There is so much to say about this place that I don't even know where to begin. I remember when the new Whole Foods on Sixth and Lamar opened in March of 2005. There was a lot of hubbub about it; it was deemed a tourist destination because it contained so much in one building. The first time I went there, I thought people were going to fight over my parking space as I was leaving because it was so crowded. Fortunately, that was the only time I've experienced parking lot rage while there.
This place has pretty much everything: your typical groceries (canned goods, cereals, etc.), an awesome produce section, a meat section (which I wouldn't know much about), a section with things for your home (like sheets, fancy soap, cleaning products, etc.), clothing, skin care products, vitamins, bulk section, bakery, coffee and tea bar, gelato and sorbet bar, a raw foods bar, noodle bar, refrigerated case containing food made in the store, cheese bar, olive bar, chocolate bar, sandwich bar, sushi bar, frozen foods section, a section with ready-to-eat packaged foods, and my favorite, the salad and hot food bars.
Whenever I go to Whole Foods to eat, I usually opt for the salad/hot food bars. They use fresh veggies, some of which are organic, and have really good vegan dressings. Be sure to top your salad with marinated tofu. The hot food bar usually features a regional cuisine, my favorite region being India. I'm not Indian and have not had much Indian food in my life, so I can't say whether it tastes authentic, but I can say that it is yummy. I like to get the samosas--triangle shaped pastries filled with potatoes, peas, and spices. One of the bars contains cold pasta salads. Don't miss the Asian Noodle Salad, marinated sweet potatoes, quinoa salad, or the roasted edamame.
I'm a huge bread fan and find it hard to have a salad without a roll. The bakery has a vast selection of breads baked in the store. My favorites are the ciabatta rolls and the seeduction rolls, which contain a lot of seeds and is slightly sweet. While you're back there, check out the refrigerated dessert section and just try to resist the vegan raspberry chocolate cake or the vegan chocolate parfait.
If you are successful resisting the dessert section, you still have one more obstacle: the gelato bar. I've only had the sorbet (gelato isn't vegan), and it is oh so good. The vegan chocolate sorbet is out of this world. It even has bits of chocolate in it, so it's an ultra-chocolatey experience. They make other flavors, but how can I say no to chocolate?
Need caffeine? The coffee bar has you covered. You can get lattes, iced coffee, regular coffee, pretty much anything you would get at any other coffee house. And Whole Foods actually has good coffee, so there's no need to go to the Seatle's Best or the Starbucks across the street. The pastry case next to the coffee bar has bagels, scones, muffins, and the best darn vegan chocolate chip cookies I've ever had. I haven't tried the peanut butter cookies, but those are next.
My goal is to sample every vegan offering available, but it's hard to do because I know what I like, and there's only so much I can eat in one trip. Just visit Whole Foods and you'll know what I'm talking about.
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