re: Finally got over on Whole foods

I went into the Metairie WF the other day, and stopped a few feet in the door in awe. Way nicer than ours. And not NEARLY as crowded. No one was in there.

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The Metairie store has hands down the best combination of beers, cheeses, meat, and seafood under one roof in the 504.

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Brah, you have that Jefferson Parish gene, doe.

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Better than that Natchitoches trash

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Wait, VOR is from that Natchitrash? Oh, wow. I had no idea.

And I can testify to LL's awe. That Metry WF is pretty solid. I get a little green when I see posters post pics from the bar at the Lafayette location, however.

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What difference does it make? I asked a question and wondering what types of things.

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Hey. I wasn't trying to be a dick. It was a legit question. If you've been to a whole foods, you've probably noticed that a massive percentage of the items aren't sold in regular grocery stores.

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I wouldn't know where to find a Winn Dixie, but the Kroger I frequent has everything I've needed.

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And that's great. A lot of people agree with you. But some people buy different groceries. Some people like the specialty items found pretty much only at whole foods. For example, every few weeks, I make a charcuterie spread to snack on for dinner. No other store has the charcuterie item selection that whole foods has (in my area).

Most people agree that doing your entire grocery shopping there is expensive, but it's a specialty foods store... So if you buy speciality foods, it serves a purpose.

Obviously, your produce isn't going to vary. I assume, and hope, most people aren't going to WF for produce.

As I said earlier, they have a pretty decent wine/beer selection. Huge cheese spread. An entire segment of the store is dedicated to prepared foods.. You can pick up dinner there every night for weeks and not cook a thing and still have a different meal each time. Also, hot items and on-the-spot dining. As for the aisles, they carry brands and types of chips, cereal, dips, preserves, pickled items, salad dressings, drinks, cookies, crackers, etc. etc. (whatever you purchase from "inside" aisles) that aren't found in regular grocery stores. You might not deem those things necessary, and that's fine, but they are different. You won't find a bag of Lay's at WF, but you'll find other types/brands of chips, for example.
An aisle of body care products from lines not sold in regular stores.. some of those items I've seen beauty websites rave about. Frozen section--Much like Trader Joe's, WF carries frozen meals that deviate from Lean Cuisine/Stouffer's. If frozen meals are your thing, that may be of interest to you. The seafood and meat departments sell cuts of meat/types of fish I don't always see fresh (or at all) in regular stores.

I mean, I am unsure what to say here If you've been to WF, I assume you've looked around, and I assume you noticed that most of the items they carry are different brands and different types of items than in WalMart.

Do you have to feel like you need these things? No. I totally understand. I don't go to WF every week either. But I certainly think it serves a purpose for people who desire these things.

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hot items and on-the-spot dining.

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The buffet. Looks good, but I can sit down or order out for the same price without going to the trough. I guess the steam tray dining is fine as long as you are standing next to higher class of people? (collective "you". Not you).

Ok, I misunderstood. I thought you meant completely different types of foods. What you describe is what I've seen. Chips, cookies, drinks and the etcs. that are different brands. I don't call those specialty items.

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different types of items

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Other than the frozen meals you reference (which I don't buy), I'm not seeing that many, at least in Atlanta. Savannah grocery stores are lacking. I guess BR is the same.

"My" Kroger has a larger selection of cheeses than I've seen at any WF and the beer and wine section is huge.

For meat, I'd go to a real butcher shop if I was looking for something particular. Fish in Savannah is not a problem at places much better and cheaper than WF (although the groc stores there suck for seafood)

I guess it is nomenclature to some degree. I thought items you can't get at the grocery store meant completely different products as opposed to the same classification.

I understand that some people like it a lot. That is why I asked TW specifically what products he finds there. If he had some specific items that were intriguing, I might check it out.

Now that body care stuff you talk about!....

I think a lot of what you're saying also depends on the area. WF has a lot that we don't have elsewhere in BR.

I buy my meat at Fresh Market, seafood at Tony's or FM, produce at the produce market, etc.

But WF has its place I certainly wouldn't want to lose it.

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I hate the uptown location

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Worst grocery store on the planet. Hell, it's so bad people pull guns on other people because it's such a clusterfrick.

Maybe he drew a picture of a gun.