Grocery Stores around the country.....

[KYHeirloomer]

>if it all writers were perfect,<

You mean we're not?
Sumofagun!

[MikeLM]

The grocery that blew me away is any of the Andronico's chain in Northern California. They are HUGE stores with a gigantic selection of gourmet everything and fantastic produce, wines, cheeses, meats, you name it. What's more, I thought the prices were quite reasonable.

My daughter's moved back east to Pittsburgh, so I can't visit her in Walnut Creek any more, and hang out at the WC Andronico's.

Oh, well, she and her family are a lot closer.

Mike

[shroomgirl]

That Walnut Creek-Berkley area has some really fine food stores....I wanna hit (is it?) salad bowl or some kinda bowl with a whole lotta varieties of produce, alot of articles on it last summer.....oooooo grocery shoppin' in Berkley......I remember when it was a big deal to hit Trader Joes, now we've got 5 in STL and each one is pretty special.

Ferry Plaza still has to be Mecca in my book......Frog Hollow risotto tarts still warm out of the oven, Happy Apple guy with dark choc satsumas, great preserves, fun shrooms, wonderful prepared foods, phenominal bakeries and that's just the farmers outside.....inside is Japanese teahouse, chocolate shops, shroom shop, Cowgirl Cremery, Olive oil Shops, equipment shops, possibly my fav fast food LULU's.....I wanna know how they get that DEEEP quiche to be that texture, several new places opened indoors that I've not experienced and so totally feel it's time to consider an visit out West this summer.

[MikeLM]

The grocery in Walnut Creek that really blew me away was Oakville Grocery (branch of a much smaller store in Oakville in the Napa Valley). I had been looking for Pomegranate Molasses, which earned me a lot of really blank looks around the Chicago suburbs.
I walked into Oakville (my first visit) and found a clerk standing in front of a line of shelves. I asked if he had, by chance, any Pomegranate Molasses? He didn't even answer, or move. He turned slightly to his left , reached out with his left hand, and handed me a bottle of PM. I was deeply impressed, and returned every time we got to Walnut Creek to visit my daughter.

Once I said I would assemble a picnic brunch for us to take to a winery (Retzlaff, where I optioned my first case of investment wine) near the Altamont Pass. I went through Oakville and wound up with a $75 bill. It was a great picnic.
Great wine, too.

Couple years ago, Andronico's opened a big store in WC, and then Trader Joe's.

Oakville... shut down.

Glad my daughter moved to Pittsburgh.

Mike

[Mezzaluna]

Tomorrow I'll be going to my favorite Italian market: Tenuta's in Kenosha, WI. Tenut's Deli
My friends and I will dedicate at least one hour to browsing and buying. I'll have a cooler in my truck to store any perishables (Italian sausage, cheeses, prosciutto, etc. On my list: olive oil, pancetta, parmigiano. We'll see what else looks good!

[Suzanne]

Yeah, my northern California are all upset about Oakville closing (especially the supplier to whom they owed money! )

And yes, Ferry Plaza is my idea of heaven. I thought the Santa Monica Farmers' Market was great -- but then I saw FP. Ooooooh. And even on a nonmarket day, the shops there are worth a visit on their own. But the special draw on farmers' market days is that my buddy Rancho Gordo is there with his beans and spices.

Anybody have a suggestion of a neighborhood market or similar to visit next week in Chicago? Preferably reachable by CTA.

[shroomgirl]

Are you going to IACP?

[kay247]

hi, i too would love shopping for ethnic foods and ingredients but have not got any where near by to visit, i make do by buying all my indian food and chinese food ingredients etc online from The Asian Cookshop they're great but i'd love to visit a shop like that in person to feel and smell the different food. I'm a big fan of sushi and that really has nt taken off yet in u.k that much!! Kay

[shroomgirl]

hi Kay, where are you located?

[MikeLM]

My fondest memory of Walnut Creek (besides Oakville Grocery,) when we visited my daughter and her family, was the year-round Sunday Farmers' Market. Just marvelous fruits and vegetables, most of the year, and gourmet treats of all kinds.

We were especially happy with a guy with a pickup who drove down from the southwest corner of Oregon. He filled the bed of his truck with ice and oysters, harvested the day before. Great stuff. Another brought salmon down from the Oregon coast, caught - he claimed - on Saturday and sold on Sunday. We tasted the salmon and believed him.

Since my daughter moved to Pittsburgh, we have to make do with the attractions of the Strip- the old market area with dozens of funky produce, meat, and ethnic stores as well as restaurants. It's a lot of fun, but it ain't California!

But, it's a lot closer.

Mike

[shel]

Originally Posted by MikeLM

The grocery that blew me away is any of the Andronico's chain in Northern California. They are HUGE stores with a gigantic selection of gourmet everything and fantastic produce, wines, cheeses, meats, you name it. What's more, I thought the prices were quite reasonable.

I live near two Andronico's. They both are overpriced compared to other stores, sometimes by a wide margin. I shop there only in an emergency. As for size, they pale in comparison to Berkeley Bowl, Whole Foods, a couple of Albertson's, and so on.

Their "selection" compared to what's available in other Berkeley stores is mostly limited to name brands, the deli products pale in comparison to a couple of the local delis in their own neighborhoods wrt taste, price, and quality of ingredients. Their cheese selection is nowhere near as good as that of smaller local stores, like the Pasta Shop or the Cheese Board. Their produce sections contain little in the way of organic produce. They sell their regular stuff at prices equal to or higher than other local organic produce, and their selection is almost non-existent compared to nearby Berkeley Bowl or Whole Foods.

I could go on, and detail some of thethings that really piss me off about them. The final straw was a few weeks ago when I needed a turkey thigh, and bought one from their poultry department. It was just a plain old turkey thigh, and I paid a relatively high price for it for the convenience. When I got it home I noticed that it contained a lot of back bone relative to the amount of thigh meat. $2.89 per pound for a piece of turkey back bone with some thigh attached. Imitation crab meat for $6.00 per pound while down the street a package of the same stuff sells for $2.00 per pound.

Andronico's? Feh!

Shel

[shel]

Originally Posted by shroomgirl

I wanna hit (is it?) salad bowl or some kinda bowl with a whole lotta varieties of produce, alot of articles on it last summer.....oooooo grocery shoppin' in Berkley

Ferry Plaza still has to be Mecca in my book......Frog Hollow risotto tarts still warm out of the oven, Happy Apple guy with dark choc satsumas, great preserves, fun shrooms, wonderful prepared foods, phenominal bakeries and that's just the farmers outside.....inside is Japanese teahouse, chocolate shops, shroom shop, Cowgirl Cremery, Olive oil Shops, equipment shops, possibly my fav fast food LULU's.....I wanna know how they get that DEEEP quiche to be that texture, several new places opened indoors that I've not experienced and so totally feel it's time to consider an visit out West this summer.

You're probably thinking of Berkeley Bowl, the unequaled hands-down winner for produce in the area - both in terms of selection AND price. Come to the Gourmet Ghetto and see what food and food shopping can be.

Ferry Plaza is great - I love when the Frog Hollow guys are down there with their fresh picked a perfectly ripe peaches - GAWD!

Cowgirl Creamery makes some great cheeses. Sometimes we go up to Point Reyes Station and get the stuff at their factory store, where they sell some items not available elsewhere and can watch the cheese being made. There's a great little local cafe around the corner that has surprisngly decent food. Nice place for an inexpensive lunch or a filling breakfast.

[abgstat]

This is great! There's actually normal people in the world, just like me!!
I always say I'd rather shop for groceries than go to the mall! Down south I enjoy going to any store, just to poke around and see what they've got. Steen's and boiled peanuts are definitely not on the list of available items in Pennsylvania. In our town, our list is very short.
Wegman's is about a 50 mile drive for me, so every now and then I coax my DH or DD into making a day trip with me. And I really can just shop all day.....I kinda get mesmorized walking up and down the aisles!
I found a Trader Joe's in Indianapolis a few years ago, and then another in Tyson's Corner, MD.
Delis in upstate NY....I'll stop every time to get a knish or pastrami sandwich.
My DD and I will be going to CA in July, specifically San Francisco, LA, San Diego and then to Rosarito, Mx, so feel free to shout out more good stores to stop at!

AB

[shroomgirl]

Shel, it is Berkley Bowl, thanks for clarifying. I've not been but had read some articles on it.
If you are at Ferry Plaza stop in and see Dr. Art Lang aka happy apple man who has the most incredible dried satsumas and hidden beneath the counter are dk choc covered dried satsumas....Now my friend that is special. forget Scharffenberger and the other chocolate palaces inside FP, step out back.
I could spend hours and hours poking through the market, chatting with everyone, shopping to schlep across the country foods that are special to that area. I still have lavender honey from a couple of years ago.

Years ago there was a wonderful shop I wanna say in Walnut Grove that had heirloom beans prior to them being popular (about 20 years ago) they also had the fruitiest green olive oil that was so memorable. For years there was mailorder but they stopped shipping I believe. Any guesses as to the name of the shop?

There's a fillo dough shop in SF that is one of the only ones around that makes fillo by hand...oh man. when I was 16 they offered me an apprenticeship and I turned it down to do stupid teenager shtuff probably. Anyway it's family owned and very great. They do not ship their dough.

I've not been to Pt Reyes but it sounds like my kinda place. There's one cheese maker that names her cheeses after music.....it's also on my explore list.

[shel]

Originally Posted by shroomgirl

forget Scharffenberger

Years ago there was a wonderful shop I wanna say in Walnut Grove that had heirloom beans prior to them being popular (about 20 years ago) they also had the fruitiest green olive oil that was so memorable. For years there was mailorder but they stopped shipping I believe. Any guesses as to the name of the shop?.

I've not been to Pt Reyes but it sounds like my kinda place. There's one cheese maker that names her cheeses after music.....it's also on my explore list.

I gave up on S'berger a long time ago. They've always been no more than an average chocolateier, IMO, and since they were taken over by Hershey's, well, there's just no reason to give them my $$ any more.

AS for olive oil, there are so many places in CA making good, fruity green olive oil it would be hard to know just which one you're referemcing.

Not Pt. Reyes, Pt Reyes Station. two very different places, but each with it's own charm and interests.

For a real cheese treat, you've got to check out the Cheese Board in Berkeley, across the street from Chez Panise. Probably the best, most fully stocked cheese shop in the area, although there are some places, like the Pasta Shop, that may have some more interesting cheeses at times.

The thing about the Gourmet Ghetto is that there's little or no need to ever go into a regular supermarket. You can shop in specialty shops all day long. Apart for some staples, like milk or ketchup, I rarely shop at typical supermarkets, unless you include Whole Foods as a typical supermarket. And even there I limit my purchases to just a few items.

Come to Berkeley, bring your shopping basket, and we'll cruise the Ghetto ... La Farine for brioch and their wonderful rustic loaf, Acme Baking, Semifreddi, and the Cheese Board for wonderful, fresh from the oven sourdogh baguettes, AG Ferrari for some amazing Italian products, including some of the most amazingly delicious DOP San Marzano tomatoes, Berkeley Bowl and Monterey Market for produce, Magnani Poultry - you want birds, they got birds! - a couple of Halal markets, Tokyo Fish market for your sashimi grade fish ... and so much more. It's paradise for foodies.

Shel

Shel