and sleepy no-store villages will follow lead and resurrect a defunct building to it’s original function: as a neat one-stop shopping place and a sort of community meeting place to have a cup of coffee or a light bite while picking up a dessert or baguette for the evening meal or that bolt or screw that has been stalling the completion of the latest home improvement project.

Masonville General Store
The Masonville General Store, formerly Culver’s General Store, has been serving the community of Masonville—established in 1811—since approximately 1849. The store sits—a stalwart—at a blinking intersection of County Routes 8 and 206 in Delaware County. Current owners Andrew and Kendall acquired the space two years ago, refinished honeyed ceilings and mocha’ed floors and the cream wainscoting trim and added a coat of paint. The store features a mind-boggling and tempting array of goods for the kitchen, the pantry, the bath and the home in general. The emphasis is on local and regional products first, and then organic and natural foods and goods. Buy Local tags notify customers of a regional or local purveyor—like Earth’s Harvest Farm’s line of Porridges (!)—in the midst of the organic or natural national brands.

The increasingly sophisticated and international palates of today’s consumers are manifest in a fellow standing beside me by the refrigerated case. He points to a jar of Real Pickles Ginger Carrots and says: “These are excellent if you wrap your own sushi.” A former Brooks Brothers-type or perhaps, a haute designer of some sort? Neither. Ken is a timber framer by trade. Once in Saugerties, he now lives in Guilford, about ten miles from Masonville. He also concedes that the Ginger Carrots are also very tasty in soups. Other offerings in the Real Pickles line include Red Cabbage, Sauerkraut and Dill Pickles. The twist? Nothing is cooked; everything is raw fermented. For those not familiar, fermentation’s enzymatic action works wonders for ensuring a healthy digestive track.

Real Pickles, along with Purity Farms Organic Ghee and the Maya Raimal line of Coconut Curry, Classic Korma and Tikka Masala, French Papillon cheese, Halloumi cheese from Cyprus as well as New York State Palatine cheese and very local Sherman Hill Farmstead chèvre, are the sorts of items one discovers in the Masonville General Store. Imagine all of the national organic lines that Whole Foods carries interspersed with local food artisans. The produce section is beautifully displayed and features a fair number of local farms: Remembrance Farm—organic daikon radishes and carrots; Three Swallows Farm—organic broccoli crowns; Finger Lake Organics—beets, pie pumpkins and Acorn squash; Red Jacket Orchards Gala apples; Willow Grove Orchard Liberty apples; Norwich Meadow Farm—red and cipollini onions and garlic.

Masonville General Store also offers light bites for breakfast lunch or dinner. The fare includes scones, quiches, muffins, a daily soup and pies from sort-of local prepared foods purveyors. The soups come from the legendary Moosewood restaurant in Ithaca. The day I lunched the soup was Carrot Ginger. The blurb next to the soup pot read: “Carrots simmered in orange juice, soy sauce, ginger, rice and onions, pureed and finished with toasted sesame seed oil and caramelized carrots. Vegan and dairy free.” The soup was tasty, and felt less of soup and more of a hot relish. I chose the Swiss and Broccoli scone which was tasty if a bit mild. The quiches are made by Umanoff and Parsons, a bakery outfit in Tribeca that uses only “clean ingredients, no preservatives, bleached flours or hydrogenated oils.” The Cheddar and Broccoli Quiche served that day was an individual quiche, nicely flavored, mildly cheesy and light on the broccoli bits. The Spinach and Potato “Pie” offered from Damascus Bakery looked intriguing since the triangular shape of the item looked less like a pie than a flat, angular knish. The spinach was nicely pungent and perhaps the dough was potato dough since there was no other filling inside except for the very excellent spinach. For dessert—or, I suppose, breakfast—there were three muffins offered: Blueberry, Lemon Poppy Seed and Chia Bran Cream Cheese. I ordered the Chia Bran muffin while marveling at the coincidence that just the week prior my GP, an enlightened Western lady doctor who is vegan, told me about the wonders of Chia seed. The very same Chia that has become synonymous with Chia Pet is a plant whose seed is a nutritional powerhouse. “Chia Bran is rich in soluble and insoluble fiber and high-quality complete proteins, and is a rich source of anti-oxidants, minerals and Omega-3 oils. Chia in general has an extremely high Omega-3 content, as well as antioxidants, fiber, vitamins B1, B2, B3, plus minerals such as phosphorus, calcium, potassium, iron, zinc and copper. Chia seed is considered a ‘dietary supplement’ by the FDA.” (from GreenGrownProducts.com ) All of this nutritional heraldry aside, the Chia Bran muffin had a pleasant nutty flavor with a nubby sort of texture. Slightly sweet but not overwhelming, it probably would have gained from a quick languish in an oven or toaster over, but nevertheless was a lovely companion for a cup of Piccolo Mondo coffee by Gimme Coffee of Ithaca. (Ithaca is approximately 65 miles northwest—more west—of Masonville.)

A serendipitous visit by Patty Cullen, the head of Delaware County Tourism, and Carmela Marner of the Franklin Theatre Society, added a special flavor to the day. Once lunch and business talk was finished, all three of us explored the store and stocked up on supplies and a gift or two for the season. When visiting the store, plan to linger for longer than anticipated since there are so many layers, from the large and obvious to smaller, treasures. Two card lines are worth noting: Victor Lee’s creations and those by Christi Sobel. Masonville General Store carries groceries, housewares, personal care items, gifts, local products and produce, as well as an extensive selection of ethnic, bulk, natural and organic goods.

The Masonville General Store is located at 2095 County Route 206 in Masonville. Hours are 8 am to 6:30 pm every day except Wednesday. For more information, call 607 265 3808.