What do you guys like at Whole Foods?

[Kay Henderson]

I will be in Sacramento next week where a Whole Foods market has opened.

Any suggestions for products you particularly like from this store?

[badunnin]

The bulk bins. Love them. And the cheeses. There is an organic gruyere that I adore.

[Gail]

Organic produce. Fresh fish. Meat. Organic milk (I'm partial to Clover-Stornetta's milk, which will probably be at your store if they ship down here, 'cause they're based around Petaluma or thereabouts.) Odwalla OJ. GINGERBREAD. (LOVE their gingerbread.) Bakehouse breads. Soy and rice milks. Eggs. Wine.

Can you tell I do a lot of my shopping there? ;)

[Hoodone]

Seed Uction bread

[Canice]

Definitely the fresh fish! I buy all my dairy there because it's the cheapest anywhere, but probably not worth hauling up to LT :rolleyes: (unless, of course, you're wanting the organic products Gail mentioned). 365 (house brand) of Cranberry-Raspberry juice!! It's actual juice, unlike those brands that are mostly fructose and water - and it's very refreshing. Also 365 brand of black beans; they are my very favorite, and reasonably priced. When Pacific brand chicken stock or Imagine UnChicken stock is on sale, I, well, STOCK up. The condiments/ethnic foods aisle is great (wasabi, coconut milk, and straw mushrooms are cheaper than at Safeway) so be sure to spend a few minutes there...depends on how you cook. I always keep a box of "Simply Organic" mac n cheese in the cupboard, Just in Case; sooo much better than the blue box!

[AD]

They carry the only chocolate candy I like. It's called Chocolove. They have several kinds, but I prefer the dark chocolate bar in the black wrapper with a 70% cocoa content. I also love their canned crushed tomatoes without all the spices, salt and citric acid in other varieties. They are also the only store to carry oat "milk" (a nondairy beverage made from oats) which I love.

[stefania4]

Their house (365) brand of olive oil is the best value going. It's also the only place I can count on to have canned fire-roasted tomatoes.

[claire797]

Kay,

Here's another thread with a bunch of recommendations.

http://community.cookinglight.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=32887&highlight=wholefoods

[Gail]

...oh and did we mention Whole Foods is not inexpensive? Just so you know...

The other thread Anna posted the link to reminds me, I live between two Whole Foods stores. One is about 3 minutes away and was formerly a Mrs. Gooch's (I think that chain was only local to Southern CA, but am not sure) when Whole Foods bought the chain. While it is a nice store, if you were to walk in there, you probably wouldn't be wowed by anything in particular.

Now the OTHER store, which is clear across town, is a remodeled and new store. It is a wonderful, spacious store with a huge variety and I personally feel the quality of produce and meat is superior to what we have close to home. So I go the extra ten or fifteen minutes.

[claire797]

They just started construction on the new Whole Foods here in Austin. From what I've heard, it's going to be huge -- an 80,000 square foot store with 200,000 square feet of office space towering above it.

[Canice]

Wow, I'm envious of both of you! When they opened the only WFM in San Francisco ('96?) it was supposed to be their biggest store; now it seems woefully...mediocre. I don't think there's one fantastic grocery store in town (except maybe the health food cooperative Rainbow Grocery; but no chicken broth or fish sauce or such there...). I long for a Central Market or the Kroeger's AB shops in :( . On the other hand, WFM is only four blocks from home, and it's open until 10PM, so that's worth a lot. Still...
PS: Mrs. Gooch's? :confused: :p What is it with grocery store names?? "Piggly Wiggly"? "Bread and Circus"? "Mrs. Gooch's"?
Didn't mean to hijack your thread, Kay

[wallycat]

365 almond butter and 365 balsamic vinegar. Cook's illustrated rated it the number one balsamic :)

[Vicanddi]

I love their fresh fish, their produce, and their meat. I also often buy their sushi; it is very yummy and fresh. I love their bulk containers. Their store was the only place in town I could find turbinado sugar, which I needed for a couple CL recipes. Thankfully, I could get it out of the bin, and just get as much as needed, and not worry about wasting it.

[slawrence]

I love their bulk food aisle-only place I can find some things in town. The seafood dept is the best, the produce section is usually beautiful too. The breads....mmm, could actually cause an Atkins dieter to go carb! Also, just a note re: the prices. One weekend I priced a few items at WF and at Safeway. A few of the items were cheaper at WF than Safeway-identical products. I agree, most things are higher, but it is not across-the-board more expensive. Plus, shopping there is more of an adventure (new products, fun samples, etc) than at my nice, new Safeway. Enjoy......I go down every aisle, every time just to browse. Sue

[Kjente2]

whole paycheck is my friend. I like everything about the place,

[cangoss]

My favorite item is 365 Woven Wheat crackers. They're like Triscuits but they have no hydrogenated oils - the only ingredients are wheat and salt - and they actually taste good! Before I started a "good carb" diet, I also liked their 365 Macaroni & Cheese - my best in-a-pinch dinner.

[sunberst]

Originally posted by stefania4
Their house (365) brand of olive oil is the best value going.ditto.

bulk bins, vitamins, lotions & body stuff, fresh fish, soy icecream, their bulk olives, mini pita bread, their vegan chocolate chip cookies in the bakery for 99 cents each.

[Kay Henderson]

Thank you so much for the recommendations. It looks like it will be another two or three weeks before I can make my run, so I'm printing out both threads to take with me.