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A new WF opened near us but only been there a couple times. Other than their house brands, I don't see anything that is worth what they ask. Traders Joe's is not here. Don't have Pubix. When visiting daughter in Philly, love going to Wegman's. Not cheap like WM, but interesting. Wife likes Albertson's .
I'll agree that Whole Foods is expensive overall, but one thing I do like is that you can go in to many of them and get a small amount of a specialty item. Like if you want a small amount of a spice or something else that they carry in one of the dry goods bins. They also have some interesting honeys and other foods that are kind of unexpected.
I moved out of Wegmans market area and that is a really high bar for any other grocery store to meet in our eyes! They are truly world class and the prices were decent. Whole Foods- very overpriced, and 45 min away, but the only place I can find Linguica (Portuguese) sausage for a favorite meal. Trader Joes is about 30 minutes away, but we like to make it a specialty trip:
Frozen Mahi Mahi
Cheeses!!
Fresh arugula
Inexpensive Wines.
Trail Mix
Great assortment of frozen foods in almost every cuisine imaginable!
[there are many more but memory fails me] Publix is our #2 day to day shopping store and I agree that the fried chicken is total crack! Almost eating it out of the box on the way home! And the ready made Cubans and other sandwiches are a staple on busy days. Their house mild Italian sausage is excellent, but from there, not much really stands out.
Our #1 Go To for shopping is Aldi's. Best bang for the buck and the food is great! They do knockoffs and do it better! Their sandwich thins are far better than Arnold's and over a dollar cheaper. Amazing snacks, knockoff cereals, canned vegetables that taste good! Sliced "sandwich" cheeses include Gouda and Havarti. Great selection of imported meats (jambon serrano, porchetta, pancetta, etc) Frozen gulf of Mexico shrimp. And many products are organic and more are introduced all the time.
Produce is hit and miss, but we mostly shop local farm stands.
A new store came to town EARTH FARE, which is pretty much Whole Foods with a different sign! But I can get organic lemons for my homemade limoncello at a good price.
DANG! This is making me hungry!
No Publix, but do have TJ and Whole Foods. I usually shop at Fred Meyer but occasionally stop at TJ. I havent sampled the food at Whole Foods but might try in the future.
We do not have a Publix nearby but every Friday Harris Teeter sells a bucket of very delicious fried chicken for $4.99. I try to avoid it but it is compelling.
For Trader Joe's my favorites are their homemade tamales -- particularly the pork with red chili. Also mango ginger chutney, almond windmill cookies, triple ginger snaps, the spanakopita, frozen mini chicken tamales, salted yellow corn chips, all their trail mixes and nuts, jarred eggplant and garlic sauce, their Italian roast coffee, Swiss alpine bread, their sourdough bread, crumpets, vacuum packed tri tip roast (a bit spicy but good for fajitas) and jasmine rice. Their frozen Indian entrees are also pretty good.
I live very close to all three (being in South Florida Helps).
Trader Joe's: I love their cheese selection, particularly the Bacon Cheddar and Blue Cheese. I also love their cereal bars (Apple and Strawberry are my favorite) and their wine selection is excellent and very well priced.
Publix: Fried chicken, but the best would be their sub department. I love their Boar's Head Italian (though it should not be with mayonnaise or mustard as they always want to put on).
Whole Foods: Like Trader Joe's, they have a great cheese selection. Besides cheeses, Whole Food products are good but just too expensive for me.
Whole Foods: St. Andre double-creme cheese; it's the best price in town @ $10.99, and goes so well with a loaf of WF Italian bread; eggs; butter; cream; ground chicken; whole chickens.
Trader Joe's: Cafe Pajaro
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