Whole Foods Market

Whole Foods is many things to many people but one thing i like about them is that they are quick to respond to issues with their Fresh Food area and in particular the pretty much built in waste in the huge deli area. The Deli case always looked fresh and filled: a very expensive proposition.
So WH's got rid of the entire area and went to a very select array of salads merchandised in self service refrigerated units as well as Hot Soups sold in hot wells, self service unit.
My educated guess is that WH's produces these soups in a commissary, bags them and send them into the stores for reheating. In any event there are several that are 5 Star: Split Pea, Chicken Soups, all varieties.
The recipes from which these soups are produced are first rate as all that i have tasted are at least flavorful and at most, delicious.
There is also now a no additive, no nitrite, sliced to order meat section. But buyer beware: these items have a limited shelf life in that the lack of preservatives limits the time you can keep it in your refer before it "goes." So buy accordingly.
What you get is deli meats with tons of flavor (as in the Mortadella or Bologna i bought) which have to be utilized within a few days.
Getting back to soups: the Split Pea is a favorite of mine chock full of green peas, onions, garlic with notes of lemon, celery and carrots.
The Chicken based soups are heavy with real chicken meat flavors, big chopped veggies and pieces of mostly thigh meat which has a lot more flavor than does breast.
Of course i will be back here all winter (or at least what we call "winter") and i look forward to the chilled salads for spring and summer.
Cheers!

Whole Foods is now owned and operated by Amazon. This is not a brand new situation as the changeover happened about 3 years ago, maybe?
Other than Amazon going head and heart first into the grocery business via their newish concept, Amazon mini grocery stores which i reviewed a few months ago (north hollywood).
I have been doing a lot of business with Amazon/ Whole Foods by way of their delivery service: Amazon Fresh which pretty much has most everything that you could want and based on my being an Amazon Prime member and ordering a certain level delivery is free.
But today i was actually in my local Whole Foods store because this store has become a designated return depot for items bought on Amazon.
Since i was here i decided to buy a cuppa joe: their patented jet fuel brew, French Roast. This coffee is brewed with a high level of ground , excellent quality French Roast coffee and tastes of oranges, blueberries and (and i know this is odd) Sage and Rosemary. Now this is how every place in so/cal should brew their coffee!
i also noticed that their specialty pastry items are now being produced by Tartine a very good local French bakery. I also spied what looked like a French style croissant. yes, a Croissant.
So i bought a large cuppa jet fuel and a croissant which i took home and re-heated and now this product becomes another contender in the French croissant in the NE-LA Croissant derby. How does it fare?
Well, being from Tartine, this croissant fares very very well. It is crispy on the outside, soft, elastic and big time buttery over all. A real French croissant eats simply though i know from experience it is a major piece of work to produce. This product is slightly smaller than that of Portos and Miracle Bakery: meaning that the dough ball from which it is formed weighs less.
At $1.79 it is also a big bargain. So this means a 3 way tie now: Miracle Bakery, Portos and now Tartine/Whole Foods.
Cheers!their

I am just beginning to notice what Amazon's ownership is doing to Whole Foods...and i'm liking it.
first of all i might be prejudiced in that i have loved Ammy since 1997 when everyone thought that they would never succeed. Now look at them!
i remember a time when i could copy Jeff Bezos on my emails about Amazon problems and he would respond himself.
Now my Glendale Whole Foods has gone through a big change in product selection and more importantly a product retail lowering.
I had just left a lunch for a very good friend's birthday.Therefore, I came in here altered and you know how much i love shopping with a buzz on.
One of things i loved was the brewed coffee: the french roast in particular. THIS is the way a cup of brewed should taste! It was strong, forceful with righteously cherry and pecan-ish flavors. This cup was a pow!
I also shopped the bakery section and purchased a first rate boule of Pumpernickel which is malty with the deep, maple flavors of real rye flours.
I am still eating off of this boule: eating it sliced and toasted or raw with a poached egg on top. Many are a bit scared of any rye as it isn't something they have grown up with But not me. Moms loved a good rye loaf.Very Good Stuff!
Prices overall have been lowered especially in the meat section which i will shop soon.
I will be back!

Whole Foods has been doing it's thing here on the corner of Central Avenue and California Street for several years.
Today it was time for me to enter the newly remodeled store with shiny porcelain floors ( a beautiful granitey metallic grey) and a total re-merchandising.
It is time for me to order my Thanksgiving Double Turkey Breast and since i had time to check out the "new" look of the store...i did.
It was also breakfast time and i had not had coffee yet and since it was tuesday i also hankered for something sweet to balance the 4 shots of espresso.
i bought two things along with ordering my Turkey Breast: an apple fritter-cinnamon roll and a loaf of the so called "French Recipe" Brioche loaf.
First the lady at the order ahead desk took my order with a bright smile and a genuine poz mood and a real desire to help. Since i am a freak for documents, i had a file from Thanksgiving 2018 and therefore knew exactly what i wanted to order. The lady with glimmering grey hair was pleasant and personable. She took my order, gave me my receipt and i was on my way to peruse the 'new" Glendale Whole Foods.
I did not make it much past the bakery department and picked up a couple of things the aforementioned cin-apple-roll and the Brioche loaf.
The roll was good, not great and swimming in sugar and needed a voltage increase of cinnamon and cardamom. a disappointment. I don't eat this type of pastry very often which made this one a bigger dissa.
The much bigger disappointment was the Brioche loaf. It was so sweet it was inedible. I know the packaging reads "French Recipe" and i guess that means sweet but no Brioche that i have ever had whether it be in France or in Hoboken, New York has been this sweet. Brioche should have enough structural integrity to be toasted or/and made into a sammy. This Brioche was so limp that it would have been decimated in a toaster and therefore unacceptable for a sammy,
I ended up dumping it as my neighbors dogs would not eat it. And canine Romper is a fool for sweets. It was not cheap either. 7 bucks? Sad.
On the other hand this store has never looked more beautiful and clean. The service has much improved and Whole Foods and now Amazon has continued the goovey policy of hiring so called alternative type youngins. But these Alts that have been properly trained and are now dead set to give you help and to be pleasant and personable.
Next time i will tour the whole store and report back.

This review is only about Whole Foods Holiday Order Table
With Thanksgiving sneaking up on us in 10 day (Yes, 10 days!) I knew that i had to order my turkey choice this year: a bone-in, skin on whole raw turkey breast free of antibiotics and additives. And where better than WF's to order it.
I called their Customer Service line via their website and got the scoop on what was available, cost, etc.
I went into the store today and right inside the north door was a table set up to take all sorts of Holiday orders and manned (womanned?) by a smiling and pleasant young woman, Irma.
Irma gave me all the pertinent information on the 2 choices available and helped me make a decision.
The main thing with which i was impressed is the fact that Whole Foods thought to even have a "Holiday Ordering Table." Having spent a number of years in the retail grocery business i know that this takes a lot of the pressure off the individual departments (Meat, Floral, Bakery, Deli). Just think about it: these departments are already going to be busy making sure their shelves are full all day and to have 100's of people asking questions about holiday specialties orders makes it very difficult to give good service. The Order table alleviates some of this i would think.
In any event, the ordering process today was quick and easy and Irma gave quick and pleasant service.

A market, as far as i am concerned, has to be judged by its exterior departments. and as such this Whole Foods is way above the norm. The Sushi kiosk, the fresh pizza, the cooked meats, the Salad bar, the sandwiches, the Bakery all attest to the quality of this Whole Foods. if there are a couple words to describe what makes these departments work is that the staff is concerned and shows care.
Believe me i have been to other, bigger, more glamorous WF's in which the exterior departments look a mess and saying that they had a busy day is no excuse. if their day was busy they should have been prepping and filling with fresh foods all day. i have never seen Glendale looking worn and tired.
Don't get me wrong everything is not always perfect in all of these departments but as a general rule a lot is right a lot of the time, Fresh Meats , Seafood and Produce are almost always top drawer. they age their own Beef for christs-sake which may not sound so revolutionary for those over 80 but for those of us under that..it is. though at over 20 bucks a pound you'd better know how to grill it. Spend the money and take a class on grilling or hire the grill cook from Musso Franks to cook it for you. a WF's aged steak WILL cost you that much.
yes: the general overall pricing is enough to choke a horse but just watch yourself! be careful and pay attention to what you are putting into your cart. Don't shop Whole Foods with blinders on! Shop Whole Foods with your eyes open and cognizant of what you are doing.
There are many treasures carried in all departments of Whole Foods and it is up to you to unearth them.
This Glendale unit as far as i have heard is the highest volume WF's in the area and i believe this as it it always seems to be busy.
I appreciate that WF's hires alternative people to work (beards, long hairs, multi/pan sexual, Moms back at work after raising their families) there and this does not bother me a bit. what does bother me is the sometimes below par service in a store which charges way above average for their stuff.
Have a beard down to your waist, dye your hair green but at these prices you better have your shit together service-wise because if you don't i am going to complain. Most people demand out of this world good service if they are being asked to shell out lots of dough for products.
Other than all that i love Whole Foods. i would just like to appreciate that Whole Foods loves me as well.