Whole Foods is like paradise realized

[TexasGirl@Heart]

Originally Posted by centralaustinite

Central Market has a great cooking school too! Austin is a great place for foodies.

Oh, I'm am taking some classes when I move down! Is it expensive?

[Exiled Texan]

It was a ZOO yesterday. Officially, it sucks, no one should go there b/c I don't like risking my life in the parking lot with all the frustrated shoppers circling for parking.

Central Market is much more tranquil to me. They need to build another one or people need to start talking poorly about it.

Didn't you hear about worms being in the sea food?

[centralaustinite]

Originally Posted by TexasGirl@Heart

Oh, I'm am taking some classes when I move down! Is it expensive?

Here ya go!

Central Market | Cooking School

Austin (Lamar Culinary Center) culinarycalendar | WholeFoodsMarket.com (http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/stores/lamar-culinarycenter/culinarycalendar.php - broken link)

[TexasGirl@Heart]

Originally Posted by centralaustinite

Here ya go!

Central Market | Cooking School

Austin (Lamar Culinary Center) culinarycalendar | WholeFoodsMarket.com (http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/stores/lamar-culinarycenter/culinarycalendar.php - broken link)

Thanks so much!

[TexasHorseLady]

I've been shopping at Whole Foods since BEFORE it was the little store down the street from where it is now, where the Cheap CD's place is (or was last time I looked as I drove by). I rarely go to the downtown location now (I used to live right around the corner from it when it was in Brodie Oaks, before it moved to its first location downtown and Sun Harvest moved into its former location). Both because of the hassle of getting there, and because I prefer Central Market to Whole Paycheck. Yes, it is a trip, and everyone should go there at least once, and if you can manage to park, it's a good place to meet for a casual dinner before a movie or show or something, but Central Market on North Lamar is where I do my real foodie shopping.

There's the Central Market there, and there's the one on South Lamar just south of Ben White. Both are good, and they have the Very Best Flour Tortillas in town (among other things). Yes, there is a maze, but there's also a LOT of cut-throughs once you've been there a time or two and know where you want to go - you don't have to go through the whole maze. Makes it easy to make up your shopping list, though!

So, if you love Whole Foods, check out the original Central Market on North Lamar. You'll be glad you did. (Warning: it took a while before I could go in there without dropping a lot more money than I intended, on things that I didn't know existed until I got there but that I clearly just could not live without! I'm doing MUCH better now!)

[ILikeSmartHippies]

WOW! Cooking classes! anyone who has taken these please post a review.. wowowowow good food & cute girls it's like.. paradise^10..

(I took a several cooking classes in CA through adult education community college, pay $10 for the entire semester weekly class + $70 food cost, it's great for cooking indian because all the spices can be fresh ground and ass the bread made fresh etc.. and works out to less than $10 per gourmet dinner. i haven't found classes like this in TX so far.)

[mark311]

Originally Posted by TexasHorseLady

So, if you love Whole Foods, check out the original Central Market on North Lamar. You'll be glad you did.

I often take out of town visitors to eat at the Central Market Cafe as the patio is a nice place to enjoy a nice day. Sometimes there is live music and there's also a nice playscape adjacent to the eating area. You can order your food without drinks and then go pick out some beer or wine from inside Central Market to have with your meal from the cafe.

[corntortilla]

I go to Whole Foods when I have an out-of-town guest but do most of my grocery shopping at Central Market. Can't beat their coupons! It's usually the equivalent of $10 off my grocery bill every week (this past week it was free $10 worth of seafood). And at Christmas it's a free Wustof knife. If you don't get their coupons in the mail you can go to the guest services desk and ask to get on the mailing list.

For both places though: I love the idea of their cafes and food bars, but I'm always disappointed with the prepared food once I buy it. Can't they put more flavor in their food, especially for those prices?

[achtungpv]

Originally Posted by corntortilla

I go to Whole Foods when I have an out-of-town guest but do most of my grocery shopping at Central Market. Can't beat their coupons! It's usually the equivalent of $10 off my grocery bill every week (this past week it was free $10 worth of seafood). And at Christmas it's a free Wustof knife. If you don't get their coupons in the mail you can go to the guest services desk and ask to get on the mailing list.

Since you only have to spend $40 (before taking the coupon off), we get two sets of coupons and then split our order in half with the wife paying half and I pay the other so it's $20 off instead of $10 every week.