Where's everybody from?
It would be helpful to know, especially since prices, stores, brands, etc. are not necessarily nationally available/consistent
(Lilla--from SW Va.)
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68 Comments:
Somerset, NJ
Local stores and favorites nearby friends and family (thus necessitating a visit):
Stop and Shop -- chain grocery store within walking distance
The George St. Coop -- New Brunswick's health food store
Trader Joe's (Florham Park and Westfield)
Whole Foods (Montclair and Princeton)
hereandthe at 11:24AM on 08/28/07
Amesbury MA
Philbricks Fresh Market (Portsmouth NH) my favorite go to "grocery store", I gave up on Whole Foods due to the service. Fresh Market employes people who are both friendly and knowledgeable. I have learned so much about fish from my favorite fish guy there.
Blue Moon in Exeter NH--great small organic market. Great people, Nice bulk foods section, great cafe and best smoothies in my opinion!
Natural Grocer in Newburyport MA--also a great small organic market. Similar to Blue Moon.
These are my top 3 in my area for food quality and service. I do my best to shop at local and small businesses. I do go to a Trader Joe's (about an hour away) on occasion. Also go to a few farms in the area for assorted things. And when I am really on a mission, I go into the North End of Boston to my favorite haunts for some specialty items. Gee, I could go on and on about where I get various items!
Pawsinhand at 11:52AM on 08/28/07
NE Indiana
Fresh Market is where I shop most often
JEP at 11:59AM on 08/28/07
I divide my time between London (UK) and Amsterdam (NL). Currently in Amsterdam for the autumn. I suppose it's irrelevant to most Serious Eaters where I shop, but in Amsterdam I like the Natuurwinkel, and I also have great local shops (butcher, fishmonger, etc) in the Oud-West. In London I go to Tesco, get a weekly vegetable box delivered from Abel and Cole, and usually go to Spitalfields market on Sundays for vegetables and basic health food staples.
caley at 12:08PM on 08/28/07
The Denver / Boulder area. Do basic shopping at Albertson's. Buy fruits and vegs at an area farmers market called Palombo's. Purchase most of my beef, pork and chicken at Wally's Quality Meats.
Colorado Jim at 1:05PM on 08/28/07
Brooklyn - Fairway in Red Hook and Whole Foods in Manhattan on the Bowery & Houston. Plus local green markets and local deli's.
Livetotravel at 1:06PM on 08/28/07
San Antonio Texas:
HEB Central Market on Broadway for produce and fish and specialty items
Whole Foods in the Quarry for bread, meat, wine, olive oil, vinegar, tea, chocolate and bulk items
Ali Baba Market on Wurzbach off I-10 for lamb, freshly baked naan, spices, sweets, yogurt
Titos for homemade tortillas
Amy's for ice cream
Fiesta markets for spices, tamale supplies, horchata and Mexican hot chocolate (best brand, La India from Laredo)
El Paraiso on Fredricksburg for bulk paletas (popsicles, Mexican-style)
dksbook at 1:13PM on 08/28/07
SE Michigan, probably not too far from JEP. Just a few miles north of Toledo, so that's where we find all our little specialty food shops. This evening's dinner will be at the original Tony Packo's on Front St., made famous by Toledoan Jamie Farr on M*A*S*H.
LunaPierCook at 1:15PM on 08/28/07
Oxford MS - located in the fattest state in the nation! We've got to be #1 in something!
Grocery shopping is limited here. We have a Kroger, a Big Star, and a Wal Mart. There are a few other promising options like a pricey but absolutely fantastic fish market, a farmer's market in the summer and a rumored butcher shop opening soon.
Library Lady at 1:16PM on 08/28/07
Bedford Hills, NY; just north of New York.
I have a decent Shop Rite where I get most of my stuff; the produce is very good quality, and the fish guy and the butcher are happy to special order anything. I asked the butcher for sweetbreads one time and he got them. The local farm stands have been amazing this summer. When I feel the urge for something special Grand Central is only an hour by train, and you can find anything in the city!
ride&cook at 1:28PM on 08/28/07
Socorro, New Mexico, in the middle Rio Grande valley where third- and fourth-generation families still farm fields of chile, corn and afalfa. So far from heaven, so close to the farmer's market in the plaza. Do most of my food shopping at a local market known for its high-quality meats and cheeses. Diss the mega-stores unless avocados are on sale.
hatlady at 1:59PM on 08/28/07
i live north of covington, la. 50 miles north of new orleans....luckily there is a 60 square mile lake that seperates me from the banana republic of new orleans.
i don't shop at chains and purchase all my food at two locally owned grocery stores that employ real butchers. the canned goods and produce are are somewhat expensive but i have been to the super walmart once in the past 5 years, when i asked the person that worked in the meat department if they had soup bones i was given a blank stare.
seafood is very cheap here, i can get 16-20 count shrimp for $3 a pound so i eat lots of them and i also catch catfish and hunt rabbit and squirrel.
the term "there is more than one way to skin a cat", refers to catfish not the mammal.
olddad at 2:15PM on 08/28/07
I'm from Boston but have now lived in Toronto for nearly two years.
There are three regular grocery chains here, and all of them have different brands - high end, low end, and some have one in between or a superstore thing. Loblaws/Superstore/No Frills, Dominion/A&P, Sobey's/Price Chopper, that covers most of that. I tend to like Loblaws related stores since the store brand, President's Choice, is often quite good.
There is Whole Foods here which makes me feel at home - I used to live about ten minutes' drive from four of them. There is no Trader Joe's which makes me sad.
There are SO many fruit and veg shops I don't even know where to start, but I like the farmer's market at City Hall on Wednesdays a lot. I'm still finding good places to get things I want of course. I know there are other Torontonians who post here, what do you recommend?
wellred at 2:23PM on 08/28/07
Also SE- Michigan, Specifically Harper Woods, about 15 minutes drive outside Downtown Detroit.
Chain shopping - Kroger
Produce and specialty foods - Nino Salvaggio's, Westborn Market
Also my longtime friend's sister owns and runs a WONDERFUL certified organic farm here in Michigan. Their stuff is amazing and they work so hard. Please check out their website www.maplecreekfarm.com
radley24 at 2:25PM on 08/28/07
Columbus, OH. I mostly shop at Whole Foods or the Wild Oats (probably soon to be closed when bought by Whole Foods) or Sunflower Marketplace, but the more conveniently located Krogers and Giant Eagles still fit the bill when I just need some staples. We also have The North Market, a conglomeration of local shops, farmers, artisans, which is great for specialty foods.
kuhlimuh at 2:28PM on 08/28/07
Lake Conroe, Texas
The closest stores to me are HEB and Kroger's.
Lavendergirl at 3:10PM on 08/28/07
Minneapolis, MN (there seem to be a lot of Serious Eaters from Minnesota, which is great!)
We just got our first Trader Joe's and it's quite a coup. I usually shop at supermarket chains because of monetary constraints (young professional on a budget) but consciously eat at locally owned restaurants and check out the farmer's market.
LiveToEat at 3:19PM on 08/28/07
Cincinnati, Ohio here... I shop at Jungle Jim's (www.junglejims.com) -- truly a one-of-a-kind market.
Tell them you want, say, goat testicles and they ask if you want them packed in water or oil.
vogelap at 3:28PM on 08/28/07
St. Louis, where we have the gamut, including a very good, very large multi-ethnic grocery.
lemons at 3:36PM on 08/28/07
vogelap, I'm jealous! Er ... about being near Jungle Jim's ... not the, um, goat testicles ... ;-)
LunaPierCook at 4:13PM on 08/28/07
East Stroudsburg, PA. Can someone get me out of here? We have Mr. Z's (not a one of them properly managed/cared for, that I can tell) and none of the fresh produce stands that we had in abundance in Southern NJ (from whence we recently came). The only saving grace is a Whole Foods twenty miles away. Inconvenient, but bearable every two or three weeks to stock up.
Chaoss at 4:26PM on 08/28/07
Like wellred, I'm from Toronto.
I like the city hall farmer's market, dislike the Riverdale Farm one and was unimpressed the one time I went to the Withrow Park marke The farmer's market in the Distillery District is pretty good. I went to the High Park farmer's market once on a Saturday but it wasn't quite the season yet so not all kiosks were set up. When I'm in the Bloor West village I go to the produce markets there, especially Fresh and Wild, which now has a location at Spadina and King (or near there). On Sunday there was a blog entry called Produce-Hunting In Chinatown on Taste T.O. I've lived in Toronto my whole life but have always found shopping in Chinatown somewhat intimidating because all the signs are in Chinese and I don't recognize everything. I'm going to ask my Chinese roommate to go with me one day.
Wellred: Do you have any specific location questions? I live downtown but know the city fairly well
CanadianFoodieGirl at 4:34PM on 08/28/07
Palo Alto, CA
Most of the shopping is done at Andronico's (local store) and Safeway. Farmer's market almost every Saturday that it is open.
Sarahrm at 4:38PM on 08/28/07
New Orleans, LA...Shopping for groceries here, or makin' groceries, is very difficult. I try to buy all my free items at the local tuesday farmer market (but very inconsistent of what is available, somedays there is hardly anything) and the rest is either from sav-a-center (horrible chain) or Whole foods. And even though I live in the heart of new orleans, all of these are quite a trek from my house.
malenky at 4:53PM on 08/28/07
Foxborough MA
I've got a Shaws & a Stop & Shop and a fantastic Fish & Meat Market in next door Mansfield. Trader Joe's is an hours drive : (
I have a garden in the summer for peas, green beans, summer squash and tomatoes. Actually the peas never make it into the house : ) My daughter hits a farmers market in Middleboro .. great for winter squash.
NanaJoie at 5:15PM on 08/28/07
Western North Carolina, after 48 years in New York. No lookin' back, either. We have a Fresh Market store here, the same chain where you've seen the Top Chef contestants shopping, so I didn't feel completely cut-off from high-quality foods. And there's a Whole Foods clone called Earth Fare nearby.
ronfrankl at 5:25PM on 08/28/07
Lilla---thanks for the "where's everybody from" question---fun to read!
JEP at 5:43PM on 08/28/07
Toronto, too.
I like the St Lawerence market best. For Asian food try the Koren grocery store just east of Christie on Bloor. It's really nice and not intimidating.
laura dot at 6:02PM on 08/28/07
NYC, upper west side.
Fairway (125th) to Fairway (73rd) is my stomping ground. There are a lot of great stores on that stretch, but my most often used are:
- Gristede's (pretty good all around supermarket)
- Gourmet Garage (hoity-toity grocery store with good butcher, fish, dairy and cheeses)
- Garden of Eden (same as Gourmet garage, but much more stuff, a little more high end)
- Oppenheimer's (very expensive, but high quality butcher)
- Joon (great seafood)
- Zabar's (food MECCA)
- Vintage New York (exclusively New York wine shop)
- Silver Moon Bakery (awesome hand made fresh daily breads and pastries, mostly French).
seyo at 6:19PM on 08/28/07
Northwest suburb of Chicago, IL (best city in the world! heh)...Deerfield.
Local grocery stores:
Trader Joe's
Dominick's
Jewel Osco
Whole Foods
Garden Fresh
Hillary
Chew on That
Chew on That at 6:40PM on 08/28/07
Mid-coastal Oregon, near the town of Florence. In addition to a lack of decent restaurants, we have two high priced grocery stores, Safeway (Spaceway) and Fred Meyer (now owned by Kroger....which is an improvement). We pay the same prices here as they pay in Alaska (read: very high) and are also without any butcher or decent bakery.
We shop for everything we can twice a month at Winco, an employee owned smallish chain where everything is modestly priced and the employees are happy. Going to Winco is a 120 mile round trip, but the savings more than pays for our gasoline. Trader Joes is also in the same town (Eugene OR) and I love to go in there and especially for the green corn tamales...and wasabi peas and lovely things like that. Yum.
This is a hard place to live if you like food, we grow a garden and shop the lone farmer's market when it is there.... We do have a good fresh seafood shack, and we buy there when we can. Whadda place, but we DO live in the middle of a National Forest in a small quiet neighborhood.....the trade off is always a debate.
dmzapp at 8:33PM on 08/28/07
Southeast Pa. Near Lancaster.
Trader Joes
Wegmans
Shop Rite
Costco
Penzeys
Shady Maple
Central Market Lancaster
A host of lovely abundant produce
JerzeeTomato at 8:33PM on 08/28/07
@JEP-- OMG!! I'm in northern Indiana! If you're interested in making a new friend just email me: auntjone12@yahoo.com. I'm not a stalker, I promise!
Kroger stores are prevelant in my area. There are a couple locally owned stores I frequent for convenience sake. I just discovered Fresh Market is an hour away so I've got to check that out.
No Trader Joe's, Whole Foods or Wild Oats for a couple hundred miles, dammit.
AuntJone at 8:45PM on 08/28/07
Minneapolis, MN
Lunds, Byerlys, Wholefoods, a co-op, Clancy's meats, local corner grocery, two bread places are all within a few miles of my house.
There is also a Trader Joes that opened a year ago but honestly I wasn't that impressed.
shea at 8:55PM on 08/28/07
Lilla-where in SW Va? I grew up north of Roanoke and miss Macados and Wildflour restaurants. Sadly I moved out before Ukrops and Fresh Market moved in.
Im moving out of DC this week to start grad school in Southern Md; sadly I'm moving away from Whole Foods and Trader Joes which are less than 10 min from my apartment. However, I'm looking forward to fresh seafood!
VegeGoddess at 9:10PM on 08/28/07
Originally from VA but living in Port Orange, FL until I finish school
There's not a whole lot in the way of excellent food shopping around here but Publix is a surprisingly good grocery store. I hit up World Market for some more hard to find items and try local hole-in-the-wall produce markets for real bargains and interesting items. We also have two over priced by rather nice health food stores that can be good sometimes but not Whole Foods for miles.
pezbabypez at 10:20PM on 08/28/07
Born and raised in Austin, Texas.
Graduate school in Chapel Hill/Durham, North Carolina, and I stuck around.
Chapel Hill has one of the best Farmer's Market's I have ever been to about 30 weeks of the year.
Great CSA opportunities as well (I get one from a place 10 miles from town called EcoFarm), sadly we are experiencing one of the worst droughts in about 50 years.
Cliff's Meat Market
Tom Robinson's Seafood
Weaver Street Coop
Whole Foods
Harris Teeter
Food Lion.
intheyearofthepig at 10:41PM on 08/28/07
Pittsburgh, PA!
There are a bunch of city farmer's market from May - November, and in particular I like a mostly organic/artisan one on Saturdays in the Strip District. This neighborhood has every ethnic grocery you could dream of - I do a lot of shopping there and at the farmer's markets. I also go to Trader Joe's and sometimes Whole Foods.
Littlebluesiren at 12:43AM on 08/29/07
Seattle, baby! Farmer's Markets, Big John's, PCC, Whole Foods, all manner of great specialty shops, bakeries, you name it. Great eating town.
Michael Natkin
The Herbivoracious Blog
MichaelNatkin at 3:04AM on 08/29/07
Seattle, for the first 50 years. Liberec, Czech Republic, It'll be ten years next December.
My passport has stamps from 30 countries (4 continents) in it.
czken at 6:47AM on 08/29/07
@ CanadianFoodieGirl - I guess I'm doing pretty well in Toronto then. I actually live in High Park, so I get to lots of the places you mentioned. One of the produce places on Bloor West actually gave me credit once when I didn't have enough cash. Can't beat that.
wellred at 10:37AM on 08/29/07
VegeGoddess-
Roanoke--actually Hollins, so we must have been near neighbors. Wildflour and Macadoos aside, Roanoke's is pretty (good) restaurant deprived. Ukrops and Fresh Market are on the far side of town from me, sadly...
Lilla at 12:03PM on 08/29/07
Eastern Iowa (next to, but not in the Mississippi River) checking in. It's a pretty horrible area, in terms of quality ingredient availability. No Trader Joes/Whole Foods/anything good. Just chains and big-box stores unfortunately. FedEx and the web are a godsend around here, but daily cooking can be...challenging at times.
However; in the summer we get some pretty good produce from the farmer's markets/roadside stands between May and September-ish and a couple decent butcher shops in the area. One silver lining: pretty much everyone knows someone who owns property to hunt morels on during mushroom season.
corycm at 12:15PM on 08/29/07
Seattle, WA.
I shop at Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, QFC (another Kroger store) and Fred Meyer. Occasionally I'll stop by Safeway, as it's on my way home from work.
Diz at 12:32PM on 08/29/07
San Francisco & Healdsburg, CA
In the City, I shop at Mollie Stones, Bryan's meats in Laurel Village, a very complete Andronico's and, of course Whole Foods and Trader Joe's. A good collection of Farmer's Markets are available as well.
In Healdsburg from May to October, an excellent Farmer's Market. Big John's has a super meat selection with several butchers behind the counter and their deli choices are fabulous. Produce is fine there and the local Safeway has excellent produce with a large selection of organic items.
Specialty shops and ethnic venues are great and I can buy almost anything locally. I shop for spices and dried herbs online from World Spice in Seattle. Fresh herbs are home-grown and I love walking out the back door to pick them as needed.
suegsf at 1:22PM on 08/29/07
Astoria, Queens
Places I shop
1. Key Food or Associated markets are my main source food shopping sources.
2. Fresh Direct can get me anything I want (when they remember my order) from organic meat to TP. I use this during those weeks when I get out of work too late when the stores are closed and my fridge is bare.
3. The Farmers market in Union Square... it's a thing of beauty. Any farmers market makes me fall in love with food all over again. My favorite find was at the San Rafael Civic Center Farmers Markets in California where I became addicted to Jalapeno jelly spreads... put them on a cracker with cream cheese and you're in heaven!
4. Whole Foods in the cit-tay but the line usually scares me off.
Pineapplegate at 1:56PM on 08/29/07
Lancaster, PA
in the "city"
Central Market, of course... (tuesdays fridays saturdays)
Eastern Market (only saturdays)
Rhubarbs (natural food)
then there's Giant, and Darrenkamps
ahh the 24hr megamart.
there are far better places to eat than there are to shop at.
steept at 3:32PM on 08/29/07
Minneapolis here... but starting in october, I'll be back in Kansas City.
Lunds/Byerly's, Whole Foods and Trader Joe's. I also hit some other small places close to where I live (a co-op and another natural foods store).
In Kansas City... there's a Wild Oats just across the state line in KS and well, the rest.. I'm not sure LOL. will have to find new places.
Alm25 at 3:33PM on 08/29/07
Manhattan, Morningside Heights--I live near, and work at, Columbia.
We have a nice GreenMarket outside campus on Broadway on Thursdays and Sundays, our Westside Market just reopened after 3 years, and there's a rumor that there'll be a Whole Foods in the skyscraping monstrosity they've built on B'way & 100th Street. I don't even tend to go to the big Union Square GreenMarket. And I'm hoping to join the Harlem CSA next summer, which has a delivery point right at the end of my street!
FreshDirect is good for dry goods but I really like it for meat and fish, as they do lots of custom work, and very well. Their produce is not consistently good, though.
klg19 at 5:02PM on 08/29/07
Washington State. Trader Joe's is about two blocks from my apartment. I only go there for unique items. Safeway is typical for me.
I Love Seattle! Pike's Place Market for the best stuff :)
paris221966 at 10:26PM on 08/29/07
Williamsburg, Brooklyn
C-Town and Sunac- ha! The two gnarliest grocery stores I've ever been to. I stick to Trader Jes and Whole Foods and he Greenmarket if I can possibly help it.
Annmarie at 1:03AM on 08/30/07
St. Louis, MO
The culinary experience here can be dire. But a few standouts.
For fresh local ( mostly organic ) produce Theis Farms and The Soulard Market are great.
The Wild Oats and Whole Foods stores here are decent. For standard grocery store fare I would go to Dierberg's.
There is a mini "chinatown" on Olive Blvd, with great Asian markets, and a couple of Mexican ones too, that offer cheap and authentic ingredients. For great Italian needs head to Viviano's on The Hill, their fresh homemade riccota cheese is fantastic.
For restaurants, Riddles Penultimate Cafe, Mirasol and Harvest are my favorites.
For an artery clogging, once a year delightfully sinful treat, you must get some frozen custard at Ted Drewes. And the ubiquitous toasted ravioli found at any local Italian restaurant.
We used to have a strong contingent of Greek and Cajun establishments, but they seem to mostly have dried up. I moved to NYC for fourteen years, came back ( unfortuantely ) to find they've dwindled.
This town is very adverse to spicy food. So, if you like it hot like me, you need to cook your own food or bring along your own hot sauce, I kid you not.
Avoid at all cost the Imo's pizza, the St. Paul egg foo yun on a bun, and the "world famous" St. Louis brain sandwich. Supposedly hallmarks of the town's cuisine. They will put you in the infirmary.
spanklin at 12:08PM on 08/30/07
Las Vegas, NV
Smiths for the most part. Albertson's has a nice butcher.
Costco actually has nice produce.
The problem here in Las Vegas is that the casinos seem to get all of the good produce. I have been going to a small farmers market on my way home from work on Friday nights. We actually get up early Sunday mornings and go to Gicrease Orchard where you pick your own fruit and vegetables. I've scored vine rippened tomatoes, zucchini, eggplants, and the most amazing cantalope I have ever tasted.
mojay at 1:47PM on 08/30/07
My name says it all - I'm from Syracuse but moved to central Vermont two years ago. Shaws, Price Chopper, Hannafords, the farmer's market, the co-op, and a gourmet foods store owned and run by Sandra Bullock's younger sister, who is a master pastry chef. I miss having lots of ethnic food stores around.
vermonted at 3:05PM on 08/30/07
Another SE Michigander here...
Radley! I bet we go to the same Kroger's!! I live in GPW!! I, too, love Nino Salvaggio's for produce (although I like the store on Hall Rd. better than the one in SCS).
I will definitely check out your friend's sister's website!
flootsmith at 3:49PM on 08/30/07
Fairbanks, AK. We get great veggies & baked goods at the farmer's market, but otherwise?? sigh...
akprincess72 at 5:13PM on 08/30/07
Oh, Fred Meyers is getting better (owned by Kroger), but fresh fruit is but a dream.
akprincess72 at 5:15PM on 08/30/07
Waltham, MA
Stop & Shop for everday stuff but sometimes Shaw's in a pinch.
Whole Foods for 'the good stuff' . The meats at the Newtonville store are top notch.
Great farmer's market in Waltham on Saturday morning has the
freshest corn and veggies.
BostonFoodMan at 8:10AM on 08/31/07
Ann Arbor, MI
Zingerman's- best deli/bakehouse/creamery ever
Trader Joe's - love them for their frozen stuff
Whole Foods- only on payday though...
Hiller's Market- for produce and fish
Kroger-the one nearest to me sucks but I shop there for the normal weekly stuff.
Rottenmom at 8:23AM on 08/31/07
I divide my time between NYC and North Brunswick, NJ. In Manhattan, I shop in Whole Foods, Dean and Deluca, and the Amish Market in Tribeca. In NJ, I go to the Shoprite near me, or drive to Wegmans, or Whole Foods in Princeton . For times like Thanksgiving, I go to Delicious Orchards in Colts Neck.
Mich23 at 10:27AM on 08/31/07
Prague, Czech Republic
(But born in California and raised in Colorado.)
Well, this won't mean much to y'all, but I wanted to play, too...
Interspar--until their customer service went south
Tesco--forgive me
Little vegetable stands scattered throughout town
Billa (supermarket; not as polished and pretty as the Austrian ones)
Chez Amis for all things falafel
Ovocny Svetozor for cakes and sugar highs
Lilla, here's a shout-out from a former Hollins girl. ;-)
Expatslat at 10:40AM on 08/31/07
Baltimore, MD
Farmer's markets on weekends, local meats and dairy from Springfield Farms and Broom's Bloom Dairy when I can, Trader Joe's for staples, Whole Foods for when I'm feeling spendy, SuperFresh by my house when I'm in a hurry, 7-11 when i'm drunk. ;)
cmyk_girl at 11:48AM on 08/31/07
Palo Alto, CA
California Ave. Farmer's Market on weekends (if you hang out long enough, you can eat an incredible breakfast AND lunch there, plus leave with wonderful produce); Piazza's (I load up the 3 baskets on my bike), Trader Joe's.
latteaday at 12:31PM on 08/31/07
I have to say that Zingerman's in Ann Arbor IS an experience -- and you can order online, so those of you outside the SE Michigan area can experience it too!
flootsmith at 2:24PM on 08/31/07
Marshall Islands.... Draw a line between Hawaii and Australia - stop halfway. No real stores - lots of fresh tuna. I miss having a real kitchen and places to find ingredients. Now the line I hate to read the most is, "______ can be found in any _______ store". I love care packages from back home that have basic spices and food stuff. Strange substitutions have led to some very tinteresting dishes.
enjyns at 6:41PM on 08/31/07
Here in the Detroit 'burbs, the major grocery stores are Kroger and Meijer (Farmer Jack has recently left the area and many of them have converted over to Kroger).
I am fortunate that my Kroger is a 'test' store so I can find items there that won't hit the mainstream stores for 6 to 12 months! I do most of my staple shopping at Kroger about once a month.
In my area, within 5 miles of each other, are fantastic produce/dairy/meat/fish stores - Nino Salvaggio's, Vince and Joe's, and Randazzo's. They all carry fantastic products - looking for an unusal product (be it produce/cheese/condiment/meat/fish) for a recipe you came across and they will have it!
Right now, I have been taking advantage of the local farm stands and co-ops for my veggies and fruit, those which I don't grow myself. Stocking up on winter squash right now.
Michigander at 11:18PM on 08/31/07
I'm surprised at the lack of Texans! I'm in Dallas and mostly shop at Whole Foods, Central Market, Simon David (Tom Thumb/Randall's) and the farmer's market downtown.
Other big places around are Kroger, Albertson's and the Target & Wal-Mart Supercenters.
kendraburt at 8:38AM on 09/01/07
My family lives on Oahu, HI so when I got visit, I go to Costco and Times supermarket if I have to but my heart belongs to Diamond Head Market. They make the best chicken curried salad EVER and when you hit the cash wrap, there are Spam Musubis right there for the taking. Pretty awesome!
Pineapplegate at 4:56PM on 09/07/07