When F&E first opened I was very skeptical. Not because I thought they might have gourmet or trendy stuff. I was not sold on the self checkout idea yet. And they are Only self checkout. I went a few times and was quite turned off because either I could not get the hang of it or the machines seemed to hate me. However, after a few trips with no electronic incidents, and finding some English food that I had been craving and realizing they were actually pretty convenient for small shopping trips, I got over it.
F&E is now probably one of my preferred places for food shopping. I like that the produce is packaged in reasonable portions. A lot of the time I avoid buying veggies just because of the infrequency in which I eat them and since they spoil very quickly it's sometimes like throwing money in the trash. I like their bread and bagels. The french bread is very good, but I end up having to put it in the fridge after day or it attracts mold super fast. I like the fact that I can find both crème fraiche and scone mix readily available whenever the mood strikes me for a spot of tea. Their ready to go meals are not bad but I find their ready to cook options slightly more appealing. They do have some nice little pre-cooked slider hamburgers that are tasty.
Currently, my favorite thing that they carry is vanilla mousse cups. They are a nice little snack but a bit on the rich side, so I only indulge every once in a while. They have Tasty Bite (Indian) entrees, which so far I have only ever seen at WF. They were also the first place I saw to carry Magnum ice cream bars, but now you can get them at just about any supermarket. And I don't know what it is, but their low fat cottage cheese tastes more creamy and rich than any other full fat brand I've ever tried.