Is this thing on? Tanya here, borrowing the mic from Nikita and Becky to talk not about restaurantssuper game, but about grocery stores. Stick with me, OK?

A friend once told me he aims to spend as little time at the grocery store as possible. Couldn’t be me! I want to leisurely browse the aisles, I want to double back to the seafood counter for a fifth time. Hell, I want to eat my lunch there.

As a reluctant member of the Midtown corporatti, I often scrounge the Bermuda Triangle of Sweetgreen, Dig and Pret A Manger for a lunch that will never truly satisfy, and occasionally crash land into the Whole Foods hot bar. But even there, I stumble out disappointed and $17 poorer.

There is a better way. This city is teeming with independent grocery stores that have nailed the promise of the hot bar, perfected the prepared foods at their deli counters, honed their takeaway offerings to rival those of a full-service dining room. Here’s a sampling (on a toothpick).

ImageKatagiri Japanese Grocery offers ready-made miso cod plates, pork dumplings, chirashi, karaage and, at the Lexington Avenue store, here, an extensive onigiri selection.Credit...Andrew White for The New York TimesMustardy meats and miso cod for Manhattanites

When the midafternoon craving for $2.99 shrimp tempura onigiri strikes — often, if you’re like me — the 117-year-old Katagiri Japanese Grocery awaits. With a location in Midtown and another in Lenox Hill, just east of Central Park, the market is the perfect pit stop between meetings or museums. But I pledged meals, not snacks: You’ll also find an impressive assortment of ready-made miso cod plates, pork dumplings, chirashi, karaage and, at the 59th Street store, carryout rice bowls topped with mushroom curry or yuzu salmon prepared by Brooklyn Ramen; find a more extensive onigiri counter at the Lexington Avenue location.

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