139 replies to this topic

[Orik]

WF is one of the most evil companies around. Other nyc supermarkets may suck, but WF is like if Microsoft and Monsanto had baby corporates with Philip Morris and WF is their favorite son.

[Anthony Bonner]

WF is one of the most evil companies around. Other nyc supermarkets may suck, but WF is like if Microsoft and Monsanto had baby corporates with Philip Morris and WF is their favorite son.

I believe it is related on its fathers side to Union Carbide and WR Grace

[Rich]

In fairness, I should add that there's no corkage fee at the Whole Foods deli so their wine program is among the best in the city.

[Rich]

In fairness, I should add that there's no corkage fee at the Whole Foods deli so their wine program is among the best in the city.

but do they supply free glasses?

Yes, but plastic.

[ghostrider]

My part of Jersey is another story. In spite of our megasized local Stop & Shops and Shoprites, WF is the closest source of certain staples that I like to have around, e.g., good unsalted butter & cheeses. More significantly, they have the only decent fish counter within 10 miles, yet they're too far away for me to patronize said fish counter as often as I'd like. They may exemplify corporate evil, but they also point up the shortcomings of the stock at conventional stores.

The relatively new Fairway branch up in Paramus is a better source of many things that WF used to have a lock on, but they're even further away.

Is there anybody who's completely happy with the food shopping options that are convenient to where they live?

[memesuze]

Is there anybody who's completely happy with the food shopping options that are convenient to where they live?

I am, but then I'm down in Austin, within a couple of miles of two Central Markets, two WFs [not that I ever go there], Wheatsville Coop, dozens of HEBs, Antonelli's Cheese Shop, Quality Seafood and several other "natural" food grocers. We do have summers of weeks upon end of 100+ days, but I'm willing to pay that price for my grocery options. And yes, most of us have cars - how else could we go inspect our ranch's fences?!

[Rich]

Is there anybody who's completely happy with the food shopping options that are convenient to where they live?

Absolutely!!!

Shopping is more fun then cooking at times. In fact, just returned from the Asian market and found something didn't know existed - baby razor clams. About the size and shape of a "flatish" lipstick "tube", was told not as much sand and sweeter. We'll see.

[ghostrider]

Is there anybody who's completely happy with the food shopping options that are convenient to where they live?

Absolutely!!!

Shopping is more fun then cooking at times. In fact, just returned from the Asian market and found something didn't know existed - baby razor clams. About the size and shape of a "flatish" lipstick "tube", was told not as much sand and sweeter. We'll see.

We may interpret "convenient" differently, if that's one of your Brooklyn Asian markets.

[Rich]

Is there anybody who's completely happy with the food shopping options that are convenient to where they live?

Absolutely!!!

Shopping is more fun then cooking at times. In fact, just returned from the Asian market and found something didn't know existed - baby razor clams. About the size and shape of a "flatish" lipstick "tube", was told not as much sand and sweeter. We'll see.

We may interpret "convenient" differently, if that's one of your Brooklyn Asian markets.

We do, it is - see what a car can do?

[ghostrider]

Is there anybody who's completely happy with the food shopping options that are convenient to where they live?

Absolutely!!!

Shopping is more fun then cooking at times. In fact, just returned from the Asian market and found something didn't know existed - baby razor clams. About the size and shape of a "flatish" lipstick "tube", was told not as much sand and sweeter. We'll see.

We may interpret "convenient" differently, if that's one of your Brooklyn Asian markets.

We do, it is - see what a car can do?

Oh, I dig what a car can do, just don't always enjoy it, especially when afternoon traffic in Jersey is involved.

[Rich]

Is there anybody who's completely happy with the food shopping options that are convenient to where they live?

Absolutely!!!

Shopping is more fun then cooking at times. In fact, just returned from the Asian market and found something didn't know existed - baby razor clams. About the size and shape of a "flatish" lipstick "tube", was told not as much sand and sweeter. We'll see.

We may interpret "convenient" differently, if that's one of your Brooklyn Asian markets.

We do, it is - see what a car can do?

Oh, I dig what a car can do, just don't always enjoy it, especially when afternoon traffic in Jersey is involved.

The key word in your post is "Jersey." Especially Route 17. Ah, the joys of knowing the side-streets of Brooklyn - especially the no-light 62nd Street that can take one from Bay Ridge to Gravesend in about seven minutes.

[ghostrider]

Is there anybody who's completely happy with the food shopping options that are convenient to where they live?

Absolutely!!!

Shopping is more fun then cooking at times. In fact, just returned from the Asian market and found something didn't know existed - baby razor clams. About the size and shape of a "flatish" lipstick "tube", was told not as much sand and sweeter. We'll see.

We may interpret "convenient" differently, if that's one of your Brooklyn Asian markets.

We do, it is - see what a car can do?

Oh, I dig what a car can do, just don't always enjoy it, especially when afternoon traffic in Jersey is involved.

The key word in your post is "Jersey." Especially Route 17. Ah, the joys of knowing the side-streets of Brooklyn - especially the no-light 62nd Street that can take one from Bay Ridge to Gravesend in about seven minutes.

Heh. I know all the Jersey back roads in this area, the ways around the Rt. 17 bottlenecks & so forth. Unfortunately some of them have bottlenecks of their own 3:00 - 7:00, give or take.

I really need to become more of a morning person.

[AaronS]

It has a really first-rate beer shop. Can't imagine better, and if there is a better one I don't need it. Everything I need here.

New Beer on chrystie street is better in some ways, and sometimes has things that aren't officially distributed here. lost abbey, russian river etc. It's disorganized and while the staff is nice they don't know what they have, they've told me they are out of things I've found on the shelf. It closes early so I often end up at the wholefoods myself. I think it's a little bit cheaper than whole foods too, although whole foods is a shit load cheaper than anywhere in brooklyn that I know about.

The produce at the WF on houston street is so much better than the garbage within walking distance of Ft. Greene it's not even funny. I kind of wish we had a car so we could go to Fairway etc.

[g.johnson]

The good charcuterie previously available from Fra' Mani and La Quercia has now been almost entirely supplanted by disgusting-looking stuff (chicken and turkey offerings especially scary) from Fresh Fields, the 'gourmet' chain that bought Balducci's and drove it into the ground.

The deli counter at Whole Foods drives me nuts. I lived above the Tribeca location for a year and never knew what to expect. One day, a large selection of Fra'mani and La Quercia. A couple of days later, a Fra'mani mortadella end and the entire Applegate Farms catalog. No one ever knew what or when or why. I was in the flagship Austin location recently (where the deli counter has been shit from day one) and was astonished to see a new case housing what must have been 12-16 Creminelli products. Maybe not my favorite but light yrs ahead of the other shit. The staff was excited and had an info sheet on the all stuff... I tried some, bought some. Popped in again last week... as though it was a dream. No Creminelli, no Fra'mani. No clue as to why.

The Union Square Whole Foods still carries Fra' Mani though possibly not as great a selection as previously.

[Orik]

The things WF does:

Introduce Matiz sardines on a large, prominent shelf, at $3.99 a box, then change it to $4.99 once people had a chance to think the overpricing is only minor.

Sell a line of canned tomato products called San Marzano, with a label containing Italian text, and the producer called Something Imports, mention in small print in the back that these are US grown tomatoes (that may or may not be San Marzanos).

Sell a tube of tomato paste with the same graphic design and a big "Made in Italy" on the front, but without the San Marzano name

Have someone pretend to be filleting a large fish at the fish dept even though he clearly has no idea how to do it, to generate the sense there's some real mongering going on

Carefully place all the pre-cut cheeses with the prices facing down

Offer lettuces from the very local Satur farm, hope nobody notices the "grown in FL in the winter" remark on the box.

With every product, follow the same trajectory - high-end or local brand -> lower grade brand -> generic (Il Laboratorio -> Ciao Bella -> nothing, and such)

It's like they have a team that specializes in carefully avoiding outright fraud, but just.

And I'm not even going to mention staffing policies because they just seem too troubling to discuss.