<p>Our Wegies in Fairfax has wine tastings on select Saturday’s. D1 just moved from Rochester for the second time to a Wegieless place in the mid-West and Wegmans is the #1 thing she misses about the ROC.</p>
<p>Speaking of which it’s a bit surprising Wegmans hasn’t hit Pittsburgh yet. It must be those mega Giant Eagles.</p>
<p>Liquor. </p>
<p>Got a 1.75l of Bacardi rum for $19.99.</p>
<p>sax - Our Wegmans still does. I don’t recall what type of fish it was but it was reasonably tasty.</p>
<p>Our fairly new Wegman’s has the best produce and bakery. Hot soups are also really good.</p>
<p>Food court (espec vegetarian items) and BEER!!!</p>
<p>I’ve shopped at Wegmans for over 20 years (both in upstate NY and in MD). It’s not a specialty store like say, Trader Joe’s, but they do provide an excellent overall shopping experience. I think it is somewhat dependent on which store you are going to, but in general I would recommend:</p>
<p>Produce - - I think this is where Wegman’s excels the most - - tons of variety and very fresh
Cheese - - pretty much a full fledged cheese shop within the store
Seafood - - very fresh and wide variety
Olive Bar - - A zillion kinds of olives and italian prepared foods. Also, the pesto is excellent!
Soups - the soups in the “cafe” are by and large very good and are sold in packaging suitable to take home as well
Bakery desserts - The chocolate cake is truly to die for. Cookie cakes are terrific. I like most of their baked goods. Their bread is good, but it depends on which you buy. I’m partial to Tuscan garlic . . .
Marinades - lemon garlic and fajita are ones I like best
Food Court - vegetarian bar is very good, and I’m not a vegetarian</p>
<p>What’s not so great:</p>
<p>I do not think their meats are very good at all. I still buy them there for convenience, but this is an area where you can do better. The ground beef is not flavorful at all. Store brand chicken is mediocre unless you get the organic which is decent. Beef - - nothing special at all and pricey. Their steaks - - unless you get prime from the butcher counter - - are gristly, not good. The marinades are good, but I think you are better off buying bottles of those and marinating meats on your own . . .Lamb chops are overpriced and gamey. The butcher counter has better stuff, but it’s not cheap.</p>
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<p>Did lamb spiedies on the grill on Sunday. The marinade itself is really easy to make. Spiedie recipes and the slight accent are the last vestiges of my Binghamton area childhood.</p>
<p>Wegmans took special pride in their produce aisle. They really changed the game for fresh fruit and veggies, ruthlessly culling anything with a mark or bruise. It forced the old dirty, narrow-aisled groceries with scant selection and mushy fruit to re-tool their businesses. The difference is not as stark as it once was.</p>
<p>Well, I just returned from Wegmans. It’s a lovely store. I loved the bakery and fresh food isle. I bought their Lemon Vinegarette dressing, Tomato Basil sauce, wild salmon, the mini loaf of fresh 7 grain bread, of course some bakery cookies and brownies. I find their brand prices are decent. I don’t know if its worth a second trip( an hour), but it was an enjoyable experience. I was pleasantly surprised at the amount of Organic products they have.</p>
<p>S2 is a foodie and goes to school in Rochester. He loves Wegman’s. We often go to the food court when we visit because each of us can get what he/she wants. I agree that the chocolate cake is heavenly. H and S love the olive bar and the cheese.</p>
<p>D went to school in Rochester and we all wish a Wegman’s would open on the South Shore of Long Island. Somehow they’ve never made the jump across the Hudson River.</p>
<p>My daughter has worked at Wegmans since 10th grade. They have a very generous scholarship for students if they have been there for a while and work a specific number of hours. She wishes there was one in NYC where she is now. To be able to buy something cheap and sit in the cafe for hours with free wifi… </p>
<p>I like their paper towels. Select a size, good quality.
I love their lemon-pepper marinade. I pour the whole bottle over chicken pieces and bake for an hour.
Their soups are amazing.</p>
<p>Im enjoying the hot crab dip on crackers right now, delicious!</p>
<p>Wegman’s is now moving into New England. D is a URochester graduate who will drive 40 minutes to make a pilgrimage to Weggie’s !</p>
<p>She particularly loves the mint-filled store brand “Oreos”, and the store brand wedding soup.</p>
<p>OH, and don’t forge the limited edition Wegman’s truck pez dispenser every Christmas!</p>
<p>Her UR roommate is now attending grad school in a Wegman’s-free Midwestern state. At Christmas she sent her a Wegman’s care package–very much appreciated.</p>
<p>We have a huge Wegmans about 5 minutes from our home. I do not buy bread there, as it is not made on site. It is frozen, thawed and merely finished in that brick oven at the store. I like bread from a real bakery. When Wegmans first opened near us, tour busses would stop. I always found that amusing. It is just a grocery store with lots of choices. The fresh guacamole is the best in store item. Overall, I don’t think its overpriced for basics and is a pleasant store to shop in.</p>
<p>I so miss having D1 and D2 in college, both in towns where there were Wegmans. I think the Wegmans shopping experience all depends on your perspective, or what you typically are used to. In our area, the two big chains are Dominicks and Jewel. Neither one can bat an eye to what Wegmans offers. I’d give anything to have a Wegmans here, if it meant I’d never have to shop at Dominicks or Jewel again! The closest Whole Foods is a good half hour away; however, we are about to get a new Trader Joes a bit closer… still not Wegmans, though.</p>
<p>take it all in: our DD went to Suny Buffalo. I wish we had a Wegman’s here in CA. I love the fresh fruit and breads!</p>
<p>When I went to Ithaca College there was a Wegmans that was incredibly popular. I was introduced to it there and missed it when I left. But luckily where I lived in Maryland they built one! But now I live in Florida and Wegmans doesn’t exist. But I do have a Publix which is wonderful. </p>
<p>Never go to Wegmans when hungry. You will end up buying everything in the bakery section.</p>
<p>Miss trips to Wegman’s in Amherst NY and I REALLY miss the TIM HORTON’S!!!</p>
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<p>Same here. We have a place in the Finger Lakes and always shop at Wegmans when down there. I’ve never thought of Wegmans as a specialty store but they are definitely a well-run store with a good variety of merchandise, nice bakery items and good produce, which is often locally farmed. The best thing about Wegmans, in my opinion, is that their employees are well-trained, so that they are friendly, knowledgable, and they know how to properly bag groceries. These things are key to a good shopping experience and to maintaining the desired market share in the very competitive grocery business. </p>
<p>The chain is still privately owned and run by the Wegman family, who are very generous philanthropists in the Rochester area. As they’ve expanded from their home ground of Western NY, I’ve wondered if things would still run as well and it seems that they do. Two other things that I like about Wegmans are that they treat their employees very well, and they do not sell tobacco products.</p>
<p>I agree that the best thing about Wegmans is the staff. I live/work 5 minutes from another chain grocery store and 10 minutes from a Wegmans. I can always get through Wegmans more quickly and efficiently than I can through the other store, to the point where I might just as well drive the extra 10 minutes. </p>
<p>I will crab a bit about our local Wegmans, one of the largest in the chain. In the past 18 months, several products I like have disappeared from the shelves. There is constant major re-arranging of products and aisles, which many customers dislike. A friend of mine who works in grocery management elsewhere tells me this can be an attempt to keep the customer in the store longer and increase the number of items the customer buys. This was like a wound - my Wegmans would do that to me??? :D</p>
<p>They have also placed an all-but mini mall right in the middle of the store - aisles and aisles of kitchen equipment, seasonal merchandise, high-end toiletries, aromatherapy products, etc. I think this might be some kind of marketing test to see if shoppers will respond favorably. But my friends and I haven’t. Still shopping there, though.</p>