Favorite food store?

[Tina Nord]

What is your favorite store to buy groceries from? My personal favorite is Trader Joes, but they do not always carry everything I need. My 2nd favorite would be Costco.

 

[JessiFox]

I had a really bad experience with Costco lately that's making me question whether I want to continue being a member there, which is a shame given that we've been very loyal to them for years.

But my favorites right now are Whole Foods, Trader Joes and Harris Teeter has actually impressed me, as well .

 

[kammy]

I wouldn't say there is a favorite food store that i shop as i tend to visit a few of them on a regular basis...i frequently go to progressive grocers,mega-mart and walmart...i get very deals at these grocery departments.

 

[Mara]

In the US I do like Trader Joe's and Wholefoods although Stop and Shop do a good range of organic and imported goods as well. In the UK, I like Marks & Spencers and Waitrose, even though there is Wholefoods, it's so expensive I can't justify it and rather go to the foodhalls in Harrods or Harvey Nichols which sell gourmet products.

 

[Tina Nord]

Whole Foods is very expensive and I rarely go there unless it is for a specialty item. I support that all the food is organic, but I can't live with the cost of eating from there.

 

[dandeliion]

Trader Joe's for sure, but the closest one is almost 2 hours away so I never get to go and have to settle for Safeway.

 

[tangela]

I love Trader Joe's, but the one that my fiancé and I go to the most is Safeway. If I can I try to shop at Trader Joe's though, especially for their cheese!

 

[ACSAPA]

I guess Walmart because we don't have Trader Joe's or any cool food stores in my area, just supermarkets and big box stores. I sometimes like buying Swedish grocery items at IKEA.

 

[Bdoon]

Whole Foods is very expensive and I rarely go there unless it is for a specialty item. I support that all the food is organic, but I can't live with the cost of eating from there.

Ditto for me. In Columbia, MD during this pandemic I have found Whole Foods to be absurdly crowded, worse than the 'Wal Marts around there. Plus, their ready to purchase breads and pastries have really gone downhill. I could not find a whole grain or whole wheat pizza crust there either (though Wegmans has whole wheat ready to go dough as well as sprouted pizza crusts). However, even Wegmans pastries cannot compare to a 70 year old family owned bakery in Beltsville , MD, Rawls, where prices hardly go up.

 

[Bdoon]

I had a really bad experience with Costco lately that's making me question whether I want to continue being a member there, which is a shame given that we've been very loyal to them for years.

But my favorites right now are Whole Foods, Trader Joes and Harris Teeter has actually impressed me, as well .

Do you recall Harris Teeter having their own brand cake mix? The community rep told me HT never had their own cake mix but I recall using them at least 5-6 times. They were so superior to the big brands in taste it was remarkable ...made me wonder who was producing them. Now I feel like I am in the Twilight Zone with HT rep telling me they never produced them However she was very young and I have a memory that does not forget good cake or cake mixes.

 

[Bdoon]

What is your favorite store to buy groceries from? My personal favorite is Trader Joes, but they do not always carry everything I need. My 2nd favorite would be Costco.

For generalized items, especially 100% grape juice (identical to Welch's) , stock items and larger purchases, Wal Mart beats (price) everyone. However their selection is nowhere near as good as Kroeger, Giant, Harris Teeter or even Weiss Markets. I only get to Kroeger when in Virginia visiting my son #1 family. whole Foods has really gone downhill in my opinion and Trader Joes lacks so many of standard items. Aldi however has good prices but the brands they sell ?? Who knows where their offerings come from.

 

[Norcalbaker59]

The quality of Whole Foods had deteriorated dramatically since Amazon purchased it. But the prices have stayed high. Bakery department is now crap. I look at their pies and just scratch my head. You can tell they’re using a sheeter to press the dough flat, nothing is flaky. Completely under baking everything. One would do better to buy a frozen pie and bake it.


I lived in Virginia, I liked Harris Teeter and Wegmans.

In Houston I’d like the HEB Central Market. Not all HEB’s are Central Markets for some reason. Not sure why. But the Central Markets are amazing. You could find a dozen varieties of potatoes. They like farmers markets, source locally when possible. They have incredible delis and cheese departments. They offer cooking classes.

I buy most my nuts and dried fruit for baking from Trader Joe’s. They have the best nuts. I once purchased almonds from another store when TJ‘s was having difficulty sourcing almonds. I guess they were in a contract dispute with the almond growers. My biscotti was terrible with the other brand of almonds. The Ramen‘s at TJ‘s have the right moisture content in them. They never failed me.

The only place too that has the good dried sour cherries that I like for my pecan and sour cherry biscotti.