Whole Foods Comes to the Wild Upper West

I'd been counting down the days until Whole Food's arrival. The big windows with the green covers "Coming August 27 2009" taunted me as I walked home from the gym or work, wishing I could drop in for a piece of fruit, some free samples or a coconut water. When my roommates and I heard about Whole Foods coming to our neighborhood years ago, we didn't believe it at first, then we thought we'd have moved on to a bigger, hotter, swankier apartment downtown. That or we'd all be married with children living in the suburbs and driving to our local Whole Foods in an SUV. Not. So. Much.

Last night I took a personal day from going out and decided to catch up on life. I find something oddly soothing about cleaning and organizing my junk. I went on a run to sweat out some of this week's toxins and in between loads of laundry I took a walk down to Whole Foods. I'm on a spending diet so I didn't want to go full-on food shopping, but I wanted to explore the new store and pick up a few treats.

As I headed down Columbus' slight incline to 100th Street past the projects, I couldn't make out the sidewalk. Hordes of people sped in and out of Whole Foods. Where were all these people coming from? It's normally a ghost town between 97th and 104th and the only one who hears me singing out loud to my iTunes is the lone construction worker or security guard watching over the new empty apartment buildings. It seemed fake, as though these people were extras on a movie set.

I walked in and felt like a kid in F.A.O. Schwartz for the first time. My eyes popped out of my head as I soaked it all in and grabbed a dual-acting basket. I could carry it with me down the escalator while I could also wheel it around once it got heavier. Heaven.

"Allelujah! I've been waiting for this for years!" I said to a woman welcoming shoppers.

"That's great to hear, we're happy to finally be here."

Disclaimer: I never go to the Columbus Circle Whole Foods. It's too crowded and daunting. The amenities I'm describing in this Whole Foods may be old hat to some of you, but to me it's new so please bear with me if I seem a bit excited.

My first stop was the bread counter. I asked the bread girl if they had any bread with cheese in it - the Whole Foods in Arlington, Va., that K-Fo and I used to frequent had this incredible cheddar cheese bread. She looked at me cross-eyed so I settled for a half-loaf of rosemary bread. I had a few slices at home and it was soft and delicious.

I decided to start downstairs and make my way up. The seafood and butcher are on the lower level, along with all the produce, some frozen foods, the health and spa section and cereals, snacks, etc.

The fish looked incredible. If I was planning a dinner party, I know I'd come back for this guy.

I'd never seen such a beautiful selection of beer. Chimay was the only one I recognized. I think I found my new pre-movie stop. "Grab one of these and head to your local theater" should be written across the glass doors. And see the small kegs below? Way better than popcorn. Trust me, it's been done.

Next stop was the spa section. Just off to its left was a small kitchen section fully loaded with water bottles, colanders, spatulas and anything else you might need in a pinch. The health and spa section had rows and rows of soaps, wellness products and vitamins and most shocking to me was the baby clothes.

"Umm, miss you can't take pictures of our products."

"I'm sorry, I'm covering the opening..." I said, as I kept walking. Yeah. I'm that girl. The clothes were awfully cute, but really necessary? Whole Foods is a few steps from turning into France's Carrefour.


I picked up some avocados, crackers, frozen faux-chicken patties then made my way upstairs.

Past the bakery is the beer and cheese section. I walked towards the back to the beer fridge and sampled a shot of Kasteel cru. It was a beer/champagne concoction that I thoroughly enjoyed. According to the rep it has more alcohol than light beers and with one bottle purchased you scored a free glass. Yes please.

I noticed some beer taps and the friendly beer guy Ricardo informed me I could grab an empty jug and fill 'er up full service style. I love this place.

Unfortunately, I took a few more photos but Blogger wasn't cooperating last night so I will have to add them to this post at a later date. Mind you, with each shot I took, the Whole Foods staff hounds were on me like soy sauce on sushi.

"Um, miss you can't take pictures in here."

"Um, sir, I'm covering the opening."

"For what news organization?"

"Mo-....uh... ABC News?"

"Oh, well, that's great, but you'll have to go through our media coordinator to get press credentials."

"Yeah... uh... of course. I'll do that..." I rolled my eyes without actually rolling my eyes.

I swerved my way into one of the three lines that fed into the cashier pool. I felt like I was in the security line at JFK Thanksgiving weekend.

"Checkout 27 is open." Red lights would go off. Man with two baskets scurried off to go pay.

"Checkout 5 is open." Red lights would go off. Woman and her daughter almost tripped over their carry-on grocery luggage.

"Checkout 9 is open." Red lights went off. The robot's voice with the help of a human's hand ushered me to check out.

I was thoroughly impressed with the beauty of Whole Foods. It was so spacious and spread out I never felt like I couldn't get to what I wanted. I was picturing a scene out of Filene's Basement's running of the brides and I found nothing of the sort. While I do believe staying out of places like Whole Foods is probably better for my bottom line(s), I will return. Everything in moderation, right? Next up? The wine store.