Whole Foods Market – Minneapolis, MN

A group of my coworkers decided to take a field trip to check out Whole Foods. Some people in the office had never been there before, so we all decided to make the trek there for lunch. I had never eaten at the deli there before, so I figured it was worth a shot. DawgMan was along with and he tried talking me into grabbing a burger over at Burger Jones, but the rest of the group wanted the WHOLE Whole Foods experience.

The deli area has a really large mix of hot dishes (lots of Asian influences), cold salads, soups, a regular salad bar, and some other prepared dishes. The staffed deli section can make a variety of Asian dishes and a couple meat/pasta counter type areas. Everything looks fantastic at this place. I probably could have gotten full by walking around eating samples from the grocery section.

You pay by the oz at the deli area, which I always take as a challenge. I grabbed a to-go container and started putting food in it. Two different kinds of fried rice, some chicken satay, vegetarian egg roll, broccoli and pepper stir fry, some tempeh (which is trickery meat made out of fermented soybeans), and some vegetarian pot stickers. Pretty much a vegetarian lunch bowl (with a little chicken thrown in). Oh wait, I threw in a slice of turkey with gravy as well, since it was the only other meat.

I waited in line to pay in the “express line” and waited about 7-8 minutes. This seemed like a really long time to me, but I’m a pretty patient guy. When the guy rang up my food, I was shocked. I didn’t even pile the bowl FULL, and yet, my bill with a $1.39 drink cost me $20.11. Seriously for lunch. For that kind of money, I should have gotten a happy ending. On the plus side, the cashier had awesome facial hair, which I complimented and he, in turn, complimented mine. He was working some sweet chops and a handlebar mustache. Very cool.

After going outside to eat, I revealed how much I paid for my lunch and my coworkers were shocked and amazed. I think of the pay-by-weight thing as a challenge, but I had no idea it was going to cost me that much. I’m glad I held back on the food piling, because I hadn’t planned on it. I thought maybe like $10-12 – WRONG-O!!!

The food was delicious, however. I won’t complain at all about it. Even though most of the stuff was vegetarian, it had great flavor and crunch and smell. I would recommend the food to anyone who can afford to pay for it. I’m still shocked at how much it was. (And now that I’ve read reviews for Burger Jones, I wish we had done that. – Next time, DawgMan!)

Top 5 things about Whole Food deli
1. The food was REALLY good. Much beter than cafeteria food you get at most grocery delis
2. Sweet facial hair on the cashier. Yes, seriously, number 2 on the list
3. Tons of free samples in the aisles are like appetizers
4. Very friendly staff
5. Coworker field trips rule!

Bottom 5 things
1. Super expensive
2. Not a lot of meat on the deli portion
3. Lots of dirty hippies with cracker-dreds around
4. There was a dead mouse on the patio where we ate. Sadface
5. While eating, I was facing the Burger Jones sign… laughing at me…

www.wholefoods.com