I told myself when I heard that Whole Foods in Kahala Mall was opening on Sept. 10th that I would wait until the crowd died down a bit before I attempted to even go there. But even though I kept telling myself that, especially since in my old age I have grown to dislike crowds, a part of me REALLY wanted to go there. Last year I went to the Whole Foods in Henderson, Nevada and I fell in love with it. We ended up buying just as much omiyage from Whole Foods as we had from the Hawaii-favorite Trader Joes. Also, I just missed having a grocery store there. Although Star Market isn't my favorite grocery store, the convenience of having it in the mall couldn't be beat, and I actually used to enjoy cruising Star Market while waiting for a movie or killing time. They had a fairly decent wine selection there.
As I ranted about on my Facebook page last week, I was planning to see a movie last weekend, not even planning to go near Whole Foods, and I couldn't find a parking stall! It was crazy --- worse than the holidays! Later on I found out that on top of the Whole Foods crowd, there was also some kind of Aloha Festivals activity going on that day. A few days later, on a weekday after work, I went to the mall to go to Barnes and Noble, but I didn't go to Whole Foods since I wanted to get home and go for my afternoon walk.
Third time is a charm...today I decided to go to the earliest showing of "Burn After Reading" (which I'll review sometime soon -- suffice it to say that I didn't think it was all that great), and I had some time to kill before the movie started, so I went into Whole Foods. At about 10:30 a.m. on a Sunday morning, there was a pretty big crowd there, but not big enough to detract me.
I thought I had died and gone to grocery store heaven. I walked in and immediately headed for the prepared foods section. The selection was amazing, and very fresh. Almost anything you could think of that you'd want on a salad was there. The baked goods looked amazing too. And the sushi...the sushi was pre-made, and very expensive -- about $10-$13 for a bento container -- but the quality of the fish was excellent. A million times better than the crap I bought from Kozo Sushi a couple weeks ago.
Then I moved on to the butcher counter. YES!!! Finally a store with a real butcher counter. Safeway Kapahulu has one too, but the selection isn't as extensive. Again, expensive, but the quality can't be beat. And they have unusual items like buffalo. One day I will splurge on an aged rib eye from here. What's amazing about this butcher counter is that they also have fowl available -- I think Safeway only has meat and fish.
I kept moving along the perimeter, since the fresh items were what I was most interested in. I got to the fish. Again, a nice counter. And the poke had me at hello...if I weren't going to a movie, I would've bought some on the spot. I decided that I'd have to come back after the movie to get some. I could already tell by looking at it that it was going to be delicious. No stringy stuff like at Fresh Catch, nice color, ingredients I liked...I had to have some. But it would have to wait until after the movie.
I went to look at the cheeses. Probably not the biggest selection I've seen, but some unusual items that I hadn't seen in other stores. What I like about their cheeses is that the had reasonably sized wedges for purchase. A lot of stores have ginormous hunks of cheese that is just way too much for most people unless you're serving a big group. I thought for the quality, the price seemed on par with other stores. By the way, in terms of a giant selection, I don't think Kapahulu Safeway can be beat.
The wine selection at Whole Foods was quite nice, although I didn't browse that thoroughly. They did have more regional variety than most other grocery stores. I will have to spend more time there to make a better assessment. Again, prices seemed fair on the wine. I sped through the produce section before heading to the movie.
After the movie, I came back and went straight for the poke. I ordered a half-pound each of the ahi limu and ahi alaea at $13.99/lb. I know, most of you are saying that's expensive. Especially compared to the $7.99/lb. I paid at Fresh Catch. Again folks, this is about quality. One of the best poke I've ever eaten was at Ruger Market, which also charges $13.99/lb. But at Ruger, I can see the body of the fish lying behind the counter. And they don't mix the ingredients until you order it, so it's like custom poke. Whole Foods isn't exactly custom, but lemme tell you, it's fresh. The batches they produce aren't excessive, so it's unlikely that the poke on display has been sitting there all day. And who knows, maybe if you asked them, they would custom make some poke for you?
My next stop was the cheese. I'd been wanting to make a salad with romaine, apples, pine nuts, and blue cheese, so I picked up a wedge of Danish blue cheese. I decided to take a quick peak down some of the aisles. While they had some unusual brands, they also have some of the standard brands you'll see anywhere, like Lee Kum Kee brand sauces, Hinode rice, Coral tuna, etc.
Now I'm going to get on my soap box about prices. People say it's expensive. Of course it is...you're paying for stuff that's organic, free range, GMO-free, etc. You cannot go to Whole Foods and expect to pay Safeway prices. And Whole Foods will probably eventually be one of the biggest supporters of local agriculture (and I'm not only talking about fruits and vegetables, I'm talking about beef and poultry too -- I LOVE local beef!). My hope is that one day our agriculture industry will be able to grow so that we become sustainable and will not depend on beef and produce to be flown in from the mainland -- which, I might add, adds to our carbon footprint because of the fuel used to ship that stuff here. If our local agriculture grows, hopefully the prices will come down at some point.
That being said, I'm not defending Whole Foods pricing altogether. When I do shop here, I will probably stick to the perimeter and stay away from the aisles. Why? All those name-brand things I mentioned earlier that you can find in "regular" grocery stores ARE expensive, maybe even up to twice the amount you'd pay at Times or Safeway. Of course, you're paying for convenience. Eventually I will familiarize myself with their products and will know what I can find at Times (where I usually do my grocery shopping) at a lower price. For now, my plan is to go to Whole Foods for the perimeter stuff only, an go to Times for non-perishable items.
Ooh, and one more thing about Whole Foods...there is a truffle counter! I didn't get a chance to look closely at it because it generated a huge crowd, but it looked interesting! They also offer quite a bit of seating both inside and outside the store if you want to eat there.
So, for those of you in town, go and check it out sometime. Even if you can't afford it, you will find something there that will amaze you! I can't wait until the Kailua location opens, which will be the largest one in the islands.
As I ranted about on my Facebook page last week, I was planning to see a movie last weekend, not even planning to go near Whole Foods, and I couldn't find a parking stall! It was crazy --- worse than the holidays! Later on I found out that on top of the Whole Foods crowd, there was also some kind of Aloha Festivals activity going on that day. A few days later, on a weekday after work, I went to the mall to go to Barnes and Noble, but I didn't go to Whole Foods since I wanted to get home and go for my afternoon walk.
Third time is a charm...today I decided to go to the earliest showing of "Burn After Reading" (which I'll review sometime soon -- suffice it to say that I didn't think it was all that great), and I had some time to kill before the movie started, so I went into Whole Foods. At about 10:30 a.m. on a Sunday morning, there was a pretty big crowd there, but not big enough to detract me.
I thought I had died and gone to grocery store heaven. I walked in and immediately headed for the prepared foods section. The selection was amazing, and very fresh. Almost anything you could think of that you'd want on a salad was there. The baked goods looked amazing too. And the sushi...the sushi was pre-made, and very expensive -- about $10-$13 for a bento container -- but the quality of the fish was excellent. A million times better than the crap I bought from Kozo Sushi a couple weeks ago.
Then I moved on to the butcher counter. YES!!! Finally a store with a real butcher counter. Safeway Kapahulu has one too, but the selection isn't as extensive. Again, expensive, but the quality can't be beat. And they have unusual items like buffalo. One day I will splurge on an aged rib eye from here. What's amazing about this butcher counter is that they also have fowl available -- I think Safeway only has meat and fish.
I kept moving along the perimeter, since the fresh items were what I was most interested in. I got to the fish. Again, a nice counter. And the poke had me at hello...if I weren't going to a movie, I would've bought some on the spot. I decided that I'd have to come back after the movie to get some. I could already tell by looking at it that it was going to be delicious. No stringy stuff like at Fresh Catch, nice color, ingredients I liked...I had to have some. But it would have to wait until after the movie.
I went to look at the cheeses. Probably not the biggest selection I've seen, but some unusual items that I hadn't seen in other stores. What I like about their cheeses is that the had reasonably sized wedges for purchase. A lot of stores have ginormous hunks of cheese that is just way too much for most people unless you're serving a big group. I thought for the quality, the price seemed on par with other stores. By the way, in terms of a giant selection, I don't think Kapahulu Safeway can be beat.
The wine selection at Whole Foods was quite nice, although I didn't browse that thoroughly. They did have more regional variety than most other grocery stores. I will have to spend more time there to make a better assessment. Again, prices seemed fair on the wine. I sped through the produce section before heading to the movie.
After the movie, I came back and went straight for the poke. I ordered a half-pound each of the ahi limu and ahi alaea at $13.99/lb. I know, most of you are saying that's expensive. Especially compared to the $7.99/lb. I paid at Fresh Catch. Again folks, this is about quality. One of the best poke I've ever eaten was at Ruger Market, which also charges $13.99/lb. But at Ruger, I can see the body of the fish lying behind the counter. And they don't mix the ingredients until you order it, so it's like custom poke. Whole Foods isn't exactly custom, but lemme tell you, it's fresh. The batches they produce aren't excessive, so it's unlikely that the poke on display has been sitting there all day. And who knows, maybe if you asked them, they would custom make some poke for you?
My next stop was the cheese. I'd been wanting to make a salad with romaine, apples, pine nuts, and blue cheese, so I picked up a wedge of Danish blue cheese. I decided to take a quick peak down some of the aisles. While they had some unusual brands, they also have some of the standard brands you'll see anywhere, like Lee Kum Kee brand sauces, Hinode rice, Coral tuna, etc.
Now I'm going to get on my soap box about prices. People say it's expensive. Of course it is...you're paying for stuff that's organic, free range, GMO-free, etc. You cannot go to Whole Foods and expect to pay Safeway prices. And Whole Foods will probably eventually be one of the biggest supporters of local agriculture (and I'm not only talking about fruits and vegetables, I'm talking about beef and poultry too -- I LOVE local beef!). My hope is that one day our agriculture industry will be able to grow so that we become sustainable and will not depend on beef and produce to be flown in from the mainland -- which, I might add, adds to our carbon footprint because of the fuel used to ship that stuff here. If our local agriculture grows, hopefully the prices will come down at some point.
That being said, I'm not defending Whole Foods pricing altogether. When I do shop here, I will probably stick to the perimeter and stay away from the aisles. Why? All those name-brand things I mentioned earlier that you can find in "regular" grocery stores ARE expensive, maybe even up to twice the amount you'd pay at Times or Safeway. Of course, you're paying for convenience. Eventually I will familiarize myself with their products and will know what I can find at Times (where I usually do my grocery shopping) at a lower price. For now, my plan is to go to Whole Foods for the perimeter stuff only, an go to Times for non-perishable items.
Ooh, and one more thing about Whole Foods...there is a truffle counter! I didn't get a chance to look closely at it because it generated a huge crowd, but it looked interesting! They also offer quite a bit of seating both inside and outside the store if you want to eat there.
So, for those of you in town, go and check it out sometime. Even if you can't afford it, you will find something there that will amaze you! I can't wait until the Kailua location opens, which will be the largest one in the islands.
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