Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Op here, so setting aside the debate over who has cheaper of the same thing, are there any great items/brands at WF that you love that I can't otherwise get at giant?

Are you looking for packaged food? That might not be any cheaper or better at WF.

Take your kid there to pick up some produce and salad bar. You can browse the aisles to see if there's anything that appeals to you?

We shop there a lot, but try to stick to whole foods instead of packaged foods. I like the options there for produce, dairy, grains, nuts, meat, fish, cheese, wine, etc. Way better than our local Giant.

Outside of breads the baked goods are not very good though - don't ever order a cake from WF. Big mistake.

I think it all depends on what foods your family likes to eat.

Thanks. We go to the Friendship Heights Whole Foods. I can't stand the Giant that is over there so if I have to go in a store now, its Whole Foods. The produce does look better to me in Whole Foods, though Peapod has come a long way in their produce deliveries. As far as packaged foods, I was wondering if there were particular types of items in WF that aren't available in Giant. Even frozen stuff.

Organic milk is $5.69/gal. If you buy a case (4 gallons), they give you a 10% discount. That's a good deal if you have an extra refrigerator. They also have good rainbow chard and kale. Frozen flounder and real parmiggiano reggiano. That's the extent of what I buy there. They have a really good wheat bread, that I buy if it's on sale, but I can't remember the brand/name, etc.

Fresh fish -- I pretty much only buy fish at WF. I don't buy pre-made desserts often but WF's are excellent. The organic produce usually looks better than that at Giant.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:maybe it matters which WF - I'm the Logan Circle poster - and personally, I find that Wegmans has more local produce than WF. In the summer, so much produce is from further away than I'd expect (like GA corn?).

It could be the store. But in the high produce season, I find that Wegmans has a much larger selection of truly local produce

WTF? You have time to drive to BFE to go to Wegmans? Because I live in Arlington and that shizz is too far away. Probably the reason they have more local produce is because they are out near the freaking farms way out past the beltway.

I like Wegmans a lot (my hometown had one a long time ago), but their organic produce is about double the cost of WF's on average.

I didn't say I regularly go there. We SOMETIMES go and hit Costco and Wegmans in Lanham in one trip. Sometimes (gasp) my husband even stays home with our child and I get to grocery shop alone, in peace, at 9am before it's crowded. It's glorious! And if I stick to my regular list, it's cheaper than whole foods. I'm not sure how it's easier for Wegmans in PG County to get local produce than whole foods when my whole foods is literally blocks between two major farmers market in season. Which, even though it's even more expensive than whole foods, is where I shop in the summer.
I also prioritize local over organic for my family when I can.
I buy my milk at WF or Union Market - Trickling Springs.

Anonymous wrote:Op here, so setting aside the debate over who has cheaper of the same thing, are there any great items/brands at WF that you love that I can't otherwise get at giant?

Are you looking for packaged food? That might not be any cheaper or better at WF.

Take your kid there to pick up some produce and salad bar. You can browse the aisles to see if there's anything that appeals to you?

We shop there a lot, but try to stick to whole foods instead of packaged foods. I like the options there for produce, dairy, grains, nuts, meat, fish, cheese, wine, etc. Way better than our local Giant.

Outside of breads the baked goods are not very good though - don't ever order a cake from WF. Big mistake.

I think it all depends on what foods your family likes to eat.

Better/cheaper at WF: whole milk yogurt (I like Brown Cow), steel cut oats and/or other whole grains, bulk beans/lentils/etc, eggs, organic milk, meat, sunbutter and other nut butters.

as a rule, fish is vastly better at WF than at Giant. And I don't trust someone to pick my fish for me, so I'd do it in person.

Anonymous wrote:maybe it matters which WF - I'm the Logan Circle poster - and personally, I find that Wegmans has more local produce than WF. In the summer, so much produce is from further away than I'd expect (like GA corn?).

It could be the store. But in the high produce season, I find that Wegmans has a much larger selection of truly local produce

WTF? You have time to drive to BFE to go to Wegmans? Because I live in Arlington and that shizz is too far away. Probably the reason they have more local produce is because they are out near the freaking farms way out past the beltway.

I like Wegmans a lot (my hometown had one a long time ago), but their organic produce is about double the cost of WF's on average.

Anonymous wrote:I always buy my produce, especially berries, at Whole foods. It is similarly priced and way, way tastier. I also buy the frozen salmon and Whole Foods brand chicken.

The strawberries and blueberries at WF and Giant are identical -- both from the same producer, in the same package. For strawberreis, it's Driscoll's. I forget the name of the blueberry company.

DD prefers the Giant salad bar because it's more "chunky" like slices of cucumber, whole olives, croutons, and broccoli florettes. The WF salad bar we tried adn things weren't as easy to hold in your hand and eat.

I will stock up on the WF brand coconut milk - it tastes better than any other brand out there. I also like their organic (WF brand) peanut butter - it's truly creamy, and doesn't separate as much as other "all natural" brands.

maybe it matters which WF - I'm the Logan Circle poster - and personally, I find that Wegmans has more local produce than WF. In the summer, so much produce is from further away than I'd expect (like GA corn?).

It could be the store. But in the high produce season, I find that Wegmans has a much larger selection of truly local produce

I always buy my produce, especially berries, at Whole foods. It is similarly priced and way, way tastier. I also buy the frozen salmon and Whole Foods brand chicken.

I'm happy to pay more at WH for their effort on supporting local organic and more environmentally friendly food. Not perfect, but much better than what other grocery stores do. Also, their fruit and produce taste better and last much longer. Seafood is much better too.

I recently got a Whole Foods in my neighborhood and was underwhelmed. I actually like Trader Joes and Wegmans better, but maybe thats just me. I do really enjoy Whole Foods pizzas - the crust is amazing! And I like their satsumas instead of clementines. Otherwise, I am interested to hear more responses on what I am missing.

eh, probably not. there are some higher end specialty items (like higher end jared sauces and condements), higher end pastas if you care about that....but I think for a normal family cooking dinners, they're not much different.

It's a hard ? to answer because if someone has been shopping there for 8 years, it's not special anymore.