My friends call it Whole Paycheck, and for good reason.

Heng Heng Supermarket might be where you are talking about. You can get a fistful of basil for $2.00!

Working class people do not shop at Whole Foods. They have great stuff, but food is a major part of most families budget.

After visiting the South Lake Union store I suspect that I'll be sticking with the Roosevelt Square location. There they have groceries, and not just prep foods. Two items I regularly buy aren't at the new store. Maybe they just don't have all of their stock in yet.

Cooking for oneself, rather than just eating prep foods, is one of the great joys of life.

Only a year ago, I was shocked to find that I could make pasta sauce while my pasta was cooking, and that even using canned tomatoes it tasted better than jarred sauce. Cheaper, too.

If not for cooking for myself (and I manage four or five nights a week despite 50-60 hours of work) I wouldn't be able to afford Wholefoods. Though I still buy what I can at the farmer's market, and try to think seasonally.

gomez's friends are super creative.

... and the prepped foods section at the columbus circle store in NYC runs a couple dollars more than seattle, per pound.

Hey, pricecheck, got a younger brother named SKUcheck? I think I went to college with him :P

Whole Foods is a marketing concept, not a grocery store. It's all about lighting and graphics and "messages".

J. Lasser is correct: stay away from the prepared food, AND the processed food in the center aisles, and stay on the sides and in the back, where the produce, bulk foods, and meat are. Their meat is ridiculously expensive but, unlike almost everything else in the store, actually worth the price (in some cases). Try smaller portions.

But be aware that most products in Whole Foods aren't any more sustainable than the ones in Safeway; they just have labels that are professionally designed to appeal to high-income people who BELIEVE in upper-class aspirations and organic marketing. Not organic food, organic marketing.

My biggest, uh, beef against WF is the gigantic salmon farm they're contracting from on Bainbridge Island. It's immense, and a major threat to the health of Puget Sound (discharging 13 million pounds of waste annually into a very sick ecosystem, for starters). The fish are Atlantic salmon, not Pacific, they feed on such natural fish foods as wheat and soy, and they infect and destroy threatened wild fish stocks, yet they carry the "all natural" label in the WF stores that carry them -- none of which are in western Washington (funny, that).

correct! if you buy bulk foods, it's the best deal in town. same goes for shopping at any of our local "co-ops."

And did anyone notice that Whole Foods' stock price dropped about 20 percent in one day last week? From the AP Biz Wire:

"Whole Foods has enjoyed a great run, as health-conscious shoppers paid premium prices for its fancy and organic produce. But analysts have warned that slowing consumer spending and tougher competition from mainstream grocery stores could squeeze Whole Foods."

Yeah, in an age of downward mobility for all but the Bush cronies, that comment ranks as a big "no duh." Here's the full story from the PI:

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/1310AP_Whole_Foods_Outlook.html

Whole Foods is also a non-union employer. Just saying.

As for that place in White Center, if they could just move it further north, and add a comprehensive selection of Indian spices, I'd probably never have to shop anywhere else!

angela, come on over to my neighborhood (west seattle) sometime and check out metropolitan market. i, too, am a whore for a good grocery store and mm is a shiny gem of a place.

i don't know how the hell people with kids can afford it but, man, it is great. last week there was a swoon-worthy salumi demo going on in the kiosk. the veg, meat, and fish departments are always high quality. great wine section, even though it's small.

that grocery in white center is also one of my faves. go up the main drag in white center a bit and find the mexican grocery that sells tamales. good stuff.

Personally, I'd rather be at PCC or Costco.

I get tired of Whole Food's condescending 'Ralph Nadar' granola urban leftist attitude. Why, because even though you can get great produce, meats, bakery, and speciality items there you have to trek on over to Safeway to get the real good ol' American grass-roots products like Cottonelle toilet paper, Oreos cookies, Fancy Feast cat food, and Coca Cola.

OMG Kerri Harrop and I must be neighbors!

I go to the Metropolitan Market on Admiral from time and time and I love it. They seem to carry a lot of European brands like Looz that are wacky and I've never seen elsewhere.

That said, I usually buy certain items at PCC on California, and then everything else at Safeway with the Club Card and big discounts. I would seriously just walk out and go home if I forgot my Club Card.

You don't need your Club Card, dude, just give 'em your phone number.

andrew, i do believe that the westside is the bestside. being able to walk to met market was a deciding point in where i live. i'm guessing that, as a resident of charlie chong's favorite neighborhood, you've already experienced the delights to be had at the husky deli.

their ice cream gets all the press but it's the plethora of western european (mainly brit) faves that gets my vote. all sorts of stuff, from hob nobs to marmite, the place is lousy with great stuff.

and, yeah, just give 'em your phone number at safeway. and don't buy their crappy produce.

Husky deli is the only place that carries that crazy Unterberg (sp?) liqueur, that comes in the three-pack of tiny little bottles of stuff that makes Jaeger seem like apple juice in comparison -- it's hairier than Ferner Branca.

I made up a phone number for the Club Card, and I think the name on it is Jeebus H Christ so I have to keep it with me. I really try to stay off marketing lists.

I love West Seattle. My partner and I have been there 5 ½ years, and I really can’t imagine living anywhere else. And with the new restaurants going in like Mission, Blackbird, Joe’s down by the Vashon Ferry and the Alki branch of Cactus, WS has gotten downright fancy schmancy.

Andrew, simple solution to your dilemma:

Query a few of your friends to find out who else also has the same store cards, then every few weeks trade cards. Keep trading at regular intervals, and add new friends to the mix to keep the whole thing shaking up. Totally fucks up their oh-so-clever marketing data-mining process, regardless of how you pay for your purchases.