At the checkout, the cashier started some friendly conversation. He asked if we were from around there [nope], where we were from [Chicago area], and then, surprisingly, he was able to name off the Whole Foods that I typically shop at at home.
What? I was shocked! Suburbia Chicago is not the most sought after travel spot. How did he know the area? Upon asking, he replied that he was a "Whole Foods Connoisseur" . "Me too!" I eagerly replied.
Not that I thought I was the only one who researched the nearest Whole Foods before traveling to a new city or high tailed it to one on the first day of vacation, but I had never actually met anyone else. Walking out of the store, I repeated the name "Whole Foods Connoisseur" to myself. It sure seemed like the perfect way to describe my "hobby". Yes, what an interesting day!
Okay, onto the review!
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The Scottsdale store was built in 2008. The website boasts that the store has "50,000 square feet of foodie heaven". But yeah, upon walking up to the store, it definitely seemed that the website did it justice. Upon comparison to the three-floored behemoth in Kensington (London) or even the expansive one floored Whole Foods in Chicago, it was definitely not in that league. But, in comparison to the "regular" sized stores it was definitely much bigger.
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| Lincoln Park Whole Foods in Chicago |
Coming
from the Midwest, the Whole Foods out West definitely are fun to visit because
they carry a wide range of products that are more localized to that region
[yeah, I know, it makes sense]. But putting aside my special finds, [Kookie
Karma! Hooray!] this Whole Foods had a lot to offer. Starting in the
produce section, there was a large variety. The staples were there such as
their beautiful refrigerated display of romaine, carrots, parsnips,
broccoli, etc. They also had a number of unique items that weren't staples in
other stores such as Buddha's hand fruit and a separate display for
the many kinds of kale.
Moving
on to the bulk section:
The
bulk section had such variety. Items like "Red Walnuts" or
"Whole Dried Bananas" were new to me. There was also a plethora of
sprouted items like beans, quinoa, and nuts. I'll spare you by not naming
everything in the section and just say that they had a very, very impressing
amount of food.
Bakery:
This delighted me the most. I was not prepared to find so many vegan foods at this Whole Foods.
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| Their case of vegan chocolates contained a whole row of vegan ones. |
They had beautiful house-made vegan cupcakes and the most variety I've seen of out-of-house vegan packaged items (mainly from Cafe Indigo, Fabe's, and a few raw "bakeries").
These were actually the vegan cupcakes >>
They were right next to the ones above, the little sign was in front of the wrong ones.
This was super delicious. The frosting was my favorite and the raspberries were an excellent touch.
For
non-vegans, they had a Pie Bar [for lack of a better name] where you could a
slice of pie like you would order a slice of pizza. Overall they had a nice
variety of gluten-free, no-sugar, vegan, raw, and regular baked goods to
satisfy most any dietary requirements.
There
was also a wide and unique variety of in-house and out-of-house made
breads.
Prepared:
They
had a nice array of prepared foods. The nicest thing, which I have only seen in
the Whole Foods out west, is that on top of the ingredients label there is a
colorful tab with "Vegetarian" or "Vegan". This makes
scanning the cases and trays of food so much easier! In their hot and cold
foods bar there was a decent amount to choose from. You could definitely put
together a nice dinner from there, although it wasn't overwhelming or the
biggest I've seen. The deli-like cases of prepared foods contained many holiday
and seasonal staples that were unique and special.
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Fun
Tidbits:
- The
location contained a Burger Grill Bar that served gourmet grill food as
you watched a sports game on the large flat screen located at the bar.
- The
store contained a raw food aisle complete with a built
in refrigerated shelving for the perishable foods.
[<<This section really amazed me.] It even contained a whole shelving
unit full of different sprouted flours!
- The
beauty section contained a vast array of products. More all-natural makeup
was available than the Chicago locations.
- The
wine drinkers in my group were impressed with the selection available,
they even found one of their favorite wines.
- The
amount of unique local made goods gave a nice local touch to the
store.
Lastly,
for any meat/dairy eaters I'm sorry I don't have a review for the selection of
the store. It is outside my range of familiarity. The cheese selection did not
seem as large as other stores I've seen, but the meat and seafood looked like
there was a variety.