Andronico's Markets Inc

 

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Jim C.

Redwood City, CA

"Adult Brownies"? Hmmm...sounds enticing. What were in these things to merit such a name? Were they imported from Amsterdam (or Berkeley) and loaded with marijuana? Were they loaded with Viagra or some other aphrodisiac? Did they have some porn inside the wrapper? I had to try one. Turns out they are pretty decent regular brownies but DENSE. They are very rich and loaded with fudge. Worth trying if you love brownies.

Other than some flirty "adult brownies", this is your typical higher-end gourmet supermarket like Mollie Stones and Draegers with the usual more expensive prices. Nice bakery dept and cooked foods dept along with the typical gourmet supermarket items.

Bottom line: Average gourmet supermarket and get your "adult brownies" here. But there's nothing adult about them - nothing but a big tease.

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43

Jennifer W.

Brisbane, CA

A caveat: I don't live here (though I grew up here and fondly remember when this was Rancho market and Skip was always the checkout person), and so I don't shop here regularly.

However, I did do a sizeable catering order through the deli for my dad's memorial service reception, and Andronicos exceeded my expectations for supermarket deli catering.  

I ordered sushi, my dad's favorite, but I am always leery of buying even small amounts of sushi from a supermarket.  I've tried it from Whole Foods, Mollie Stones, Safeway and Trader Joes, and blech.  I would have ordered the sushi from a separate Japanese restaurant except I was in no mood to be running all over town right before I was about to give my dad's eulogy.

To my happy, happy surprise, the sushi was actually good.  Maybe not equal to my fave sushi places, but much, much better than the other grocery stores' versions.  The sushi went over very well at the reception, and was nearly gone by the time I got a chance to eat.

I also ordered crudites with hummus (good), fruit (also good, especially the pineapple), a tiny tarts of various flavors.

The platters were beautifully presented, and the Andronicos deli staff were very helpful in getting it all into my car.

While we were picking up the catering, we also picked up beverages, and inadvertently stumbled upon my new favorite appetizer.  At the end of one of the aisles, a friendly duo from The Old Fishouse in Fort Bragg were handing out samples of their very wonderful and delicious smoked salmon.  They had put it on cream cheese and Nutthins crackers, and it was a little bite of heaven.  We left with two boxes of Nutthins, Tofutti fake cream cheese, and two bags of the salmon.  Now I crave it fortnightly, smartass.

So four stars for coming through on the catering and making a difficult day so much smoother, and four stars for letting outside vendors offer their products in the store.  I haven't been able to find Nutthins anywhere else, to my chagrin.

I'm only leaving a star off because, like I said, I don't shop there regularly, and according to the other reviews if I did I would be broke.  But I am going to make visiting and seeing what's new a part of my visiting the old homestead routine from now on.

Now if only the Swedish bakery could come back...

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0

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Paikea K.

Los Altos, CA

I like Andronico's very much....it is a high quality and very pleasant shopping experience.  Note:  you pay for this experience, but if cost was no object, Andronico's is definitely the place I would shop every day(way better than Whole Foods or Draeger's).  My husband especially enjoys their many samples and we regularly make purchases from their deli.

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20

Jessy S.

Cupertino, CA

I used to like Andronico's a lot and get Thanksgiving dinner from them every year. However, with the recent opening of Trader Joe's in Los Altos and Wholefoods in nearby Cupertino, Andronico's selection, layout and price are clearly showing some fatigue.

Andronico's has a great olive bar alright, but not so impressive if you compare that to the newly opened Wholefoods on Steven Creek. It carries some exotic cheese and prosciutto  (my primary reason for paying them a visit), but the price is so much more expensive to limited but quality selection of Trader Joes half a mile away.

What baffles me the most is the very Albertson-like selection of merchandise. To give you some concrete examples, I walked through the frozen food aisle today, after not visiting them for almost 3 years, expecting to see some interesting niche brands. Well no, they carry the same Macaroni, meat lasagna, etc that you see at Albertson (aka Lucky) at about 30-50% higher price. I have always been getting a multi-grain vegetables lasagna at Trader Joe's so I was looking for some alternatives at Andronico's. No luck. I was also looking for muesli alternatives that I usually get from Wholefoods, well, no luck again. I am also shocked at their significantly lower share of organic inventory compared to "conventional" products. They seem to only carry foods that your parents will eat.

It's actually very sad for me to see them becoming a more expensive outlet for the same brands that Albertson's (mind you, not even Safeway) feature. I want them to compete well, sourcing from niche suppliers for exotic foods that Trader Joe's or Wholefood's, or local grocer Imahara doesn't carry, so we shoppers will have a lot more choices. Unfortunately based on the much lighter traffic that I saw recently at Andronico's, I believe that they will have to shape up aggressively, or perish.

PS. I still like their service, nice staff.

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3

HIPCAL-Pete C.

Los Altos, CA

I recently moved here from Maine and went to Andronico's the night I got here. I was just buying a few things to get me through the night, one of those things being a giant jug of gin, naturally. I went up to the register that had the cutest bagging girl (apparently needing to show off my raging alcoholism) and laid down my tub of gin.

When asked for ID, i hand the 40 year old "so happy to be a checkout guy at Andronicos" guy my valid State of Maine drivers license. He asked if I had any other ID, I hand him my school ID and other things that show that I really am from Maine. This conundrum requires a manager. When the manager arrives, the checkout guy tells him that "this kid doesn't have ID." I interject to angrily inform him that I do have vaild Maine ID that clearly shows that I am 21 years of age and that I should be able to take my sweet lady gin home with me.

As it was explained to me, no store in the entire state of California can except ANY ID other than that of California. Makes sense. The worst part was when my roommate tried to buy some vodka with his valid US Greencard but they wouldn't sell it to him because I was with him, and I was not over the age of 21. We left the store with nothing.

I had thought later on of the perfect course of action. I should have taken the bottle and smashed it on the ground in the checkout line. "Sir, you have to pay for that." "Sorry Andronico, in the state of California you have to be 21 years old to purchase alcohol."

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Elite '08

187

999

Rachel R.

Santa Clara, CA

I like Andronico's because they have some items you can't find elsewhere, like Serious Salsa (which the market bought), Wildwood soy milk, and Tillamook ice cream (my husband's favorite).  It is expensive, so buy your paper towels at Safeway, and visit Andronico's for imported salt, fresh produce, and a large selection of cheeses.

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4

2

David M.

Mountain View, CA

Best market in the area; quality food and a great atmosphere -- without the crowds or pretention of Whole Foods or the high prices of Draeger's.  Large enough to have all the products you need, but small enough that you can get to know the staff... great butchers, fish mongers, checkout people, and managers.

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Sarah D.

San Francisco, CA

Its all about the olive bar!

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