Love For Whole Foods
Sunday, August 1, 2010 at 11:08AM | Darya I realize some of you will be annoyed to hear this, but Whole Foods is pretty much the worst place I shop for groceries here in SF.
Obviously my first choice is the farmers market, and my second choice is this amazing little store in the Mission (18th/Guerrero) called BiRite Market. BiRite is exceptional because it only carries local produce, the exact same stuff I buy at the farmers market. It's a little more pricey--as you might expect from a brick and mortar store--but I can get exactly what I want any day of the week (spoiled, I know). They also have an unbelievably good deli counter and other amazing, top notch products and ingredients. I <3 BiRite.
But I still shop at Whole Foods sometimes. It isn't bad, and they have a wider selection and lower prices than BiRite. I dropped by there yesterday since I was too sick to make my usual farmers market run and had nothing around for dinner (going to a restaurant is out of the question in my state). The goal was to get some pre-made stuff for dinner and pick up a few groceries to have for the week.
A couple of things really impressed me while I was there. First, the options at the deli and in the cold cases are awesome. They tend to be both healthy and tasty, and can satisfy your craving for just about anything. I had Mexican food, the BF had Italian. I think Whole Foods and healthy grocery stores in general are a great resource when you don't have time to cook but don't want to eat total crap for dinner. I definitely recommend keeping it in mind as an alternative to fast food.
The other thing that really shocked me was that in their produce section I found local produce from my favorite fruit farm here in the Bay Area, Frog Hollow Farm. I wish words could describe how good the fruit is at Frog Hollow. Let's just say I'm always willing to pay more than I would for other fruit, because it is just so damn good.
And there it was, chillin' at Whole Foods. And only a few cents more than at the farmers market.
Whole Foods had 3 different Frog Hollow stone fruits: peaches, pluots and nectarines. We took home a few peaches and pluots. I tried a peach this morning and it was the exact same awesome I've come to expect from Frog Hollow. Win!
Bravo Whole Foods, I'm impressed.
Reader Comments (2)
I spent basically almost a year eating from the Whole Foods prepared foods section (during a stressful time in my life that included working 16 hour days). It was good and tasty but for some reason WF puts canola oil in nearly everything. Not so good.
However, at least here in Seattle, they will cook anything you buy in their stores. It is a great service and I actually instigated it by requesting several years ago they grill a steak I had just purchased. Ever customer service friendly they agreed to do so. Someone thought it was a super idea and WF actually implemented it in several stores and now advertise the service.
I have a love/hate relationship with WF, especially the Noe location. I do love that they have Frog Hollow as well as Happy Boy Farms! If I could afford it I would definitely shop at Bi-Rite more often as it is my biggest love with regards to grocery stores!