Best grocery store and why? (wine, european, bread, fresh vegetables)

[jayway]

Anyone been to the Berkeley Bowl (California) or Stew Leonard's (Conn)? I haven't been to either but plan to next time I am in the area.

I was quite impressed with the Suffield, Conn branch of the small Highland Market chain - quite upscale selection of perishable items for what looked like a fairly small town. I actually want to go again - also will visit a Stew Leonard's and sample more New Haven pizza.

[sholomar]

Hyvee runs the show in South Dakota. Most stores are well organized, clean, and open 24 hours. Mine has a nice health food section which is where I discovered "beanitos" among other delicious items. The 24 hour thing is particularly handy since I work all nights and love doing shopping between midnight and 6AM. The store is a rat-race all day every day of the week otherwise.

They have good sale deals, when they do have sales, on things like peanut butter, peanuts, eggs, ice cream, ground beef, yogurt, etc. My store has great take out and buffet chinese in the deli.. not all stores have excellent chinese, some have dried out or worse tasting versions, ours (Brookings, SD) is great... the sesame, golden sun, orange, and teriyaki chicken are all moist and taste great... as do the 'lo mein' noodles, pinapple pork, egg rolls, etc. The crab rangoon are great but overpriced... they should be giving 2 of them for every 1 egg roll but they don't.

[Woodrow LI]

Originally Posted by stockwiz

Hyvee runs the show in South Dakota. Most stores are well organized, clean, and open 24 hours. Mine has a nice health food section which is where I discovered "beanitos" among other delicious items. The 24 hour thing is particularly handy since I work all nights and love doing shopping between midnight and 6AM. The store is a rat-race all day every day of the week otherwise.

They have good sale deals, when they do have sales, on things like peanut butter, peanuts, eggs, ice cream, ground beef, yogurt, etc. My store has great take out and buffet chinese in the deli.. not all stores have excellent chinese, some have dried out or worse tasting versions, ours (Brookings, SD) is great... the sesame, golden sun, orange, and teriyaki chicken are all moist and taste great... as do the 'lo mein' noodles, pinapple pork, etc.

None within 200 miles of me. the one in Brookings is the closest to me and that is 234 miles.

[DaniellaG]

In MI I like Meijer. It is a 24 hour store similar to Walmart but better quality in my opinion.
I remember liking Wegman's in NJ though some items were expensive they have nice specialty departments.
In CA I liked Sprouts which is similar to Whole Foods
In CA I would shop usually for major things at Von's or Ralphs
In FL Publix
In MI sometimes Kroger. Once an awhile we have a mom and pop chains that has nice prepared and bakery items. The mom and pop stores though like Wegman's tend to be more expensive if the item is not on sale.

I shop at Super Walmart and once an awhile Super Target. Super Walmart there produce is not the best. Also they often are out of items which is annoying to me. Meijer is that way too especially if an item is on sale.

[Hesster]

I don't recognize about 75% of the names mentioned. With the exception of Wal-Mart superstores (which we have but I don't go to), there aren't really any truly national grocery store chains. Beware of Wal-Mart advertising that compares their grocery prices to other national chains, because there aren't any.

For general groceries I like WINCO. They are inexpensive, open 24 hours and they are employee-owned so they don't screw over their workers like most retail chains do. For stuff not carried at WINCO, I go to Fred Meyer. They are owned by Kroger and apparently carry some of the same stuff, but run as a separate entity since they are not grocery only. Freddy's is a big box chain that also carries stuff like jewelry (they are one of the largest jewelers in the country), garden, housewares, toys, clothing and electronics.

For specialty groceries I like Trader Joe's.

[mainebrokerman]

Originally Posted by Jukesgrrl

I live in Tucson, AZ, a city with a surprising amount of competition in food stores considering its size. As a result of this competition, food prices and buying choices are better here than in any of the four other states in which I have lived. For the majors, we have Safeway and Albertson's (I know they now have the same ownership, but at present the stores here remain very different), Fry's (part of the Kroger chain), and Basha's a local chain owned by an Arizona family. Of the national food-plus chains we have both Walmart and Target grocery markets. Smaller stores include Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, Sprouts, Rincon Market, and A.J.'s, a specialty market owned by the Basha family. We also have a plethora of Asian and Mexican food markets (Lee Lee Oriental, Grantstone Asian, El Herradero, Food City, El Super, and Carneceria La Noria). And of course we also have Costco and Sam's Club. Sometimes I think there's a food store for every family in Tucson.

I'm on a tight budget, so I clip coupons, read the ads, and shop at different places for different things/reasons, with best quality for lowest price being my primary driver. I try to favor Basha's to support the local owner, but if he is out-priced by his competition, I only buy certain things there. I get the most "best deals" from Fry's through their frequent-shopper program. They send me coupons computer-coded to items I buy most frequently. $1 off this, $2 off that ... of items I always have on my grocery list ... drives me to that store on a regular basis. I even get coupons for freebies (a free box of cereal, a fee bag of coffee ... love that!) I also like Fry's because their stores are very clean and the produce is excellent, two other features that are important to me. Albertson's is closest to my home and exclusively has several items my family prefers. Plus, I think they generally have the best-quality meat, aside from the specialty stores where I couldn't afford the beautiful items on display.

I don't ever shop at Whole Foods. Aside from the fact I see its products as obscenely overpriced, I object to the politics of its owner, John Mackey. I have problems with most billionaires in general, but to me Mackey is the Koch Brothers of the food business. This article articulates my problems with him better than I could without boring people to death.
Whole Foods CEO John Mackey knows what’s best for you, and fighting climate change ain’t it | Grist

thanks for sharing, who would have thought,,,,, ceo of ...whole foods, the mecca of the liberal prius drivers is a right wing nut ... on many issues..

[FlightAttendant]

W E G M A N' S...the best in the USA as far as I can tell. It is the ideal grocery store. Excellent meat and seafood, nice produce, great dairy, good bakery, fantastic cheese dept, etc. Yes, It is a little on the pricey side (not as bad as Whole Foods), but it is bright, immaculate, well designed and the staff is knowledgable and friendly.

The grocery stores in Toronto absolutely rock. My favorite is Fortinos followed by Highland Farms. Excellent grocery stores.

In VA, we are just now getting some new national chains like Harris Teeter. Not fond of Food Lion or Giant. I like Trader Joe's for frozen items and 3 Buck Chuck wines.
'

[Chava61]

Within my local area probably Aldi is the best place to buy many basic staples at the best prices. Otherwise, there are three local supermarket chains in the area Keyfood, Pioneer and Met which are all decent.

[njmom66]

We have SO many choices here (Hamilton NJ)... I would say my favorites are:

Trader Joes
Wegmans
Acme
Shoprite

Although I just stopped at Acme to get a few items and got a peach muffin...holy crap it is to DIE for. May have to go back.

[gentlearts]

In Wisconsin, it was the Pick n Save in Oconomowoc.
In Ohio it was West Point Market in Akron (It was like Whole Foods before there was a Whole Foods)
In Georgia, its Publix or Fresh Market.
Harris Teeter in Hilton Head, SC