Whole Foods is my very favorite store. I am also a Trader Joe’s fan for certain items such as turkey dogs without nitrites. Still Whole Foods has everything I could need.
They can be found all over the country though not in every state. They are in Canada and in the United Kingdom. I’ve been to many stores and there are slight differences. For example the store closest to me sells food in bulk and has an area in which prepared food can be purchased and eaten. They sell coffees and smoothies. We spent five nights in Manhattan with a Whole Foods around the corner. We ate dinner from Whole Foods four of those nights!
The food bars in Manhattan are fabulous offering vegetarian and Indian foods. You’ll find tradition salad ingredients in three separate stations. You’ll find fresh home made soup in a separate station. If you don’t feel like spending time at the stations there are dozens and dozens of prepared packages of food and already cooked items at the deli, hot bar and fish bar. One night we got shrimp tempura. This was already cooked. We just heated it up.
Every time we leave Whole Foods we feel good. The staff is friendly and they look healthy. The stores are clean and it is easy to find products though with Manhattan’s two levels it’s a little chaotic.
We buy many vitamins from Whole Foods and it is the store where we buy our dog’s food.
With all these accolades I can’t help but mention you will pay a premium. One nice thing Whole Foods does is have conventional versus organic produce so if $5.99 is a bit over budget for you to spend on a pint of strawberries you can buy them more reasonably prices. Still much of the food you will find to be more expensive than elsewhere but I think it’s worth it. Since we eat primarily organic foods we have decided to bite the bullet and spend the money. The salad bar is $7.99 a pound which is probably a $1.00 or $2.00 more than you are used to spending.
The breads which are phenomenal will run you over $3.00 a loaf but you have to try one before you say you’d never spend that when you can buy bread for $1.29.
They have a wonderful display of cold drinks, organic cottage cheese and organic items that are hard to find elsewhere including paper goods that are recycled.
Catering
I was recently quite impressed with Whole Foods. I had a party in my house and not being much of a cook decided to go to Whole Foods and inquire about platters. I was treated quite well from the minute I asked the wrong department if that was where I could order food to picking up the food. Much to my surprise they offered me a catering menu and I worked with three different people to pick just the right amount and types of food to order. They helped me with choices and how much I would need.
I paid a premium for sure. At the last minute I decided to add an additional dish. I knew even I could handle hummus and tabbouleh with toasted pita triangles but I didn’t want to. I paid $49.99 for a huge platter that serves 10 to 20 people and looked nothing like mine would have looked. On the platter were huge olives, chunks of feta cheese, baba ghanoush and all of this was on a layer of fancy greens.
I got the wrap and roll sampler which consisted of a couple of types of turkey, chicken salad and veggie wraps. They were cut in half at my request. I was told some people want them cut in thirds. I requested no red meat wraps. The wraps were amazingly delicious. I was shocked when I at a vegetarian wrap. They were made with Portobello mushrooms. True at $4.59 a person I paid for these mushrooms but they were worth every penny.
I also ordered a crudités platter for 10 to 15 people which ran me $24.98 and a fresh fruit salad for 15 to 20 for $49.98. Yes that’s a lot and I could have cut up my own fruit but I would do this again in a heart beat.
I couldn’t choose one cake and knew I could go to the supermarket and get a sheet cake for $15.00 however I wanted the best. The carrot cake was exceptional as was the chocolate and vanilla cake which one of the people helping me suggested. Each cake was $24.99.
The day I picked up all my items everything was ready for me and brought to me. I didn’t have to go from produce to the bakery to fresh foods! I was given bags of ice to keep all my items cold. This was one of the easiest transactions I’ve had.
The party was a hit as was the food and we had enough for the entire weekend.
