eat Tribeca - Whole Foods

How do I love thee?... let me count the ways.

In the first month of operation I think I visited our new Whole Foods market on Greenwich St. in Tribeca at least once a day.

Before Whole Foods, our only choices in the neighborhood were the Food Emporium just a few blocks north of WF, the Amish Market on West Broadway and Bell Bates a great health food store on Reade St. There are also several stores in the Financial District like Associated, Jubalees and ZayTuna.

Why do I love Whole Foods so much? First, it's large and all inclusive, like our Fred Meyers in Oregon, or Safeway. How I miss those large Supermarkets taking up acres of real estate. With our giant (by NY standards) Whole Foods, we now have variety and more choices.

I had always thought that Whole Foods was going to be expensive. I cook most all my meals and I know the grocery prices in the area. Whole Foods is very competitive with not only their regular but sale prices compared to the surrounding stores.

I really like shopping organic when that choice is comparable with regular priced groceries. I also don't mind paying a little bit more for organic or quality foods. I do, however, object to paying 3x as much just because it's "organic". After all, an apple, organic or not is still better than not eating an apple at all. Whole Foods organic prices are very competitive, even beating out the local Bell Bates health food store.

Since Whole Foods quality standards are so high, I hardly find the need to read the labels on the products, and I am a real "label reader". All of their meats and dairies are antibiotic and growth hormone free. All animals were out in the fields, eating grains, soakin in the sun. All dairy and cheeses and eggs,, I mean, it's like Dorothy raised them herself all the way from Kansas. Amazing.

Now I still do shop in the surrounding stores, but I love Whole Foods best. ..and the cruising isn't bad their either ;-)