<p>Now that my D is going to college in Ohio we have a favorite halfway stop, a suburb just south of Cleveland where there is a Trader Joes (my favorite grocery EVER - that is nowhere to be found near me) AND a Whole Foods (down the street is an Anthropologie store, which makes the trifecta for me, but I digress). </p>
<p>I have gotten some great tips from the Trader Joes Top 10 thread, please help me with suggestions of items you have gotten at Whole Foods that are to die for, since we will be making a stop next weekend after the big move in. Will have cooler…</p>
<p>I adore their ginger miso dip. It is beyond delicious with cucumbers. I also like to buy powdered curries there. Their ready-made buffet foods are also good. I love the sesame tofu.</p>
<p>I have gone to their buffet for lunch with MIL as she likes the selection there. I also buy some of the gluten free rice breads there. But for the most part, I find that store too expensive. There is nothing there that I cannot get for a lot less elsewhere.</p>
<p>[Henry’s</a> Farmers Market Home](<a href=“http://www.henrysmarkets.com%5DHenry’s”>http://www.henrysmarkets.com)
Our local Whole Foods is being BURIED by Henrys Market. Local and organic, fabulous bread, fish, meats and cheeses. All the quality and half the price. They are looking to spread out of California in the near future.
BUT when I did used to go to W Foods, I used to love their house brands (pasta etc) and they had a fabulous cheese selection.</p>
<p>Around here we call it Whole Paycheck. They do have some good things (their meat dept. is excellent, as are their baked goods), but it’s very expensive.</p>
<p>I really like the WF rotisserie chicken, tried herb roasted and cajun season and both were great. If you need a quick dinner, it’s perfect. Good as leftovers too. Ours has some tasty vegetarian prepared dishes as well.</p>
<p>Oh, and the hibiscus sorbet was nice. Something I didn’t love was the “coconut water” in various flavors. High in potassium, low on taste. Don’t be tempted.</p>
<p>I only can live vicariously thru my kids when it come to shopping at Whole Foods
My visits have revealed :
great local produce
great cheeses
great fish and meats
great prepared foods for those who like to eat well and nopt do the work</p>
<p>Here in my neck of the woods we have PCC. It used to be a no-nonsense farm-fresh produce and meats store, but it is turning into a googleite-urbanite-oragnic-junk-food-soy-chai-latte kind of store. I still like their produce; it is the only store where can get a decent bunch of fresh dill for a couple of bucks even in the middle of winter.</p>
<p>What I like at WF and what doesn’t cost an arm and a leg: freeze-dried fruit and veggie snacks, baked stuff, and their prepared hot food (which is not that expensive if you don’t fill your plate with the cheap stuff like rice and mashed ptatoes).</p>
<p>I doubt this thread will go on forever like our TJ and Costco ones :)</p>
<p>Our Whole Foods is crowded all day, every day. Our favorite things are several of the baked goods - Asiago/Black Pepper bread, berry scones, pumpkin scones, almond croissants, lemon meringue tarts, actually, everything I’ve ever bought from their bakery has been delicious; the cheese selection is fabulous; the meats and fresh fish are excellent; fresh squeezed OJ is a regular weekend treat; but probably what makes me happiest when I shop there is that their staff is impeccably trained, knowledgable, and helpful. </p>
<p>I never do my full shopping there but I go weekly to get a few of our favorite things.</p>
<p>fresh ground almond butter
whole foods brand taco shells
dried herbs and spices
smoked turkey drumsticks
I have the Whole Foods Cookbook and have cooked some of the recipes from their prepared food section. Love the winter squash, onion, dried cranberry and sage recipe, very easy and a fraction of the cost of buying it prepared.</p>
<p>All of their prepared soups. Their grilled salmon is a big hit in our home. Rhubarb pie. Any produce from there has more robust flavor. My kids will eat WF broccoli but wont touch the supermarket broccoli. Will second the winter squash/cranberry/sage as a favorite as well.</p>
<p>Oh and I forgot – also love their Tequila Lime Salmon Burger (in the seafood aisle – you take it home and broil it yourself). About $5 for a HUGE one that’s big enough for 2.</p>
<p>We drive about an hour to to to Trader Joe’s. There is a Whole Foods very nearby TJ’s but I won’t even tempt myself by going in - don’t need another addiction!!!</p>
<p>I have heard many say it’s expensive. Are there certain items you buy that you feel ARE good buys???</p>
<p>One thing I"ve had that I liked very much from there though, is their spinach-artichoke dip from the deli. Yum.</p>
<p>The have bottled water from Tennessee for a buck a gallon - it’s my favorite bottled water. We’re an hour away from Whole Foods but we usually stop by one on our way back from Boston.</p>
<p>I live near several WFs, including two large and fairly new ones. When the first one opened years ago it was great. Now the novelty has worn off and prices are often but not always high, with quality of produce, meat, and baked goods variable as well. The fish counter at the one closest to me is not exciting, and the elaborate baked goods and desserts at all the WFs I’ve been to often aren’t as good as they look. Fruit pies can be very cinnamony. Prepared dishes can be overwhelmingly herbed with whatever is in fashion that day or week. At this point I mostly go to WF for 365 brand organic milk, which is not ultra pasteurized and is slightly cheaper than Horizon, which is available at our other supermarkets. </p>
<p>Of course I buy other things at WF too and agree that it is sometimes fun, but if I had to choose on the basis of produce I’d ask for a Wegman’s to move in near me. Honestly, I’d say if you are just going to WF recreationally, buy what looks good to you and see if you like it. </p>
<p>Be very careful about expiration dates and keep your receipt because WF will not give you a refund without one. Even items purchased well within the expiration date may be spoiled. (Our local mainstream though somewhat upscale supermarket is much more trusting.) I’ve had moldy organic cheese spread, bad cut-up pineapple and watermelon and a few horrible smelling shrimp mixed in with okay ones from WF over the years, among other things; in at least one case I was unable to get a refund at the store because I had paid cash and not kept the receipt, which I would have done if I’d used a debit card–wrote to WF and of course eventually received a gift card for more than the cost of the spoiled food, but as a regular customer who doesn’t lie about stuff like that the experience left a bad taste in my mind to equal the bad taste of the spoiled food.</p>
<p>I go mostly for the organic/ non-factory-farmed/ grass-fed, etc meats. It’s hard to find those at any local supermarkets, and won’t knowingly buy factory-farm meat products. We eat meat sparingly, so it’s worth it to me to pay extra for what I buy.</p>