jimswside wrote:gary do they grind their bison themselves, or are they selling the prepackeaged stuff?

Jim,

Bison is ground in-house as is all the ground meat in the fresh meat case including poultry, with the exception of organic. Sausage is made in-house as well.

Enjoy,
Gary

G Wiv wrote:

jimswside wrote:gary do they grind their bison themselves, or are they selling the prepackeaged stuff?

Jim,

Bison is ground in-house as is all the ground meat in the fresh meat case including poultry, with the exception of organic. Sausage is made in-house as well.

Enjoy,
Gary

good to know, especially the bison which my full service butcher does not carry,

thanks.

Hey,

As for getting the chicken wings cut into sections....

Whole Foods is all about customer service. Let's not forget it. Don't press them so hard they have to raise their prices, but still, get your money's worth out of them.

Don't ever take home a piece of meat you need cut, unless you prefer to cut it yourself. They'll be happy to do it for you.

Nancy

WTF is up with WF not selling quality, locally grown tomatoes in late August? Stopped at the Peterson/Cicero location on the way home from work tonight since I was out of tomatoes and wanted to make a really good quality BLT. So what does Whole Foods offer today? Some heirlooms grown in the "USA," some Roma tomatoes from Mexico, some mostly sad looking hothouse tomatoes grown somewhere in Illinois, and some equally sad tomatoes on the vine (IIRC, from Canada). I might as well have been at Dewel or Jominick's.

BR wrote:WTF is up with WF not selling quality, locally grown tomatoes in late August? **** I might as well have been at Dewel or Jominick's.

I hear you. We are hitting up the Green City Market tomorrow for tomatoes and peaches.

BR wrote:WTF is up with WF not selling quality, locally grown tomatoes in late August? Stopped at the Peterson/Cicero location on the way home from work tonight since I was out of tomatoes and wanted to make a really good quality BLT. So what does Whole Foods offer today? Some heirlooms grown in the "USA," some Roma tomatoes from Mexico, some mostly sad looking hothouse tomatoes grown somewhere in Illinois, and some equally sad tomatoes on the vine (IIRC, from Canada). I might as well have been at Dewel or Jominick's.

Did you complain to the store manager or customer service?

One of the things I've found about WF, especially that particular one, is that they're pretty responsive to customer suggestions and complaints. I complained plenty last year about their local produce problem and they assured me they were working on getting better distribution options. This year they're carrying much more locally grown stuff in peak season.

Anonymous "WTF" complaints on a internet message board aren't going to compel a store to live up to an ideal that they might not even know exists (since most of their customers simply don't care).

Speak up, in person, if you haven't already. If you're too timid to complain to the manager, write a comment in the box. They respond to a lot of them publicly on their bulletin board.

eatchicago wrote:

BR wrote:WTF is up with WF not selling quality, locally grown tomatoes in late August? Stopped at the Peterson/Cicero location on the way home from work tonight since I was out of tomatoes and wanted to make a really good quality BLT. So what does Whole Foods offer today? Some heirlooms grown in the "USA," some Roma tomatoes from Mexico, some mostly sad looking hothouse tomatoes grown somewhere in Illinois, and some equally sad tomatoes on the vine (IIRC, from Canada). I might as well have been at Dewel or Jominick's.

Did you complain to the store manager or customer service?

One of the things I've found about WF, especially that particular one, is that they're pretty responsive to customer suggestions and complaints. I complained plenty last year about their local produce problem and they assured me they were working on getting better distribution options. This year they're carrying much more locally grown stuff in peak season.

Anonymous "WTF" complaints on a internet message board aren't going to compel a store to live up to an ideal that they might not even know exists (since most of their customers simply don't care).

Speak up, in person, if you haven't already. If you're too timid to complain to the manager, write a comment in the box. They respond to a lot of them publicly on their bulletin board.

No I didn't complain. I guess I never even thought of it. But hearing that you have had some success with complaints means that I will give it a try. But do they really need me to tell them that great tomatoes are available everywhere in the area and they don't have any of them? And do you really believe that Whole Foods' customers don't care about getting the best quality tomatoes? I think their customers are much wiser than those of the lesser quality stores in the city. Nonetheless, I'm going to let them know.

BR wrote:

eatchicago wrote:

BR wrote:WTF is up with WF not selling quality, locally grown tomatoes in late August? Stopped at the Peterson/Cicero location on the way home from work tonight since I was out of tomatoes and wanted to make a really good quality BLT. So what does Whole Foods offer today? Some heirlooms grown in the "USA," some Roma tomatoes from Mexico, some mostly sad looking hothouse tomatoes grown somewhere in Illinois, and some equally sad tomatoes on the vine (IIRC, from Canada). I might as well have been at Dewel or Jominick's.

Did you complain to the store manager or customer service?

One of the things I've found about WF, especially that particular one, is that they're pretty responsive to customer suggestions and complaints. I complained plenty last year about their local produce problem and they assured me they were working on getting better distribution options. This year they're carrying much more locally grown stuff in peak season.

Anonymous "WTF" complaints on a internet message board aren't going to compel a store to live up to an ideal that they might not even know exists (since most of their customers simply don't care).

Speak up, in person, if you haven't already. If you're too timid to complain to the manager, write a comment in the box. They respond to a lot of them publicly on their bulletin board.

No I didn't complain. I guess I never even thought of it. But hearing that you have had some success with complaints means that I will give it a try. But do they really need me to tell them that great tomatoes are available everywhere in the area and they don't have any of them? And do you really believe that Whole Foods' customers don't care about getting the best quality tomatoes? I think their customers are much wiser than those of the lesser quality stores in the city. Nonetheless, I'm going to let them know.

If people buy enough of the product they sell, then they will think they are serving their customers. If their customers tell them the product(s) they are selling are not what they want then they will at the very least listen. It's 10 minutes of your time, tops, to communicate this message and in the process perhaps forge a relationship with a key purveyor of foodstuffs at a market where you shop. Just because it's Whole Foods doesn't mean they can read your mind - speaking up is much more effective.

Kman wrote:If people buy enough of the product they sell, then they will think they are serving their customers.

Exactly. I'd guess that the manager of that WF is happy with his tomato suppliers, they sell plenty of them, and no one speaks up. So, status quo.

WF is highly unlikely to stop carrying their normal tomatoes year-round, but there's no reason they couldn't try find an in-season local supplier like they do for other items.

This is the problem with modern society! Nobody complains!

Mhays wrote:This is the problem with modern society! Nobody complains!

I would rephrase it this way: Everybody complains to the wrong people.

For the record, I am an equal-opportunity complainer.

eatchicago wrote:

Mhays wrote:This is the problem with modern society! Nobody complains!

I would rephrase it this way: Everybody complains to the wrong people.

Spot on. Even worse, many of them complain to ME (and I am SO the wrong people for that!).

So I contacted Whole Foods by e-mail. They told me that they have not been able to get any locally grown tomatoes other than cherry tomatoes and hothouse tomatoes, although they hope to be getting some local heirlooms before the season ends. They said they'd let me know if and when they get some more locally grown tomatoes.

Oh well . . . I appreciate the response but I guess for the time being it'll be farmers' markets for me.

I guess the lack of locally grown tomatoes is not the only issue at Whole Foods: http://chicago.timeout.com/articles/res ... al-produce

Having read the article and thought about the subject some more, I certainly understand what could be Whole Foods' concern; i.e., the ability to find producers able to ensure a certain level of produce year round. But I'm still disappointed that I can't run to a nearby grocery after work and find great quality summer produce. On a side note, I live very close to Harvestime and their tomatoes have just been awful looking, so Whole Foods has a leg up there.

I guess I don't WF for this that much. While it would be great if everything I buy at the Green City Market were also available at Whole Foods (and other stores), this isn't practical. It would also be great if all of the other things I buy were also available at Whole Foods. But this isn't practical. This is the difference between "big" and "small".

But this makes me wonder why there aren't more small stores that stock locally grown, farmer's market quality, produce. The Green Grocer has some, but it mainly a packaged food store; produce is not their strength.

Darren72 wrote:I guess I don't WF for this that much. While it would be great if everything I buy at the Green City Market were also available at Whole Foods (and other stores), this isn't practical. It would also be great if all of the other things I buy were also available at Whole Foods. But this isn't practical. This is the difference between "big" and "small".

But this makes me wonder why there aren't more small stores that stock locally grown, farmer's market quality, produce. The Green Grocer has some, but it mainly a packaged food store; produce is not their strength.

I'll accept produce that's not local . . . it's the mediocre quality of the produce that drives me nuts, especially when I know (from having visited the farmers' markets) that much better quality produce is available.

On Sunday, there was a pretty big display of heirloom tomatoes. I thought the display said local but not 100% on that.

Does anyone remember seeing chocolate covered espresso beans here?

I was also in the market for hazelnut butter and according to Futters Nut Butters, this Whole Foods carries it. Has anyone seen that, either?

They've moved the chocolate covered expresso beans at my WF (Ashland and School) over to a small display of premium chocolate by the cheese case. No idea on the Nut Butter--sorry!

Pie Lady wrote:Does anyone remember seeing chocolate covered espresso beans here?

I was also in the market for hazelnut butter and according to Futters Nut Butters, this Whole Foods carries it. Has anyone seen that, either?

They used to have them in he cheese dept. Maybe they're still there. If not, the friendly cheese mongers can send you in the right direction.