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| - Prepared foods in supermarkets are always pricey, compared to finding those same foods out in the neighborhood, but Whole Foods sets an entirely new standard for unbelievably pricey, mediocre, prepared foods.
Feeling the need for a little walk and some fresh air, I cruised up to Whole Foods on Yonge, literally around the corner from my condo, thinking I would grab a yummy lunch and surf the Internet in their little cafe area. Surveying the prepared food offering, nothing blew me away, and the salads seemed pretty pedestrian, so I decided to sample a few different hot food items, and have an interesting mixed lunch.
You can see what I settled on below, with only a couple of bites missing, one scoop of potato salad, one Italian meatball, and one VERY tiny chicken tikka thigh, over some basmati rice.
They had small aluminum, screw-top bottles of non-dairy milkshake, which looked interesting, so I grabbed one of those as well.
So, go ahead and guess, what would that lightly-filled partial container cost? Keeping in mind that Supermarket prepared foods can be expensive, since you purchase by the pound. Any guess?
No, whatever you just guessed would certainly be expensive, but at the same time this is Whole Foods and it is prepared food, so guess higher. No, higher. Keep going. Nope, still higher! Ummm, the actual price was ... wait for it... $26!!
I'm confident you didn't guess higher than that, and while the food was half-decent, if unremarkable, I enjoyed each mouthful less and less, as I ruminated on my typically-Canadian unwillingness to hand the container back to the cashier and say "No thank you, I think I'll go somewhere else."
Honestly I would have considered it pricey at half the price, but I wouldn't have felt SO ripped off, had I paid roughly the price of lunch at an Indian or Chinese buffet, for one small container of food. But to pay double? For half as much?
Now, before you sniff and roll your eyes and say "Hey, this is Whole Foods, this isn't some crappy Buffet!", let me remind you that THIS food was also prepared hours ahead of time, and left sitting around in warming trays, and being picked over, just like at your friendly neighborhood Buffet. In fact, one could argue that most buffets sell a lot more, and therefore turn over the food, and are replenishing the supply, much more often, so it's likely fresher and hotter at the buffet, not to mention abundant. And the buffets feature seafood, and roast beef or lamb, and other more pricey items.
So, consider me educated, I won't be back, of course, and I am feeling for my vegan and vegetarian friends who are regularly forced to pay outrageous premiums for food that may, or may not, be worth the excessive prices.
Oh well, live and learn!
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