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| - Woah.
Black truffles, escargot, caviar, live crawfish, dry aged meat and a cranberry preserve made by Trappist Monks of the St. Joseph's Abbey sit next to 5 pound bags of generic Fruit Loops and 2 pound jars of Fluff.
This is a grocery store unlike any other. It really does have it all. Once you enter the doors to this place, expect to be sucked into perusing for at least an hour, maybe more. Coming here is an event. The mundane duty of grocery shopping suddenly turns into an exercise of sensory stimulation.
Straight through the entrance is the produce section, off to the left is a beverage bar offering coffees, juices and smoothies. Each grocery cart is equipped with a cup holder, so take your frothy drink with you on your venture. Next is a cafe/bar area where you can order food to eat-in or take-with. Pizza's & burgers are made to order. A bar exists here that features a dozen drafts where growlers are filled. You can pay for all of this here, without standing in the regular checkout lines.
Next up is the sushi bar, olive bar, deli, emporium of cheese and charcuterie counter. Again, the choices here are plentiful. Best in the area as a matter of fact. Imported cheese from all around the world with various levels of stinkiness and a charcuterie counter that offers dry cured meats like "gabagool" (capicolla), mortadella, sopressata, speck, pancetta and prosciutto. There is no longer a need to stuff your suitcases with delicacies bought in Italy or France. Market District has it all. I was floored with the selection.
The bakery is next on our tour. Breads, baked goods and candy galore. We didn't spend too much time in this area because something else caught our eye. A live food demonstration was going on nearby. I thought I was at the IX Center's Fabulous Food Show. This isn't just a grocery store. There was even live entertainment!
Then around the corner, the fish department featuring live crawfish (sold out upon our visit), escargot, branzino and other exotic fish I never knew existed. The selection here really was awesome. Next were cases of fresh cut meat. A display of various cuts including dry aged beef caught my eye. The displays were clear, well lit and designed to tempt. Don't come here hungry. The butcher and fish monger behind the counter were more than willing to help and chat about what they offer and how best to prepare said protein.
After going around the perimeter, this is usually where I hit the dairy (plenty of local products offered including Snowville) and then check-out, but the middle aisles were unusually attractive. We went down each and every aisle. Exotic brands not carried by any other grocer in the area were present. Ever stumble across an unknown ingredient in a recipe? Yeah, they have it here. The ethnic specific aisles were vast and well represented as well. It really was an experience to travel down each aisle just to be amazed at the offerings. Some jars and canned goods completely unrecognizable because of the native language still on the labels. Real authentic shizz.
In addition to food, be sure to visit the beer section. Hop Snobs would be floored with the selection. Single bottles are sold here in addition to sixers. Did I mention they also have a full liquor department? Like I said, this store has it all. Including a children's play area (titled "Eagle's Nest") to drop your kid off while you shop. There's also a pharmacy, health/beauty department, bank and dry cleaner here.
Checking out was a breeze. I counted 24 checkout lines, so they were certainly able to handle the crowd during this opening weekend. Hopefully after the grand opening excitement wears down, it'll remain as pleasant of an experience as it was on Sunday. Despite the crowd, it was well staffed and things ran smoothly. If it's still like this 6 months from now, I'll be sure to bump my rating up to a full-fledged 5 stars.
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