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at Wed, 21 Sep 2005 17:05:16 GMT in >,
(Nancy Young) wrote :

>I've never been to one, but I notice they have opened one near
>me some time ago. We'd already planned to go this weekend,
>and today I got a $10 coupon in the mail. Alright, alright,
>we'll go!
>
I'm sure there is some local variation. But in my area (Seattle) I've found
the following.

1) The produce section is very poor. What this means is that it has
enormous selection, much of it organic, but virtually none of it local.
What they do bring in from local sources tends to be the lower-grade stuff
- things that don't cut the mustard at the local farmers' markets. But in
general WF relies on wholesale produce trucked in from who-knows-where
grown by larger farms.

2) The meat section isn't far behind. The amount of organic meat isn't
great, pretty inexcusable in an area where there are *many* local organic
meat raisers, much of it of outstanding quality. Again, there's some
reliance on non-local producers. And they aren't reaching for high quality
standards. Most of the beef, for example, is USDA Select.

3) The seafood section is much better. It easily outranks some local
fishmongers in terms of freshness, variety and aggressive seeking of local,
in-season fish. There *are* better fishmongers in Seattle, but you have to
consider both where you are (Seattle is, after all, one of the premier
fishing ports in the USA) and that for a supermarket to be able to compete
with first-tier fishmongers for quality is a real mark of achievement.

4) The dairy section is excellent. They've got more variety and better
sources than just about anywhere else in town. I am impressed especially
with their milk selection where they make a more determined effort that
most other places to find quality choices and to retain local suppliers
when possible.

5) Most of the general grocery sections e.g. boxed cereals, frozen foods,
canned goods etc. are pretty standard, compared to the other "health food"
stores in the area. In other words, they have pretty much the same
selection and the same brands. In general they are no more expensive in
this section than any other store, so at least if you're here for something
else you'll be able to pick up basics here as well.

6) The chocolate selection isn't the best in Seattle, not by a long shot,
but again Seattle has an unusual concentration of stores with superb
chocolate sections. In other cities, WF's chocolate array would be awesome.
However, somebody needs to train the stockists on handling and display.
Much of their high-quality chocolate is right next to the cheese, one of
the biggest no-nos you can do.

7) The bakery section concentrates on pastries for visual appeal. Breads
seem to be an afterthought. It's key in this area to avoid caving in to
pastry temptation too easily because they really make it look indulgent.
The pastries themselves look good and taste OK, although IMHO they could be
better. However, it's hard to argue too hard with a place that uses all
butter instead of resorting to shortening or margarine. And the quality is
way, way better than your standard commercial bakery. Breads, meanwhile,
are pretty average, at least by Seattle standards.

8) Bulk foods is one area where they stand out as well. The difference here
is that they seem to have different choices from what you find at other
health foods stores or bulk outlets. These are not merely really oddball
bulk foods but also things that for some inexplicable reason none of the
other local stores want to carry. Bulk nut selection, for example, is
outstanding, although you do have to watch freshness.

My overall experience then, is this. WF is a great place when they have
something specific that you can't find anywhere else and is very good, and
this is a common enough situation that it'll probably become part of your
shopping for all those specific items. However, it shouldn't replace your
usual stores of choice for everything because you can easily overspend for
second-rate food.

--
Alex Rast

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