————————————————————————————————————
This was originally posted on March 5, 2009. In celebration of HilaryTopper.com’s fifth anniversary, this post is a re-post from HilaryTopper.com. Please be sure to comment to be eligible to win a prize pack at the end of the month! Thanks for reading!
————————————————————————————————————
Have you ever heard of a Supermarket that is also a fancy restaurant, a chic cafe and a cooking school? If you’ve ever been to Upstate New York, then you know about Wegman’s!
Wegman’s is one of the most amazing supermarkets I have ever seen. The produce department is as big as a city block. Between the meat, the fish and the poultry, I have never seen such fresh proteins! They have a whole section for organic foods, a huge cheese section and even a Godiva area. I have never been impressed with a food store, but Wegman’s blew me away!
When I was up in HJMT’s Rochester office, Lisa Gordon, her husband and I decided to take a tour around Wegman’s. After that, we decided to eat in “Tastings,” Wegman’s “fancy” restaurant.
At Tastings, Lisa had sushi, Gordon, her husband, had short ribs and I had “Tuna, Tuna, Tuna.” After we finished our meals, which by the way were delicious, I asked Jen, our waitress, if we could meet the chef. She was more than happy to introduce us to the chefs and to tour the kitchen.”
Jen explained to us that the restaurant features all the food sold at Wegman’s and that it was originally supposed to offer patrons an opportunity to learn new recipes for the products.
After dinner, we had dessert. Gordon had the apple turnover, Lisa had the chocolate tart and I had a selection of three cheeses with a nice glass of port. Wow, it was wonderful!
Why can’t Wegman’s come down state???
Hilary, I’m so glad you wrote about Wegmans! During the 4 years that our daughter, Rebecca, was a student at U. of Rochester, Wegman’s was our favorite stop, where she stocked up on everything and we enjoyed the superb layout, ambience and selections they had. What they didn’t have was the uppity attitude of some of the more upscale specialty stores that you find, say, in Manhattan, and Wegmans prices are more than fair. Once even, the GM of the store stopped us in the aisle and asked whether we were able to find what we were looking for. When did that ever happen at a chain supermarket downstate? They are expanding … new stores will be in Montvale, NJ, and in MD, PA, VA … but I don’t see downstate NY on the list.
I forgot to add: Congratulations, Hilary, on your 5th anniversary as a blogger extraordinaire!
Thanks Vivian!