May 17, 2006
By Maggie Heyn Richardson
Am I alone in thinking our new Whole Foods is already falling a little short? The culinary behemoth has been the greatest thing ever to hit the Baton Rouge food scene, satisfying those of us who have bellyached nonstop about the lack of organic produce, gourmet goods and decent bread in this town. But I must say – and this is coming from someone who drops untold sums and will continue to do so – I’ve been disappointed lately both in what I’ve found and how it tastes when I get it home.
I see brown lettuce amid the voluminous take-home salads. How cheap is it to replace lettuce? The lovely-looking, single serving desserts, like molten chocolate cake and the fresh fruit tart, have either been rubbery or off-tasting. Loads of the prepared salads and side dishes, including sesame noodles, broccoli crunch and edamame corn salad are sadly short on salt. Most achieve their flavor through raw onions, which I find a revolting short cut.
I used to complain bitterly that Calandro’s – another place where I drop untold sums – was horrible about not removing dated items. I’d get lured into buying wonton wrappers only to find that they’d expired six months earlier. But it’s happened to me at our foodie Taj Mahal, too. In recent weeks, bread, cookies and cheese with expired dates have all come home with me.
Believe me, there’s no one who wants to see this place succeed like I do. My personal happiness is riding on it. But if I’m going to spend up my children’s college funds because I’m searching for perfection, I want to actually find it.
Eat on.
Comments
Posted by megbansal on May 18 at 8:25 a.m.
I can't stop myself from doing a happy dance whenever I'm in the vicinity of "Whole foods" but of late I too have gone home with food that tasted a bit off. The buffet sure needs some TLC 'cause its the same old, same old - the rice is usually dried out from siting out for hours, the noodles are bland and so is the thai soup!! I love the tres leche they make and never go home without buying one . I've even been gifting them to friends but to my dismay the last few times they've been anything but moist.
Have I stopped going to Whole foods as a result- No!! I'm rooting for the guys so c'mon get your act together!!!
Posted by pmz on May 18 at 6:14 p.m.
Just read your piece in 225. Thanks for putting into words what I've been feeling! When are they ever going to change the items at the to-go buffet table? They've been the same for months! And what's there has no taste.
They never have cold bottled decaf tea in the refrigerated section though it's on their shelves. They have not had Republic of Tea's decaf Earl Grey or English Breakfast tea bags for months. You are right about their lettuce. I bought some this weekend and by Monday it was inedible.
They also have not had their dark chocolate truffles in months, either, and their raspberry ones have had off flavors so I no longer buy them. If you go on a Saturday afternoon and want a cannoli and there isn't a "special" person there to fill them, oh, well (what does it take to stuff a cannoli shell with riccota cheese?).
And their pizza? The first time I had one it was great. The second time so-so. The last time the cheese was gritty and there was no flavor. I'll stick with Deangelo's for pizza.
I also found out they do not open their express lines on Saturday till 11:30! I had three items and all the lines were people with full carts.
I still root for Whole Foods, though, because despite all, I truly love the place. But, I do wish they would pay more attention to details.
Posted by bvince3 on June 8 at 6:19 p.m.
I hope that in addition to posting comments here you've mentioned these issues to the management at Whole Foods...
Posted by spatuladiaries on July 20 at 2:46 p.m.
BVince3,
I did indeed. See management's response on June 6 post - "Red, White and Green."
MHR
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