I've Died and Gone to Whole Foods!

Today I went to the grand opening of the new 77,000+ square foot Whole Foods on Arroyo Parkway in Pasadena. Though a million other people decided to go around the same time I did, it's really hard to make 77,000 square feet of space feel crowded so it wasn't that bad (the parking lot, however, was full).

The first thing you notice about this place is its the absolute wealth of culinary offerings. I think I actually gasped out loud when I first walked in...it's just so...so...awesome. So, without further ado, here is my mega Whole Foods experience:

Since it was lunch time and I was famished, I decided to get some food from one of their overwhelming collection of food "booths" (more like little restaurant islands, really). I opted for the combo plate from their Mediterranean booth - hummus, chicken skewers, salad and Lavash bread. Very good. Fueled up and ready for my walk around this massive store, I headed off with camera in hand:

I couldn't really do their wine selection justice since I don't have a camera capable of taking panoramic photos. But just check out what I did manage to capture. It's a wine lover's haven, let me tell you. Wines from California, France, Italy, Chile, Spain, etc. etc - the list goes on and on.

Perfect, clean, beautiful, colorful vegetables and fruits fill their GINORMOUS produce section. I imagine you could find just about any vegetable in existence here at WF. Just in this shot alone (which captures about 1/10th of the produce section) we've got Japanese and Italian eggplants, as well as bitter melon and three kinds of zucchini and peppers.

This is the much-anticipated wine and tapas bar. It's small, but actually really nice. "Inside" (meaning a section separated from the store by shelves of wine) the place you'll find bar seating as well as a couple of couches and cozy chairs and coffee tables. I didn't want to take a photo since there were people occupying those cozy chairs and I wasn't in a paparazzo mood. I noticed people had little plates of cheese and smoked meats with their glasses of wine. I can't wait to try it.

The sushi booth offers fresh, hand cut sushi and sashimi as well as pre-packaged sushi if you're on the run. They even have a nice, marble counter top/bar where you can sit and enjoy your food. And from the looks of it, most of the people behind the counter are Japanese (I heard them speaking Japanese and yes, I know, not all Asian people look the same - bah).

This is a selection of fancy meat. Check out that strange beef/cheese/asparagus roll up there on the top left. Pretty, though not really that practical in my book. Still, the array of specialty prepared-but-raw meat is quite impressive. Great for dinner parties or last-minute gatherings.

The cosmetic/vitamin section of this Whole Foods is HUGE. It takes up about 1/4 of the first floor (did I mention this is a two-story Whole Foods with an escalator and everything?). Here's a shot of their bulk soaps. Not bad at $1.29 an ounce, and probably the cheapest thing in the entire store.

Sausages!!! These are all fresh made and look absolutely divine. They have everything from chicken to beef to pork, with all kinds of flavors. Vegetarians: Look away!

These sandwich-makin' dudes were hard at work creating all kinds of filling and tempting sandies. I saw caramelized onions, roasted turkey, smoked mozzarella and all kinds of other ingredients for the perfect sandwich. BTW, all the gourmet food stands are upstairs, and with so many to choose from, it's really tough to decide what to get. Going to this Whole Foods on an empty stomach might not be such a great idea.

Along with their wide selection of wines, this Whole Foods has a ton of great sakes as well. This is just one of two, large shelves of sake. I really need a panoramic camera...

Next to the Mediterranean place is the wood-fired pizza booth. There's actually a wood fire pit that cooks up these long and luscious pizzas in just minutes. See what I mean about having to decide what you want to eat for lunch? It's like going through a 20-page menu, but it's all animated and alive and tempting you right in front of your face. Torture!

Oooooooooh, pastries, how I love thee. Whole Foods actually knows how to make good crossaints (crispy on the outside, tender on the inside) so I imagine they know what they're doing with all the other bready concoctions you see here. They certainly LOOK great.

I think this is my favorite part of the new Whole Foods. HOT NUTS. Yup, you heard right. This booth has about 30 different kinds of nuts - spiced, candied, maple, garlic - and they are served hot. I sampled some cinnamon candied pecans and they were warm and lovely and I really did go into a state of hypnotic nutty bliss for a few seconds eating them.

My brother-in-law would love this section: fresh cut fruit in ready-to-go containers. Now I realize that all Whole Foods has this, but there is way more selection at this one. Blueberries, mangos, pineapples, strawberries, watermelon, honeydew...

This fresh whole fish section is about 3 times the size of the one at the Whole Foods I normally go to. Check out the size of some of these...amazing. And of course they'll gut, scale and fillet anything you want.

OK, this is just too much: A dessert bar, where you can load up for a mere $7.40 per pound. Not cheap, but really - how much rice pudding, carrot cake, chocolate cake, apple cobbler, bread pudding and warm brownies can one eat? Wait, don't answer that.

As if the all-you-can-eat dessert bar wasn't enough, this Whole Foods also has a gourmet chocolate shop complete with a huge chocolate fountain (not pictured) and homemade truffles. I'm getting a toothache just looking at this photo.

This is my favorite section of the new Whole Foods (and if I've already said that about another section, I changed my mind just now). Look at all this glorious cheese! Sheep, cow, goat; bleu, Stilton, Gorgonzola; soft, medium, hard - it's all there, just waiting to be eaten. Today's free samples included a wonderful roasted garlic butter (yes, butter!) and an amazing Stilton laced with walnuts and honey.

More sweets! The Whole Foods bakery has fresh-baked cakes, cupcakes, cookies, brownies and whatever else your little heart desires. They also have a wide array of gluten-free goodies in the refrigerator case. Speaking of gluten-free, I noticed that in many sections of the store, there are special subsections specifically for gluten-free foods.

Look how pretty these brand-spankin' new bulk bins look. It's actually overwhelming trying to go through all of these...just...too...many...choices.

And last but not least, my second favorite section - the fresh baked bread. I could stand here all day and inhale the scent of warm, yeasty bread.

All in all, I am thrilled beyond belief that I live only blocks away from this dreamland o' food goodness. Though I won't be buying all my groceries here (they don't call it "Whole Paycheck" for nothin'), I will definitely come here for my specialty foods and the occasional lunch/dinner. I think it's a great addition to Pasadena, and judging from the number of employees I saw today (including a ton of hot guys - you heard it here first!), I'm guessing this Whole Foods has brought a fair number of jobs to the area.