Whole Foods Market
Saturday, May 21, 2011 at 11:48AM Whole Foods Market is a supermarket chain that specializes in whole, natural, fresh foods. That is not to say it is a 'natural food market', which brings to mind granola and sprouts. Whole Foods has a huge selection of meats, fish, cheese, vegetables, and prepared foods. It has everything a 'regular' supermarket has, it just has it in better quality. The wonderful aspect about this market is that it harkens back to what made markets good in earlier times. For instance, if you wanted meat, you would go to the meat market. For fish, you went to the fish monger and fresh vegetables, you grew yourself or you bought them at street corner stands or from farmers markets. Whole foods brings this all together in one place. And it has an urban feel about it, that is, you can find them in the centers of big cities like San Francisco and Los Angeles, Portland. From 57th street in New York to 23rd and Wilshire in Los Angeles, you can find a Whole Foods. So for the people who live in the city, they have the best of both worlds, fresh country and sophisticated city.
On top of that, Whole Foods chooses the best quality of the meats and produce they sell. The beef for instance, is either Prime or Choice. It has the best marbling and is sometimes dry aged. The steaks are cut thick and the center cut pork chops have a large rib bone that can be cut away and served separate on the plate for a different presentation. Or they are large enough to be stuffed. The salmon is fresh Pacific Salmon, not the dyed farm raised variety found in conventional supermarkets. Their tuna is sushi grade and can actually be eaten raw. Many of the vegetables are organic. The cheese is imported or the very best domestic. Anything from hard rounds of Italian Parmigiano Reggiano to triple creams from France. Here are 2 cheeses that warrant mention.
The first one is Mahon. Mahon is a Spanish semi-hard cheese. It comes from the island of Menorca, and is one of a few cow's milk cheeses from Spain. Mahón carries a faint sharpness, and its lemony, salty flavors harken to the rural Mediterranean seascape. If you close your eyes, you can actually smell the salty air. Its rind contains a hard, crumbly cheddar-like texture and darkens as the wheels age. At its peak, Mahón is tangy, intense and delicious. You can find a few varieties at Whole Foods. Serve it on crusty French bread and pair it with a mineraly white or on the other end of the spectrum, a Madeira.
The other cheese is Brillat-Savarin, a triple cream brie. This cheese comes from Normandy and is so delicious. It is so soft and creamy that it will melt on its own, sitting on a counter, and spreads like butter. Its flavor is luscious, decadent and slightly mushroomy. It is one of the richest of cheeses and is the opposite of Mahon. Whole Foods carries this cheese in small rounds wrapped in paper. This cheese pairs well with a dry white like a Petit Chablis because the acidity in the wine cuts through the softness of the cheese.
Whole Foods also has coffee beans from around the world, pickles in barrels, cooked gourmet food, hearty sandwiches, and a worldly selection of wine and beers. All of this of course comes with a price but it is money well spent. If you live in a city that has a Whole Foods Market, have some fun and check one out!
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Reader Comments (1)
Love Whole Foods and the city, together has to be heaven. Thanks for sharing John! Sure does make me miss the Bay area~