"WOW. WOW. WOW!!!! I spent 2.5 glorious hours in the new Whole Foods Saturday morning and I was completely blow away by it's AWESOMENESS! This place is a Foodie's Paradise and it will take your food shopping experience to a whole new level!\n\nBefore I get into the Foodie goodies that Whole Foods has to offer, I need to give a huge KUDOS to Whole Foods Management. They have done a great job of training their associated to provide excellent customer service. They will go out of their way to help you find what you need, order what they don't have, and/or give samples of just about any store-prepared food item that they have. It was almost surreal...they all seemed genuinely happy to be there and every employee that I came in contact with (and there were many of them) actually made me feel like they wanted me to have a good experience in their store. What a concept!! \n\nAlthough I combed each and every aisle of the store, the middle-of-the-store items are straight forward and fairly easy to find in any healthy food store. However, the sections along the perimeter of the store and beyond are what sets Whole Foods apart from their competition. Allow me to explain:\n\n~ Produce. They carry everything. Ok, maybe not everything....but pretty darn close! I found produce items that I simply can't find in any other local grocery store. Not only do they have a variety of fruits, vegetables, and herbs, but they have multiple varieties of the multiple varieties...did you follow that? For example, I saw no less than 10 varieties of tomatoes!\n\n~ Dry Goods. They have a fantastic selection of dried herbs, seasoning, grains, cereals, fruits, nuts, beans, etc. But what impressed me the most...they had bulk bins of different varieties of Salt (Hawaiian, Himalayan, Sea, Black, etc) and just about every variety of dried mushroom that you can imagine. \n\n~ Seafood - \"FRESH\"....let me repeat...\"FRESH\" Seafood! Everything from whole fish, cuts of fish, shellfish, and prepared/seasoned/breaded/stuffed items...it goes on an on. \n\n~ Fresh Meat Counter. The meats were stunning. Great quality, great cuts, and meats that are hard to find. They make their own sausages (Pork and Chicken), and gourmet burgers (I picked up a Spinach and Feta Lamb Burger) and they have some nice take-n-make items, too (kabobs, breaded chicken, stuffed meats, etc). \n\n~ Cheese!! Oh my, where do I begin? I know...how about the warm sample of freshly pulled Mozzarella?!? Yes, you heard me right! It was gooey and delicious. They have an outstanding cheese selection...I see myself spending a lot of time there. They have a gorgeous Olive bar, too!!\n\n~ Wine Bar. Enough said. :-)\n\n~ Bakery. I have never seen a more impressive bakery in a grocery store. Whether your looking for a gorgeous dessert for a dinner party or just need a cupcake or a cookie to satisfy your sweet-tooth, you can find it all right hereThe Bakery isn't all about sweets though....they also have a fantastic bread section and one of the Bakers was telling me that all of the Artisan breads are Hearth-Baked on site! \n\n~ Right next to the gorgeous breads is a deli meat counter where you can buys meats by the pound or design your own custom-made sandwich.\n\n~ Sushi. I counted almost 20 varieties of Sushi. They also have Sushi Bowls that are everything that you love about Sushi, but in a bowl. I had the Spicy Tuna and Shrimp Bowl with Brown Rice and it was excellent! Very fresh, good amount of Spice and a generous portion (for less than $9.00)! They had 4 Sushi chefs behind the counter making up rolls, bowls, etc and they were happy to customize any of their standard items, too. \n\n~ Prepared meals and side dishes. Anything and everything you can image from prepared meats, fish and tofu to delicious salads, grains, and pasta. Can decide what you want?...ask for a sample.\n\n~ Build your own \"Bowl\". Choice your grain, choose a sauce, choose your veggies, then choose your protein. Genius!\n\n~ Pizza Station!! They bake Pizza, Calzones, Empanadas, and Giant Pretzels. Excellent Pizza toppings to choose from and the pretzels come salted or sweet!\n\n~Salad Bars. I almost hate to use that term because it really doesn't capture the essence of their brilliant idea of what a \"Salad Bar\" should be. First of all, there are 4 long bars, and a few smaller bars. Everything from standard salad items to fresh fruit and sweets to their delicious hot food items, breakfast food bar, and soups. They even have a bar to create your own trail mix.\n\n~ Caf\u00E9 - Coffee, Tea, Lattes, etc. Nice little seating area, too.\n\n~ Last, but not least....there's a GELATO BAR!!! Yes folks, just in case your eyes and bellies weren't full of enough happiness already, you can end your visit with a perfectly little cup of creamy, delicious Gelato. I highly recommend the Salted Caramel! MMMMM!\n\nNet-Net: This was the most amazing grocery store that I have ever been to! I can't wait to go back again and again!"^^ . . "2012-09-03T00:00:00"^^ . . "2"^^ . . "5"^^ . "2"^^ . "3"^^ .