Whole Foods South Loop Roosevelt/Canal=Awesome!

Yes, it has finally opened, and it is the largest in the city. Free parking *for now* and easy access to petsmart, dsw shoes, panera bread, etc, sort of a mini mall for the deprived south loop.

Anyhow, they have a smoker in house that puts out some fantastic brisket! A full pound goes for about $8 and a half pound could easily fill you up with some excellent sides. I have yet to try the shrimp/salad/hot/cold/olive stations yet, but I had the hand carved turkey sandwich last night for 7.99, which was well worth it considering all the added stuff (roasted veggies, roasted red peppers, pesto mayo, sharp cheddar cheese, tomato, red onions, lettuce, etc. They also toasted it for me on some high quality rye and it was one of the best sandwiches I've had. I can get a turkey sandwich from the various middle eastern joints in the loop with a drink and chips for 6 bucks but it's nowhere near the quality of the whole foods one. Anyhow just wanted to let everyone know about the Whole Foods and their surprisingly tasty in store food options.

i wonder how this compares to the totally awesome whole foods i've been to in NYC (TWC).

do they have in house dry aged steak?

..and the better question, have they figured out how to make a baguette yet or do they still suck (worse than jewel/dominicks baguettes!)?

The new Whole Foods just opened a couple weeks ago in Northbrook on Waukegan/Willow RD which is the largest WF I've personally been to. They had good special last week for 1 full slab of smoked Spare Ribs (the cheaper type of rib) for $9.99 which was a pretty good deal when compared to crap like dominicks/Jewel ribs.

I've been to the Roosevelt/Canal Whole Foods a few times and have come to the conclusion that the space is poorly utilized. There is a very large section for the prepared foods/sushi bar, etc. and a pretty large vitamins/personal care section, but I was really disappointed in how narrow the food aisles were considering all that space. While the range and quality of the prepared offerings appears quite nice, I also didn't see a lot of dry goods product offerings that were unique or different (although I'm not convinced that there's actually more shelf space at this store, so maybe that makes sense that there isn't a wider variety).

dddane wrote:do they have in house dry aged steak?

they do have their in house dry aged steak at this location. they also have in at the one on halsted too.

Matt wrote:I've been to the Roosevelt/Canal Whole Foods a few times and have come to the conclusion that the space is poorly utilized. There is a very large section for the prepared foods/sushi bar, etc. and a pretty large vitamins/personal care section, but I was really disappointed in how narrow the food aisles were considering all that space.

This seems to be the new strategy WF is using in the region because it is true of the Northbrook location as well.

I thought they were catering to residents of the Glen (nearby) with their greater emphasis on prepared foods. My brother waited tables for a restaurant in the Glen for a year and he claimed that there might have been one working oven in the whole subdivision for how frequently everyone seemed to eat out.

But I guess WF sees the South Loop similarly. Or maybe it's a more general approach to opening new stores.

Can't argue too much with the in-store smoke-house, though.

gastro gnome wrote:

Matt wrote:I've been to the Roosevelt/Canal Whole Foods a few times and have come to the conclusion that the space is poorly utilized. There is a very large section for the prepared foods/sushi bar, etc.

This seems to be the new strategy WF is using in the region because it is true of the Northbrook location as well.

I thought they were catering to residents of the Glen (nearby) with their greater emphasis on prepared foods.
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But I guess WF sees the South Loop similarly. Or maybe it's a more general approach to opening new stores.

yah... i think this might be the new strategy for WF... the prepared food section at the whole foods in nyc at timewarner center is crazy huge.. literally you could have 75 people lined up and it wouldn't seem crowded. and that's kinda what drew my attention to it.... they really seemed to have everything you could imagine. and even though that uses a lot of space, the grocery sections were just as large as anything i've seen here

Mario wrote:

dddane wrote:do they have in house dry aged steak?

they do have their in house dry aged steak at this location. they also have in at the one on halsted too.

And also at their store on Huron. And also at Fox and Obel.

I'm really surprised to hear people offering favorable reviews of Whole Food's prepared foods. I find almost every type of prepared dish they sell at the Ashland & North Ave locations to be totally mediocre and a complete waste of money.

Maybe I just haven't tried the right stuff.

dddane wrote:yah... i think this might be the new strategy for WF... the prepared food section at the whole foods in nyc at timewarner center is crazy huge.. literally you could have 75 people lined up and it wouldn't seem crowded. and that's kinda what drew my attention to it.... they really seemed to have everything you could imagine. and even though that uses a lot of space, the grocery sections were just as large as anything i've seen here

dddane,

Have you been to the WF in Northbrook? The floor space for prepared foods (and the store in its entirety) is much larger than the counterpart at Time Warner. At first, I wasn't sure if it was just the high ceilings at the Northbrook location (high like Costo high) that made it seem bigger than the NY store, but I'm pretty sure now that it's actual floor space too. The NY location might seem bigger because you kind of descend on it from the escalators, and the store just sprawls out like an oasis from underneath you. All of this said, I've been to the Time Warner store about a dozen times, and I think they still have the new Chicago area stores beat in terms of selection of prepared foods--a lot more choices in less space.

Here's my informal measure: The last time I was in NY, I was waiting for an order at the cheese counter, and there was a woman browsing the prepared foods section behind me. She had a really impressive get-up: a very form-fitting Dolce & Gabbana straight-jacket-like skirt suit (complete with multiple buckles) and unbelievably high Christian Louboutin metallic stilletos. In other words, she was wearing an extremely restrictive outfit, and it looked like she wasn't moving at all from above the waist. She took these, tiny, tiny steps in circulating around the prepared foods. This woman's outfit was memorable but also helpful in making me realize the illusions of space created in the Time Warner store. In those shoes, with those tiny steps, the woman covered the entire prepared foods section, which she definitely would not have been able to do (or, at least, she would have needed more time) at the Northbrook store. Gosh, in retrospect, I wish I would have taken video of that lady! It was almost performance art. The best part was that she actually circulated the prepared foods twice and then got in the very long, winding line to pay with...a small container of steamed haricots verts.

happy_stomach wrote:there was a woman browsing the prepared foods section behind me. She had a really impressive get-up: a very form-fitting Dolce & Gabbana straight-jacket-like skirt suit (complete with multiple buckles) and unbelievably high Christian Louboutin metallic stilletos...In those shoes, with those tiny steps,

was it Nancy Grace?

HA! No, the woman was younger.

Ralph Wiggum wrote:I'm really surprised to hear people offering favorable reviews of Whole Food's prepared foods. I find almost every type of prepared dish they sell at the Ashland & North Ave locations to be totally mediocre and a complete waste of money.

Maybe I just haven't tried the right stuff.

Ralph, I think it depends on what you consider "prepared foods" really. The WF on Roosevelt has several stations manned by cooks who prepare all manner of different foods, like BBQ, pizza, sandwiches, sushi, asian noodle dishes, etc to order when you walk up to the counter. I generally consider prepared foods to be stuff like sandwiches or prefab sushi that's been sitting in a refrigerated case for who knows how long, but I'm not sure if we are working with the same definition or not.

So far I've only tried the BBQ station, and it was really quite good. According to the cook behind the BBQ counter they have several smokers on site they use to smoke their meats for 8 plus hours before serving. They do also have a huge case of prepared salads and other items, and I've so far really enjoyed the curried chicken salad and the blackened chicken salad. I suppose if you don't like those kinds of composed salads then you probably wouldn't enjoy them anyway, but I found them both to taste very fresh and full of good quality ingredients.

On the other hand the Whole Foods brand cookie and rice krispie bar I tried recently were both terrible. I now stick to the Carol's brand cookies they offer instead, they all seem very fresh and taste quite good.

Ralph Wiggum wrote:I'm really surprised to hear people offering favorable reviews of Whole Food's prepared foods. I find almost every type of prepared dish they sell at the Ashland & North Ave locations to be totally mediocre and a complete waste of money.

Maybe I just haven't tried the right stuff.

Ralph - it's not just you. Those two particular stores usually miss the mark on the prepared foods. If you want the Whole Foods "prepared food" treat, go to one of the newer locations like SMT suggested (Mellon-hubby and I frequent the one at Cicero and Peterson.

Ralph Wiggum wrote:I'm really surprised to hear people offering favorable reviews of Whole Food's prepared foods. I find almost every type of prepared dish they sell at the Ashland & North Ave locations to be totally mediocre and a complete waste of money.

Talking about the prepared food at Ashland--a lot of it is a "glass half full or glass half empty" thing. If you compare the offerings to what's in the case at Jewel, Dominick's or Strack & Von Til, the WF prepared foods case is in a whole different league. But if you compare it to what it should be, it's disappointing.

I do like the big roast beefs and prosciuttos that they'll slice for you from the case at that store, but I understand they're not the prepared foods you're probably talking about. Basically I agree with you. Most things in that case look better than they are. Yet I still buy from that case, because sometimes you need prepared foods, and what are you going to do? Get a big tub of macaroni salad from the Jewel?

riddlemay wrote:Most things in that case look better than they are.

I think that's what really ticks me off. They look like they'd taste great and they're priced like they should taste great, yet I'm constantly disappointed.

And that applies to the hot bar as well, with overcooked rotisserie chickens and mediocre wings.

I guess I'll have to give the other locations a shot.

mellonhead wrote:Ralph - it's not just you. Those two particular stores usually miss the mark on the prepared foods. If you want the Whole Foods "prepared food" treat, go to one of the newer locations like SMT suggested (Mellon-hubby and I frequent the one at Cicero and Peterson.

Mellonhead, could you clarify something? Are you saying that the good new WF locations (Sauganash, Roosevelt, Halsted, et. al.) have additional prepared foods that are good (like BBQ) as compared to the older locations like Ashland and North, which don't have these? Or are are you saying that apples-to-apples, item-for-item, the prepared foods that the new locations have in common with the old locations are better at the new locations? (Or, third possibility, is there actually nothing in common--i.e., the selection in the cases at the new locations is completely different from one end to the other compared to the older locations?)

The market actually inspired this tome...

Grocery Porn

I've been pretty psyched since it's in my backyard. That being said, the fish counter needs to get it's bearings. I got a whole mess of mussels which hadn't been debearded last week...it's not a problem, I mean I would have done it myself, but they always do it, so I threw them in the pan assuming they had been de-bearded....not so much....also, AB who posts here shared a dinner with us last week and roasted a whole red snapper...the descaling on the fish was horrible, as there were plenty of scales still on the fish and they also left the gills in....the smoked beef sticks are so/so from the smokehouse....gelato's incredible though, juice bar too...

riddlemay wrote:Mellonhead, could you clarify something? Are you saying that the good new WF locations (Sauganash, Roosevelt, Halsted, et. al.) have additional prepared foods that are good (like BBQ) as compared to the older locations like Ashland and North, which don't have these? Or are are you saying that apples-to-apples, item-for-item, the prepared foods that the new locations have in common with the old locations are better at the new locations? (Or, third possibility, is there actually nothing in common--i.e., the selection in the cases at the new locations is completely different from one end to the other compared to the older locations?)

Sorry riddle - my post was pretty vague. I'm saying that the "additional prepared foods" - like the kind where people are actually stationed like the bbq or pizza or hot prepared foods, etc - are WAY better than the stuff in the plastic containers in the case. Now I'm not counting the deli salads, etc. in this assessment - which is kind of the same ball game as the prepared foods in the plastic containers: hit-or-miss (sometimes completely devoid of any flavor at all but at least you can taste the deli stuff before you buy it.)

The locations on North Avenue and Ashland only have the prepared foods in plastic containers in the case which can be less than stellar, or they have the stuff you find in the salad/hot food bar which can be kinda sketchy (like Ralph said, the stuff looks like it should be great but when you actually taste it you find that it's a bit bland.)

In other words: If you're looking for good prepared food - stick to the manned stations in the newer stores.

I really was wowed by the Peterson and Cicero location.

Great selection, of well everything.


THe other day I was in the Halsted and Addison location. I thought it sucked pretty bad. Expired dates on prepared foods, meat not looking not so hot, brown lettuce on the shelves. I know they just opened, but this one lacked. Will check out the south loop store at some point

Dave

The South Loop location was a mixed shopping bag today.

Negatives:
- as mentioned, incredibly narrow aisles
- baking supplies split across three locations
- really miserly sampling compared to River Forest location
- common goods all .10 to .25 higher than River Forest location
- on-floor help very scarce
- missing some goods (Soyrizo, wonton wrappers, sugar snap peas in bulk) that are family standbys at other locations

Positives:
- very well-lit and comfortably styled
- good number of counter specialists (seafood, meats, deli)
- excellent smokehouse pricing and portioning*
- novelty and enthusiasm of Asian Grill
- better condiment selection than other stores
- spacious, well-stocked public dining / rest area

* I had a $6.99 sandwich and two side combo. One of the available sides was vanilla bean-hot pepper chicken wings fresh from the smoker. I had a double side of those (six generous wings) and the brisket sandwich weighed in at just under half a pound. I can't remember the last time I couldn't finish $6.99 worth of food. At this location, they had both chopped brisket which seemed to have been mixed with some barbecue sauce, and fresh-sliced right off of the roast, which I opted for. If anything, I thought the slice brisket was a little too moist (cooked through, but somewhat wet, and not enough crispiness on the edges).

just wanted to pile on a bit re: Ashland WF location.

Bought a piece of coho salmon on Friday for dinner. The fish guy cut it to size and offered to de-bone, which I appreciated. But, I do think that while pulling the bones, he should have noticed the several inch long coiled translucent worm eating a hole on the surface of the fish.

I buy fish not very often to be honest, and I understand that worms can happen, but I was disappointed (and at least mildly disgusted) that the fish guy didn't notice it. There were no other customers waiting in line behind me so he wasn't rushed.

the happy end: WF took the fish back with all appropriate apologies. I think some businesses tend to take a situation like this and blame the customer a bit.

Well, on that score, (even) the Jewel on Ashland and Wellington takes returned items graciously. I've never been questioned by them about anything. If it's not satisfactory to us, it's not satisfactory, and they don't ask questions or even give us the "fish eye." They just cheerfully refund our money.

I'm glad the WF on Ashland did the same for you, because they've also done the same for us. Just saying it's not as uncommon as you might think. Although I'm sure there are plenty of places that aren't as nice about it. I just wouldn't shop there!

To pick some further nits re the South Loop Whole Foods.
1. No fresh duck, much less duck parts
2. Crappy pre-packaged "organic" pancetta. I forget the brand. Not a problem if they have other, better (even Volpi), pancetta. But they don't. They don't have any chaucterie to speak of outside of their sandwich making station.
3. No lavender. No juniper. A little esoteric, I realize, but I thought that was part of the point
5. Weak wine department. Not even as good as Dominick's across the street.
6. A video on a repeating loop informing us what a great compassionate company Whole Foods is and how they "partner" with people in the "developing world" and blah blah blah. Maybe it's the self-hating Commie in me, but this self-righteous twaddle just serves to remind me what a shit I am shopping in an very expensive grocery and "lifestyle" store notorious for its questionable business practices

Having said all that, it is nice to finally have decent fish and meat counters in the south loop. And the smoked brisket is really good.

edk wrote:To pick some further nits re the South Loop Whole Foods.
1. No fresh duck, much less duck parts

Yeah, I was very disappointed by that, too.