Kate B wrote:

> Maybe it's just me but this makes me more than a little bit angry. Whole
> Foods is known to be expensive but to pay almost 10 times the price as
> charged only a mile away for an equal product reeks! Reeks of precisely
> *what* I am not sure ;-). Not price gouging but more like a subtle "hope
> you won't notice" kind of mentality that seems incongruous in light of their
> "natural" and "organic" and "protect the consumer" persona.
>
> I like a lot of things about Whole Foods but I am definitely *not* going to
> assume that I am getting a *slightly* elevated or reasonable price for what
> I buy. I tend to notice things like price per pound when buying items like
> beef, seafood, poultry, cheese and vegetables. I am not always so diligent
> when buying things like spices or chiles.
>
> When I buy at a high end market, for example, at Fox and Obel in Chicago, I
> know that I will pay a lot extra for their beef. It's prime Black Angus
> that is dry aged for 3 to 4 weeks on the premises. You have to calculate
> the meat shrinkage from dry aging, costs of doing same etc. to determine if
> the flavor differential is worth it for you. While expensive I am willing
> to pay for it. Knowing that I have to pay more for generic Whole Foods
> ancho chiles per pound than scrumptious Fox & Obel dry aged prime rib
> flummoxes me.
>
> OTOH: I have learned that you pay for the convenience of doing all your
> shopping at just one store/market. I accept that as a cost of convenience -
> but only to a point. I love the cheeses at Fox & Obel but nine times out of
> ten I am willing to drive to Marcy St. Market (inside Sam's) to get equal
> (sometimes better) and almost always cheaper (sometimes *much* cheaper)
> cheeses. I will not buy any olive oil at F & E as their prices greatly
> exceed prices at Marcy St. Market ... the list goes on.
>
> Sometimes it seems as if there is no rhyme or reason to pricing philosophies
> at many stores other than "whatever we can get away with". The only defense
> is careful watchfulness.


Kate, I hear ya. I went to that very Whole Foods you mentioned once
and I had to laugh at the prices. I guess with increasing
gentrification, dumb yuppies will pay those prices - but not me.
Ethnic stuff I usually buy on Argyle St. (Asian) or on Devon Ave.
(Middle East/South Asian/Kosher). Last year the Mexican supermercardo
in my nabe (the one that was right by the Sheridan L stop) closed - to
be replaced by ugly yuppie condos, natcherly :-|

The cheapest Mexican ingredients can be found at the Maxwell St.
Market, but then you have to get up at dawn on Sunday to hike down
there (I don't have a car, so...). Pilsen is a good place, too, to
shop for Mexican stuff.

There's a reason we refer to Whole Foods as "Whole Paycheck"....

--
Best
Greg in East Lakeview