whole foods on roosevelt and canal

the new whole foods opened on schedule this morning. i'm heading over there in a few hours and look forward to trying the smoked meats. will report back. the phone number is (312)435-4600. justjoan

is this the one that's having a huge food sampling this weekend? if so, yum!

Now if they could just open at 7:30am, that would be great for picking up lunch on the way to work. I drive by there probably 11-14 weekdays per month to avoid the Dan Ryan, and there are definitely times I'd stop in at around 8 to pick up something to take to the office.

On my drive home, I usually take Ashland south to 31st to bypass about half of the inevitable traffic jam on the Stevenson east of Kedzie.

threadkiller wrote: and there are definitely times I'd stop in at around 8 to pick up something to take to the office.

i just returned from the new store. i believe it opens at 8 every day, just like the others. good news for bicyclists, such as myself, there are lots of bike racks on the canal st. side, which is street level there. if you enter from roosevelt rd, you then go down the ramp to get there. there are surveillance cameras aimed at the bikes, as well. very nice....
i got there around 10am and it was very busy, but check out lines were short. the place is huge. i havent been to the peterson store, so i cant compare it. there werent as many items being sampled as i'd hoped. i asked if the weekend would have anything else special going on , and it appears not. but i suspect there will be more samples than today. some of the samples i saw: amy's sausage, deli lox/cream cheese spread, some raw food dehydrated dips, deli ham, yoghurt.
here's what is new to me (i shop at north ave. and ashland whole foods). the smokehouse was the main reason i was eager to visit. it's set up as a carving station for sandwiches, but the meat(and chicken) are available by the pound as well. in a self serve refrigerator case are inhouse smoked sausages and beef jerky (ok, could have used more seasoning). i had a small taste of brisket and thought it was fine. i bought pulled pork and it came with a decent(ie; not too sweet ) red BBQ sauce. i ate it for lunch, felt it was moist but could have used more seasoning or smoke. i will be buying it again. the sandwiches(with 1 side) are $6.99. the pulled pork is $8.99/lb and the brisket is $9.99/lb. i talked to some of the smokehouse execs who were there and suggested adding a carolina mustard sauce and maybe a vinegar sauce as well, and they seemed very interested.

also new: a refrigerated case of belgian chocolates(no brand name) at a reasonable $19.99/lb. they also have those gorgeous pates des fruit (jewel-like fruit jellies shaped like fruit). at $19.99/lb. i was grateful to be given half a pineapple one to taste. definitely pineapplish, but way too sweet for me. i didnt like it at all. they have a dessert bar , which, i suspect, if they dont check it constantly will look pretty unappetizing pretty quickly. big pans of things like bread pudding, chocolate mousse and cherry crisp. also a large sushi station and seating. those life-like displays of fake japanese food (sushi and bowls of noodles,etc.) surround the counter, so there are many hot eat-in choices. there is an ice cream (or maybe gelato?) counter. i tasted my fave, gianduja. it seemed a tad soft but alright. the case looked great, with many interesting choices. there is a juice bar, squeezed to order, but nothing very unusual to choose from. all the other department are just supersized compared to north ave. there is a culinary center in a separate room with a class schedule posted by the front door. some of the power went out while i was there. fortunately the fish counter, where i happened to be standing, was still up and running.
all in all, for anyone with plenty of money, i'm sure the place will be a wonderland. for me, i have to shop discriminately. but that will include returning for the smoked pork and brisket, and my biggest weakness, cheese. justjoan

Thanks for the report, Joan! This is exciting for those of us on the south side. I'm in an official food desert , and I feel like this more than balances out the universe now that Jewel on 31st and Halsted is closing. You know... just as one door closes, a much better one opens!

There's one opening up down the street from me at the corner of Willow and Waukegan August 29th. They are advertising a smoker as well, can't wait!

It looks like I need to check it out on my way home tonight. The North Avenue location has pretty good beer selections and price, and hopefully this one is the same.

i forgot to report something i learned at the new whole foods store this morning. some of you may already know this: the north avenue whole foods is moving a few blocks north(i think) on kingsbury. there will be parking for 500 cars and the lot won't be shared. the store will be much bigger, but still i shudder to think what it'd be like if it contains 500plus shoppers at any one time. does anyone know when the new store is supposed to open? justjoan

today's tribune has a coupon in the 'good eating' section for $10 off a $50 grocery bill at any whole foods. it expires 8/14.

Actually, the North ave store is moving to the New City YMCA location. It closed a month ago and is being torn down to make way for the new Whole Foods. It will be at 1515 N. Halsted.

At that point, traffic should come to a complete stop!

Thanks to the rain last night right at 5pm, I ended up stopping at Whole Foods myself to wait out some of the traffic on I-55. I got dinner from the "hot bar" and salad bar. The pulled pork came from the smokehouse, but was $1/lb cheaper at the hot bar, and even though it had sat, it was good, far better than I expected. Everything else was bordering on inedible.... which is unusual since I generally think Whole Food's prepared foods are average or sometimes better.

A much better option would have been either the sandwiches from the smokehouse, or the hand carved hot turkey or roast beef sandwiches for $7.

At $10/lb after tax, I would definitely pick up pulled pork or brisket by the pound when I don't feel like driving up to Smoque.

I had parked in the shopping center parking lot, not realizing that they had their own dedicated lot off of Roosevelt. There are two cash registers on the mall side.