Unsolicited Endorsement: Food bars of Whole Foods

I can admit that food means a lot to me and this isn’t the greedy girl in me talking.

There is one place in Greensboro that has found a place in my heart because it was able to offer me a dining experience that I didn’t expect: Whole Foods located in the Friendly Shopping Center. I guess you can say I didn’t expect to fall in love with a grocery store for its cooking ability because, well, it’s a grocery store.

At first I thought it was simply about the food that sometimes drew me to the grocery’s food bars five days in a row. Whether I hit them up late at 5:30 p.m., I never encountered accumulated crud in the food pans, dried out poultry, that weird film that coats stagnant food, or unkempt surfaces after a mad rush.

Unfortunately, the hot and cold bars at my neighborhood Harris Teeter don’t look as appealing.

My personal favorites at Whole Foods are their macaroni and cheese, pulled Southern pork, and jerk chicken. I also absolutely smash the salad bar every visit.

I keep my salads pretty basic — spring salad mix, feta cheese, shredded cheddar, mushrooms, and black olives — but the Whole Foods salad bar has a plethora of offerings. Roasted garlic, pulled chicken breast, locally farmed hard-boiled eggs, vegan chocolate mousse, Lebanese chickpea salad and rainbow brown rice salad are just a few of the bar’s choices.

On the hot side the food changes depending on the day. But whether you have the pleasure of walking in during sporting season and encounter the Spicy Ninja Squirrel wings or just mosey in during an average work week and happen across international-inspired cuisines, there is sure to be something on the bar to please your palate. It never ceases to amaze me how the food tastes as if I’ve walked into a restaurant full of professional chefs, or at the very least a kitchen manned by somebody’s grandma.

And of course, I love those green rubber bands used to keep the to-go packages secured. It is like getting a Happy Meal prize; another unexpected gifted that keeps on giving.

Thank you Whole Foods for delivery a superb dining experience.