Whole Foods Market

I go for select produce salmon and the deserts!!!!!!! Omg the mini cheesecakes!!!

I like their prepared foods section and their bakery, and I find their 365 Organic brand to be cheaper than Stop & Shops own brand. But most of their other stuff is really over-priced. I'm a big fan of Amy's Organic and they have a huge selection of Amy's products, but at a much higher price than Stop & Shop or Shop Rite

Like all shopping, it's knowing your price points. Their bulk bins (oatmeal, for instance) are cheaper than buying pre-packaged off the shelf at the grocery store and has a better flavor. Their hot food bar is AMAZING, competitively priced, and tastes better than the local supermarkets.

If you want the all-natural, free-range, fair-trade, gluten-free, NoGMO, organic goat's blood, brace yourself to pay a bomb.

jbee27 wrote: »

CipherZero wrote: »

Like all shopping, it's knowing your price points. Their bulk bins (oatmeal, for instance) are cheaper than buying pre-packaged off the shelf at the grocery store and has a better flavor. Their hot food bar is AMAZING, competitively priced, and tastes better than the local supermarkets.

If you want the all-natural, free-range, fair-trade, gluten-free, NoGMO, organic goat's blood, brace yourself to pay a bomb.

100%. People who complain about the expense aren't shopping smart, or just have different priorities than those who do. I'm not going to buy things like paper towels there.

Whole Foods has consistently better produce, year round, than the generic grocery chain here (Pick N Save). It costs more, but it lasts longer, and tastes better. Also, I've found their meat and seafood employees are actually helpful and knowledgeable about their product, in contrast to other stores.

Agree on the not shopping smart bit.

In my area most locally available fruits and veg and commonly shipped in stuff (like cherries or bananas) are just as good if not better at any other store. On the other hand, specialty produce and seafood is always better at either Whole Foods or Central Market if you can even find it anywhere else. In some cases, Asian markets are the best choice there.

Personally, if I'm shopping for best selection and quality (and feel it's worth it to pay some truly obnoxious prices) I'll go to Central Market. The cheese and charcuterie selection alone makes it worth it. Whole Foods is closest to me and most stuff I get there is no cheaper or is unavailable in the regular store so that's where I usually go. Kroger is for things like soda or Oreos, and Costco for anything it makes sense to buy in bulk - but I live alone in a fairly small house, so that isn't a whole lot of stuff.

WF is one of those places you need to know what you are going there for and know what it should cost.

I love their bulk bin section, I get grains, beans, and lentils. There actually aren't any other places near me that have bulk bins, certainly not with so many choices.
They have an awesome collection of specialty ice creams and dark chocolate bars, which I would be paying more than I should for anyway!
And I find they usually have a much better selection of loose greens than the regular grocery stores (not boxed or bagged) and the prices seem reasonable to me.

For sure some of the stuff is overpriced or unnecessarily (or even dishonestly!) "organic" or "natural" or whatever other buzzword is in fashion. I would never use it as my main grocery store. But I'd be bummed if it wasn't there for the select items above.

NorthCascades wrote: »

The best produce here is found in stands on the side of the highway. We grow a lot of cherries and nectarines and stuff east of the Cascades. You can't always predict where they'll be or when, selection is limited, they only take cash, but you'd be wise to pull over and get something because it'll be really good.

Whole Foods has the next best produce around here, especially in the metro area. Easy to find, good selection, good quality stuff.

I don't buy produce at Trader Joe's. It's almost always lackluster. Every time I buy fresh raspberries there, I get halfway through them and find moldy ones. Sometimes it's a good place to get flowers for my girlfriend though.

There are a few things that are less expensive at Whole Foods, most things cost less at TJ's. You figure out which things you should get from which store, and it's pretty easy.

I found that with TJ's produce too, and it's so disappointing! I can actually find more local produce in my regular grocery store than at TJ, and it always looks about to go bad. Even the bagged salads look old and brown . I'd shop there even more than I do if they would improve that!

The TJ and WF by me are right across the street from each other, so once a month I head over, get everything I can at TJ, then go to WF for anything I couldn't find there. I go to a regular grocery or farmers markets the rest of the time.

We are lucky to have a locally-owned (I believe employee-owned), large, well-stocked, clean, organic-foods-focused store with average prices at least a bit below WF, and an amazingly friendly & helpful staff. It has some in-store-prepped fresh packaged foods, but it lacks WF's giant ready-to-eat area (y'know, the buffet for people who are Too Cool to eat at buffets).

I prefer the local place for the "health-foods-y" items on my shopping list, though I get produce and some other items at the farmers markets (so fresh, and much of it organic), and some other items at chains that are physically closer to me.

However, there's one respect in which I appreciate WF's recent arrival in this area: It helps me identify the pseudo-progressives among my acquaintances - the folks who previously told me there was no place in this lame city to buy organics or related specialized products, and who think the WF giant-trendy-mega-corp is Just More Sophisticated than the actual progressively-managed, better run place.

I just hope it doesn't run the local, better-run store out of business.

(Yeah, I'm being snarky. If you'd talked to some of these folks, you'd be snarky, too. SMH! I'm willing to shop at WF for items that the local place doesn't stock, but I'm not buying into the mythology: It's just another chain.)

lemurcat12 wrote: »

That's not my impression of WF shoppers at all. No one here thinks they are all precious to be shopping at WF, and most of the mainstream groceries have tons of organics (and if organic is your thing the Green City Market is a better option -- I love it, but the crowd there really can be annoying).

I'm really interested to see how the WF that is soon to be opening in the Englewood neighborhood here fares. It seems like a worthwhile project.

Perhaps life and pretensions are different here in the backwaters. (No, I don't really think this is the backwaters . . . but I know some folks who do.) I'm in a mid-sized city in mid-Michigan.

Note, also, that I did not intend to characterize all WF shoppers; I don't know them all, and as stated, I am one. I intended to single out an amusing reaction to WF displayed by a small fraction of people among my acquaintances.

lemurcat12 wrote: »

That's not my impression of WF shoppers at all. No one here thinks they are all precious to be shopping at WF.

It's another place to buy food. No more, no less.

ClubSilencio wrote: »

I go to Whole Foods for their heads of romaine, kale, chard, etc. They always have to widest selection and quality. I prefer organic for leafy greens. $2-3 bucks for a giant head is a steal for me.

Has anyone tried their deli sandwiches?

No, but I've had many of their prepared dishes and they're delicious.