Whole Foods Market

[iBlue]

lucky you. i live in a lousy hick town with boring crap from hell to breakfast. you should try being a mac user here, wow. <shakes head> we are getting a PF Changs soon, to the town's credit. (now if only a hundred other things would show up soon. cheesecake factory, baja fresh, in 'n' out burger, trader joes, whole foods, etc etc etc)

god, there is so much that i miss about los angeles.

 

[grapes911]

Bottom line though is that I agree with you!

Ok, good. At first I was under the impression that you where all about natural and organic foods. I guess you probably thought I was against them. Glad to hear that some people have similar feelings as I do.

 

[Applespider]

Strawberries on the other hand can be amazing in december even though they're shipped a long way.

I only buy strawberries from the UK during May-August. After that, they tend to be overly-expensive watery imitations from Spain (I'm growing to hate the variety Elsanta for purely that reason). Strawberries should have an amazing scent when you approach the punnet - outside those times, they don't tend to.

I read something recently that suggested WFM were planning on opening in Kensington to, presumably, cater to the US ex-pat market. I'm not sure how they'll do here since we're pretty well served for good quality, high-end food in the UK. I'm a Waitrose girlie in the UK, partly because they're owned by the company I work for but mostly since they tend to have principles when it comes to treating suppliers fairly and their quality is excellent. Yes, I spend more than when I go to other places but that's often because I end up buying 'extras' that just look good and because I really don't mind paying an extra few pence for a better provenance.

 

[Rangerhall6]

lucky you. i live in a lousy hick town with boring crap from hell to breakfast. you should try being a mac user here, wow. <shakes head> we are getting a PF Changs soon, to the town's credit. (now if only a hundred other things would show up soon. cheesecake factory, baja fresh, in 'n' out burger, trader joes, whole foods, etc etc etc)

god, there is so much that i miss about los angeles.

we are getting a PF Changs in Greenville as well...maybe you will get a Whole Foods soon

 

[mkrishnan]

we are getting a PF Changs in Greenville as well...maybe you will get a Whole Foods soon

Mmmmm, so I'm at least two steps from getting a Whole Foods, apparently? And at least three from getting a Trader Joe's?

God, I don't even want to think about how many steps I am from getting an H&M.... *cries*

 

[balamw]

Shipping preservative free food halfway across the country is going to far.

Ah, but that's the problem. Given our population distribution, most people just don't live where their food is grown. I'm glad you have the option to make use of your local farmer's markets, but far too many people don't have that option. Even here in my part of California, where there is still plenty of agricultural land around, the local crop consists mainly of strawberries, citrus fruits and avocados. Most everything else is grown elsewhere, including much of the crops sold at the local farmer's markets which includes farmers fom up to 300 miles away. So, for most people, the fact that you are buying food that has been transported long-distances is a given and the choice becomes to buy food that has been treated with chemical fertilizers, pesticides and radiation or not. Or I guess you still have the option to drive long distances to the farms/farmer's markets and transport said food to your table much less efficiently?

But making everything natural and preservative free is just going too far.

That may be true for you, but there are an increasing number of people with food allergies and/or food senstitvities that are actually made sick by the food they eat when it includes particular substances. Unfortunately, many of these people don't live near decent farmer's markets. Enter places like WFM, that cater to a broader audience than the smaller "health food" stores. [One of my sons has a pretty severe allergy to milk (and derivatives) and peanuts, and a fair number of his friends and classmates have been diagnosed with less severe sensitivities.]

I fully agree with you that all-natural organic gluten-free barley-flour pasta tastes like crap to you and I, but to someone with a wheat/gluten allergy it gives them an alternative they can enjoy and thus has a place. I also fully agree with you that moderation is key.

FWIW iBlue, and mkrishnan my town has a WFM, and two TJ's, but we only just got P.F. Chang's and no H&M so they're not as tightly linked as one might think.

B

 

[Kingsly]

I shop there almost exclusively.

 

[Abstract]

The nice thing about living in vancouver is that virtually all of the mega chain stores carry organics products right along their regular stuff. I can go to my local Safeway or Iga buy full groceries and not once touch the non-organic stuff. Then there are the smaller organic food store chains Capers, Choices etc. plus the really tiny mom/pop ones, oh and we have 5 farmers markets right in the city plus a 30 min drive lets you go pick the stuff of the farms themselves.
I for example eat 50/50 organic fruits and veggies but all my eggs are free range unmedicated ( they do taste better) and most of my meat is free range unmedicated. The cost is not that much higher for example chicken breast 3.29/lb regular or 3.49/lb organic...

I really need to move to Vancouver. I'm closer to the other end.....the ass end.

 

[gauchogolfer]

If you happen to be in Austin, Texas, you should really check out the Whole Foods flagship store there. It's a thing of beauty. It's got several little restaurants inside, a place to get freshly-roasted nuts while you wait, nice produce section, good wine, etc., etc. I'd say it's worth a visit.

http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/stores/lamar/snapshots.html

 

[Boggle]

Whole Foods v. Wegman's

Greenville, SC just got a Whole Foods Market and it is amazing! I was interested to see how many people shop at Whole Foods Market as well. Ill try and get some pictures up if anyone is interested.

I fell in love with whole foods back in 1989. (Until a couple of years ago it was called Fresh Fields or Bread & Circus depending on where you lived) When moving I really did consider the proximity to a Whole Foods a priority on the level with in unit washer/dryer. I used to come home from work and buy my dinner right out of their pre-made meals areas...Oh the bread. The cheese. The burritos in spinch tortilla. The Dr Brown's Cream Soda. Yummy!

And then I discovered Wegman's. If grocery stores were cars, Wegmans would be a Brand New Bentley & Whole Foods would be a slightly tarnished, second-hand Caddilac.

I love whole foods (which i still must make a conscious effort not to call Fresh Fields) but it just can't match Wegman's. First Wegman's is noticably cheaper. And second, Wegman's carries all the brands and product types (like the glutin-free section for peaple with Celiac disease) as well as all the things you find in a standard Grocercy Store. Lastly, there's the upscale cookware / flatware / tableware / furniture section. As best I can tell the main purpose of this area is to inform pickpockets of whom to target. Still, it's nice to have access to such stuff in case I ever need to have a new 18 piece All-Clad copper cookeware set b/c one of my movie star fantasies has come true.

 

[true777]

The quality of the foods at the Palo Alto Whole Foods store is excellent, but it is just too expensive to shop there exclusively, though I wish I could afford it.

I mainly shop at Trader Joe's, but I know how much better the quality at the higher end stores is (locally: Draeger's, Andronico's, Whole Foods). Oh well, once I have scored that Google job...

 

[iGary]

We have a Trader Joe's and a Whole Foods here in Annapolis = what we can get at Trader Joes's (usually 30%-40% cheaper) we get there. If Trader Joe's does not have it , we get it at Whole Foods. Whole foods has some of the best meat and seafood in town (and should at the price they charge).

 

[jefhatfield]

The quality of the foods at the Palo Alto Whole Foods store is excellent, but it is just too expensive to shop there exclusively, though I wish I could afford it.

I mainly shop at Trader Joe's, but I know how much better the quality at the higher end stores is (locally: Draeger's, Andronico's, Whole Foods). Oh well, once I have scored that Google job...

andronico's is the favorite place for my wife and i...and the deli in the stanford shopping mall is also great (can't think of the name though)...actually the restaurant across from it also has a good deli, too

 

[vniow]

Whole Foods is wonderful although expensive. I love their meat and pastry selection but most everything else I get at somewhere like Trader Joe's because its just cheaper. I like their selection as well, probably a bit moreso than Whole Foods.

I tend to shop at the local markets pretty frequently more often than either of them though, they're often cheaper than both and it supports the local economy and there's some things I can get there that I can't get at either so its all good.

 

[Kingsly]

Whole foods has some of the best meat and seafood in town (and should at the price they charge).

True 'dat. I bet a nice whole foods steak is a thing of beauty on your "G5"

 

[Rangerhall6]

It's good to see that lots of people on this forum eat healthy. balamw - I love whole foods as well...my girlfriend is a vegan and it is hard to find a good health food store around here. We have a regional store called Earth Fare but the prices are way to high now that Whole Foods is in town. The Whole Foods brand of most items is great. Natural peanut butter is only $1.99 as well as the pasta sauces. There are always vegan cookies and muffins in the bakery. Everyone here thinksWhole Foods is way too expensive but it really isnt if you buy Whole foods brand (which is great b/c they stick to a standard). I understand that it may be more expensive than other stores around where you guys live but down here its Whole Foods or Earth Fare. Whole Foods it is!

 

[floriflee]

I love Tradery Joes (they have some good mangos this time of year) and Whole Foods. However, we don't have a Whole Foods nearby. I do have to say they have a very good bakery. There was one close by my work in VA so we'd often get birthday cakes from there. I have to say that Kiwi and Mango fruit cakes were a favorite.