Wegman’s
I had started to hear good things about Wegman’s even before they opened their two Northern Virginia stores, and last week I finally got a chance to go over and check one out. Some reactions:
- Their prepared food looks beautiful, but I just can’t justify the cost.
- If I ate more organic foods, or shopped at Whole Foods now, they’d seem cheap by comparison. But I don’t.
- I like the way all the fruit is labeled "ripe today" or "ripe in a few days." T. has admitted that he hates it when I just put "fruit" on the shopping list, because he’s not good at judging what looks good. Wegman’s might make it easy even for him.
- I did manage to bring home some sort of melon other than the honeydew I thought I had chosen. It looked like a honeydew on the outside, but was orange like a cantaloupe on the inside, and the taste was also somewhere between the two.
- The fig "cake" with dark chocolate is really yummy. It would be a heck of a Passover dessert if you don’t require the hecksher.
- Their big advantage over Trader Joe’s or Grand Mart is that they also carry a good range of "regular" supermarket items, so you wouldn’t need to make another stop to get the 2 or 3 things on your list that they don’t carry.
- The one thing I bought there that I can’t seem to find elsewhere in the area is bagels that actually chew like bagels.
Will I go back? Probably not unless I’m heading out that way for something else or am hosting a party. (Although I suspect it’s not as hard to get to if you know where you’re going — I succeeded in flummoxing the GPS system in the car I was borrowing, as the address wasn’t in its database.) But the preschool where N will be going is about half way between Wegmans and our house, so I might ask T to get me some bagels.
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On another note, via US Food Policy, I found these amazing pictures of families and their food. I was struck by the ubiquity of Coca-Cola in all but the poorest countries.
August 21st, 2007 at 2:42 am
That was a fascinating article, thanks for the link.
Lately I have been freaking out over the amount of money we spend each week on food, but it’s actually comparable to the California family of two-adults-two-children. (My household is the same size.) Does that mean it’s hopeless to try to spend less? Hmmmm.
August 21st, 2007 at 9:48 am
Ahh, Wegman’s. As a Rochester,NY-native (their home town), I was extolling the joy of Wegman’s years before they hit the DC market. As you said, no other stores combine the organic foods/prepared foods/gourmet foods/regular grocery store items like they do. But then after they open two stores in relatively reasonable distance to my Arlington, VA, house, we move to Cleveland, Ohio! Giant Eagle is the big boy here but it ain’t no Wegman’s. 🙁 Driving back from Rochester on Sunday, I stopped at the Erie, PA, Wegman’s (the closest to here) to get a fix.
A recommendation: they do daily cheese flights–one-person portions of a selection of 3-4 cheeses–that make for a fabulous lunch. I’ve learned more about cheese from them than anyone else.
I’m wishing now though that I had picked up some bagels. My in-laws are coming down next week, maybe I’ll place an order.
August 21st, 2007 at 10:34 am
I’ve been really liking Harris Teeter lately. I feel like it is a combination of regular brands, high quality produce and meats and organic items at a price that’s higher than Giant but lower than Whole Foods. Also, the free sugar cookies and balloons for kids are a big hit with Petunia.
August 21st, 2007 at 6:43 pm
Awesome link. I was struck by the photo of the German family, whose weekly diet included a significant quantity of beer. I called my husband over to guess where they were from–and he got it right on the second try. The other interesting thing about the photos that I noticed is the sheer quantity consumed by people from poor countries–i.e., not a lot–and that it often consists of large sacks of some kind of grain (or perhaps legume), except for the family from Ecuador, who consume a large sack of potatoes. I was expecting to see more meat on the tables of the American families, but it was totally overshadowed by the volume of processed food. I wish I could say that a photo of our household consumption wouldn’t include so much soda, but my husband drinks enough diet coke for three people.
I have heard great things about Wegman’s, but it is too far from me (it would have to be one hell of a grocery shopping experience to justify the drive from MD).
August 21st, 2007 at 9:45 pm
Wow, the Italians have a lot of bread.
A Wegman’s opened here, and I’ve gone there a couple of times, but they’re definitely taking market share from my regular supermarket, which is union. On the other hand, the union supermarket is improving their produce department.
August 21st, 2007 at 11:16 pm
Washington Consumer Checkbook recently did a price comparison for the “regular” grocery store items, and Wegman’s actually came in the lowest, even lower than Food Lion and Shopper’s Food Warehouse (I think Whole Foods cost the most, followed by Giant). Where Wegman’s gets you is with the prepared foods. As long as you can stay away (hard to do because they’re so yummy), you can save money over Giant and Safeway, the two biggies out here in the ‘burbs.
August 22nd, 2007 at 9:34 am
what a great photo essay! thank you for the link. it is totally fascinating to see what other people eat. there is also a part two: http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1645016,00.html
August 22nd, 2007 at 3:02 pm
I’ll drive the 20 minutes to my closest Wegman’s, I found tha their prices for many of the things we buy are better and the quality of their store branded products is fantastic. Yes, the prices on their prepared foods are high but they do give generous portions. They don’t have the same selction of ‘natural’ items as Whole Foods but if you’re someone in between the ‘organic’ and ‘regular’ scale they’re the perfect grocery store. Plus their employees seem happier than the ones at the other local supermarkets. Love ’em!
August 22nd, 2007 at 3:42 pm
You can get great bagels at Brooklyn Bagel Deli in Arlington (near Courthouse Metro).