My Favorite Grocery Stores in 2023 (Part One)

Here’s the thing that you may or may not know about me.

I love grocery stores.

I didn’t ALWAYS.

I hated grocery shopping as a kid. HATED. (Granted, it was the 70s and 80s - things weren’t particularly exciting.)

I liked it well enough in college. When I moved off campus and off the meal plan, going to the grocery store gave me the feeling of being a grown up - I’d go with a list and a few coupons and buy the food I wanted to eat and I’d figure out how to cook and I started experimenting with vegetarianism and with recipes and, hey, not so bad.

And then somewhere in adulthood I just….started to love it. I can’t really explain why except that there’s SO much potential at a grocery store. Nothing costs too terribly much, I can scratch the shopping itch without much guilt because “I’m going to eat it,” I love flavor and spices, I’m a vegetarian (almost 30 years now!) who loves to try new veg*n/plant-based products, and I love marketing - which ties it all together.

I’m not a loyal-to-one-store kinda gal. I spread my shopping around - I have yet to find ONE store that gives me everything I need and I also am frugal so I’m often chasing the best price of “hey this thing is on sale in this place - we should go get it.”

When I started making this list, it got long - so I split it.

Part One is my SUPER FAVORITE STORES - and when I was done writing, I realized that most of them are stores I don’t go to as often as I wish I could.

In order from favorite to meh……….

1. ALWAYS AND FOREVER WEGMANS. (NO APOSTROPHE! NO APOSTROPHE!) I fell in love with my beloved Weggies in the early 90s when I was in college in Upstate New York and the store was a literal DESTINATION. It was huge! It had everything! It had restaurants INSIDE! It was different from anything I’d ever seen before and I LOVED IT. Today, I don’t live near a Wegmans at ALL - until last year, I hadn’t even been INSIDE a Wegmans in almost 30 years (I moved from MA to GA RIGHT before Weggies opened in MA, sadly) but I finally got to one in another state on a road trip. I planned ahead, I brought a cooler (as did my similarly obsessed friend), and I bought ALL the things. Of note? The cannoli dip, which is simply not available anywhere else (before you say it, the Trader Joe’s version is a) different and b) not vegetarian - it has gelatin in it - so hush). Also TOO MUCH seltzer in so many flavors. Also vegan “cold cuts” that are NOT in any store near me. All these years later, with me being afraid it just wouldn’t live up to expectations, it’s still my favorite. I wish I could shop there all the time. I would if I could. I’ve heard people say “it’s expensive” and “it’s crowded” and you know what? YOU ARE LUCKY TO KNOW THAT IT IS EXPENSIVE AND CROWDED. I WISH I HAD SUCH COMPLAINTS. Weggies forever.

2. Trader Joe’s. I say it’s like Disney for me. I don’t get there nearly often enough but I get there….enough. I’ve been a TJs shopper since the 90s - I have my favorite products and my long-missed products (the best pickled garlic? I miss you so much, discontinued jar). I follow along with various bloggers, Instagrammers, and Facebook pages (well, just one now - most of those are annoying) and I love going and spending WAY too much money on VERY delicious things that I just cannot get anywhere else. I’ll write about the specifics another time because THERE ARE MANY.

3. Buford Highway Farmers Market aka BuHiFM. It’s like…..the most amazing international market ever. The most amazing fresh produce. The incredible spices. The fresh Mexican bakery (bolillos- that make a fantastic banh mi by the way - and conchas and HOT FRESH TORTILLAS and…and….). The Russian/Eastern European aisles (those mini cheesecakes tho). The Asian section that has at LEAST one aisle devoted to a different country. The frozen goods. The vegan goodies. The fresh made-in-house tofu (silken AND firm). Reasonably priced rather than boutiquey. I once spent 3 hours in it, exploring EVERY corner, and I want to do that again, but give me 20 minutes and I’ll still fill my basket without a problem.

4. Super HMart. I wrote about this last week so you already have a lot of details. BuHiFM and Super HMart overlap on some things, but there are things that ONLY Super HMart has just like there are things that only BuHiFM has. And that HOUSEWARES SECTION. All the containers and utensils and little dishes and things. And the snacks! And the drinks! And the fresh stuff!

5. Costco. So here’s the thing. I haven’t had a Costco membership in several years because the closest Costcos are just a bit too far to be worth it. But I HAVE had a membership in the past and these days I tag along with friends (one in particular but I will basically go with anyone). Rumor has it a Costco is opening closer by and a certain husband has agreed that if that comes to pass, we’ll re-up our membership. Can I get out of Costco spending less than $200? Not really. Do I find good deals and delicious things? Yep. What I ALWAYS buy there: Organic olive oil and contact lens solution. Also air filters. Also sometimes I buy stupid shit there. And?

[TO BE CONTINUED!]

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