Poll: Best supermarket chain in MA (Boston, Framingham: live, shops, Whole Foods)

[GeoffD]

Originally Posted by robr2

Can I use one of those highfalutin things on my charcoal grill wearing a sleeveless T shirt and flip flops while shotgunning Bud Light??

Only if you're using sous vide on road kill.

[NewfieMama]

I do 90% of my grocery shopping at S&S because it's closest to my house and my work. I usually go at least 3 times per week because I have 2 children who need meals and I hate meal planning so much that just typing it out makes my blood pressure rise, so I constantly feel like I'm in need of fruit/snacks/cereal and god forbid I actually need ingredients to make a real meal. I do not price shop, I do not use coupons and I get in and out of there as fast as humanly possible (so trying a new store and trying to figure out where everything is sounds like torture).

[pennyone]

Stop shop for all the daily necessities like paper towels and tooth paste, and Trader Joe's for all the fun stuff....I wish they put one in Quincy.

[LoLo4444]

Originally Posted by MikePRU

This always shocks me. I went to college in Florida and shopped in Publix for 4 years. Granted, they have great fried chicken but many of their stores are dingy and the produce/meat is maybe the same quality as Stop & Shop.

I don't shop at Publix, I think it's expensive and always crowded unless you are there when they open or are closing. With that said, Publix is now well kept and always clean and people seem to love it mostly for the customer service. But it's definitely a Florida-style supermarket. We just got a Safeway last year and it reminds me more of the supermarkets where I went to college in Virginia such as Farm Fresh and Harris Teeter...darker colors and more elegant.

[riblue]

Originally Posted by xo_kizzy_xo

Yep. Their prices have been slowly getting less expensive since they merged with Hannaford's parent company.

The only bigger grocery store I live within 10 miles is a Stop and Shop. I use the circular and with the rewards card, I get a pretty good price. 80%of my purchases are with the card so I believe that I am gettin prices comparable to Market Basket. We are in northern RI and there are no Market Baskets in RI.

[LexWest]

Originally Posted by jayrandom

I don't think sous vide is something most people do at home. It requires special equipment. You can't say "cook using this somewhat esoteric method that you most likely don't have access to and complicated" and then mention not being able to screw it up. If you cook something correctly you have, almost by definition, not screwed it up.

Originally Posted by Dm84

You can buy a home sous vide circulator for less than $200. Look into Joule or Anova before discounting it entirely. I sous vide at least once a week.

$200 will buy me groceries at Market Basket (with money left over for gas), for the week. I guess I'm cheap... .

Hannaford will do in a pinch if I want to get in and out easily. I find if I'm going to MB, I may as well take my time because lines are generally long.

Never been a fan of Stop and Shop and their higher prices compared to other grocers in my area (although I should remind myself they own Hannaford...) .

I don't have much reason to go to Shaw's (Even with the "MB strike" a few years ago, I still couldn't drag myself there). Same items found elsewhere, yet more expensive.

I haven't tried the other places listed.
Yeah, my choice(s) are obvious.

[G1..]

Big Y and Guido's.....

https://guidosfreshmarketplace.com/


Welcome to Big Y World Class Market - Big Y® World Class Market®

[10Evergreen22]

I would choose Whole Foods first then Wegman's second. We are vegetarians and those two markets seem to have the best options for us in MA.

[jewban]

Market Basket all the way, especially the newer Waltham location which I tend to hit early Sunday mornings.

[AtkinsonDan]

I am one of the three people who has voted for Hannaford so far. Ironically I haven't shopped there much in 2017 and not in the last 3 or 4 months. On the surface it doesn't make sense but I can explain. In the 12 years I have lived in either northern MA or southern NH I have shopped at BJ's Wholesale Club, Market Basket, Hannaford and Whole Foods. This year I radically altered my eating habits switching from junk and processed foods to 90% raw vegan. I am basically raw vegan + chicken + lean beef now.

1. Market Basket was my primary grocery shopping option for items I did not buy in bulk until the time of the boycott. I like their comparably low prices but what I don't like is the stress from the crowds and the fact that their inventory is heavy on the processed foods.
   
   
2. Hannaford became my primary grocery shopping option during the MB boycott for items I did not buy in bulk. When the boycott ended I found that they lowered many prices in an attempt to keep the customers who shifted during the boycott. I prefer the shopping experience of Hannaford over Market Basket. All around Hannaford is a very good grocery store but they are not number one for any of the three criteria: price, selection of healthy food and economies of scale.
   
   
3. BJ's Wholesale is a chain I have shopped at since I received a discounted membership over fifteen years ago when I lived on the south shore. I like buying in bulk whenever I can because I hate food shopping. With my change in eating habits I was beginning to question the usefulness of keeping the BJ's membership. Cutting out the junk and crap food meant I was pretty much only going to be using the bulk buying for paper products and cleaning supplies. However BJ's has begun adding some products that people would associate with Whole Foods or Hannaford's nature place; things like organic teas, chia seeds, almond milk, coconut oil and coconut milk which I consume frequently now. So BJ's is staying in the picture for now.
   
   
4. Whole Foods is a store I just began going to a couple of months ago. I love their selection of super-foods, spices, medicinal teas and harder to find produce like broccoli sprouts; things that are just not quite mainstream yet. Their in-house brand of unsweetened bottled green tea has become my go-to non-alcoholic drink for refreshment while at home.

I love Hannaford but they are not number one in any of my critical criteria. Whole Foods has the best selection of healthy foods. Market Basket has the best prices. BJ's has the economies of scale - price for quantity on many items. If Hannaford could become more price competitive with Market Basket I would drop MB. If Hannaford could develop the healthy food selection of Whole Foods for a lower price I would drop Whole Foods.