The Wilmette location is the closest one to me, so I have not been, but there used to be one more up our way, and if I was in the area, or shopping for a party, I’d go to Treasure Island. I’d rank it up there as the top 3 shopping experiences in the Chicago area, at least the one I would go to, and this is probably 15 years ago.
PG, you forgot Heinens (do you have them down your way?)! With our move, we are now within 5-6 miles of all the places mentioned… TJ, FT, WF, Heinens, Jewel, Fresh Market and Marianos. I am just not that impressed with Mariano’s produce and since I try to shop the perimeter of the store, I don’t go to Mariano’s unless it’s right on my way somewhere.
Fresh Thyme is the only store I have not made it around to trying yet, but after this thread, will have to make more of an effort. I know that I’m more inclined to eat produce if it’s fresh. I am so desperate for good peaches right now that I found a place out of Georgia that will ship to me on either a weekly, or biweekly basis (depending on what schedule I want). I got my first shipment last week and they are just amazing, but I am paying a pretty penny for them. I will cancel the shipments once we start to get Michigan peaches in August. But if I could get consistently good peaches at Fresh Thyme, I’d stop my shipment schedule now.
Teriwitt – no, never heard of Heinens, don’t have them down my way. I’m within walking distance of both a Trader Joe’s and a Caputo’s (same shopping center - amazing how 2 grocery stores can co-exist so closely). I don’t really notice much difference in the produce from one store to another, but I’m not terribly observant about stuff like that.
A Fresh Thyme is opening in Milwaukee. I have no strong desire to go down there.
Marianos is just a fancy Pick N Save or a renamed Metro Market. When Roundy’s expanded into Chicago, they decided to go with a another name instead of their established brands in Wisconsin. I receive both a Pick N Save ad and a Metro Market one and it is pretty much the same ad. The weekly free items are the same here in Wisconsin as it is in Chicago. However, you don’t get the nifty bags with information about Wisconsin on them. My latest one says livestock has right of way in Wisconsin.
@teriwtt not quite peaches, but Mr R went to Fresh Thyme today and came home with some nectarines. I ate 3 before I forced myself to stop. They were sooooo good.
My sister lives in northern Indiana, an hour or less drive to the Loop, near the Dunes, and I’ve constantly been amazed at how limited and unsophisticated the supermarkets in her area are. This may be the epitome of a first world problem, but a couple of year’s ago I was astounded that none of them carried smoked trout. It’s in ALL of the supermarkets around here. I don’t know if they even had smoked salmon. (I wanted to make a mousse dip.) There’s all kinds of other things they don’t stock that I would expect to be routine in an area with a fair number of sophisticated residents, so close to a major city.
The Chesterton Farmer’s Market is great, though.
Anyone familiar with Mrs. Green’s? One opened near my mother, and the prices were astronomic. It closed fairly quickly.
@romanigypsyeyes - I may have to try FT tomorrow then, because I have one lonely peach left in my refrigerator and my next delivery from Georgia is not due for another five days.
We have Whole Foods and Safeway as our national groceries. We also have Sam’s Clubs, Targets, and Costco. We have ONE local grocery chain, as well as one chained owned by an out-of-state company. We don’t have TJ or FT.
" familiar with Mrs. Green’s? One opened near my mother, and the prices were astronomic. It closed fairly quickly"
There is one down the street from my D in Lincoln Park. It seems like a knockoff of Whole Foods, which she also has, and a young woman just starting out doesn’t really have a WF–enabling budget. She actually gets her groceries at a Walmart near her, which surprised me in a city location, but it’s a full size grocery store and they price-match coupons.
