I’m sure that I’ve talked about it before, but I’d like to dedicate this post entirely to the grocery store Whole Foods. Milca calls it heaven, and she’s not too far off.
First, their general merchandise. It’s all natural. No preservatives. No artificial ingredients. It’s all real food. I went there looking for potato bread a while back, as it’s the perfect bread for grilled cheese, and couldn’t find it. I asked a woman in the bakery area about it and she said, “We used to carry potato bread, but the company that made it started using a preservative, so we stopped carrying it.” That’s hard core. One ingredient, and you’re out of the store, buddy. Keep that shit out of my bread!! The butchers and deli people are also really cool. The meats they have are very fresh, and are hella good. The turkey pastrami is crazy good.
Right in front of the deli area is an olive bar. There’s typically about 16 different bowls filled with various olives or olive cocktails. They don’t always have the same stuff out, which makes for variety, but if you have a favorite, you better get a good amount or learn to love another olive as well. Personally, I’m partial to the blue cheese stuffed olives, the Catalane olives, and the Hot Tunisian mix. I’ll usually get whatever olives I want then add the Tunisian mix on top so that the hot stuff travles down to the rest of the container. *drool*
Their prepared food is also hella good. They have a salad bar, but they also have no fewer than 3 fresh soups, which typically rock, and other hot foods like fried chicken, samosas, tandoori chicken, or maybe taco fixings. As far as these foods go, their fried chicken is a hell of a lot better than KFC, probably because it’s actually chicken, their three mushroom soup is to die for, and nothing is better than fresh macaroni and cheese made from scratch.
To the right of the salad bar is the other prepared foods like macaroni salads and whatnot, but they’ve also got a sandwich bar. Their sandwiches are what I usually go with, and if I can help it I get Peter to make it for me. He knows his stuff. When I get my turkey breast with jack cheese on focaccia, he will ask if I want it toasted. Nobody else asks this, just him. This is likely because he, unlike his coworkers, possesses skills that few in a generation have, which are typically known as “The Mad Skills.” Their sandwiches are reasonably priced, and will fill you. Hell, you could likey share with someone and you’d be okay.
To the right of the sandwich bar is where they make the pizzas and calzones. Fresh. Custom. The calzone is less than $5 and will come with two ingredients of your choice. Definitely a must have. Their pizza is decent, too.
To the right of the pizzas are the sushi chefs, hard at work, making fresh sushi. Though I haven’t personally had it, I’ve been told by others that it is really good. At any rate, they have unfiltered sake right next to the sushi itself, which is crazy good. It’s got a milky look to it, and tends to be a bit sweeter than the clear stuff you get at the sushi bar.
Then, finally, there’s the desert section, where you can get cakes, pies, or a small desert for yourself. I usually go for the bread pudding or the rice pudding. Both are like $1.50 or so, and both are pretty good. Their tiramisu is also the crazy bomb.
So, if you’re looking for real food to make for dinner, or just want a good lunch idea, go for it. And if you go to the one in Pasadena, ask for Peter.