The supermarket is quite nice, it sort of reminds me of Whole Foods in North Vancouver. The deli has a great selection, especially the olives. I tried a grilled sandwich which was delicious.
They don't have a big produce section but they more then make up for it with their good selection of olive oils, cheeses, fine meats, kitchen supplies, breads from Pane Formaggio and of course pastas. Definitely worth checking out. I will be coming back for their cheeses and deli items.
Grocery shopping
I do most of my veggie shopping at Kin's. (you should go on the website just to hear the cheesy music..) Aside from the price of the avocados, I find their prices good and the produce to be good quality and selection. Plus they always have specials going on, and if you look in some of the free local papers like the Courier, they often have coupons for free stuff, or purchase a minimum of $5 and get a free bag of onions. Depending on the location you go to, they have a good selection of organic items (Park Royal location=good, Champlain Mall=not so good). I have two complaints about Kin's. The music they play in the stores, the other day I heard "My Heart will go on" from the Titanic but done music box style. Also, if the line up is long, they open up a second cash register, but they don't ask for the next in line. They just serve whoever runs up there the fastest. And if you ever go to the Champlain mall location, some of their customers know that, so as soon as they see a long line up, they sort of hang around the other register knowing they'll open it up. Annoying!
I'm super picky and selective when it comes to food shopping. I'm the person in the supermarket aisles inspecting a bunch of cans.. That being said, I think I can offer a few tips on buying produce:
-For most fruits, eg orange, take turns holding a few of the same sized oranges, and buy the heaviest one.
-Try to pick the medium sized, or medium to small sized fruits. Bigger does not necessarily equal better.
-People like to squeeze to find produce that yields to slight pressure, but after several people are squeezing the produce, it's most likely to get soft anyways, so this is not always a good test.
-Fruits from afar have to travel so much further so it's been picked way before they are ripe. Melons need to ripen on the vine, much like stone fruits. Once picked, they only get softer, not any sweeter. I like to buy local produce.
Sniff the stem end of the fruit. It should smell good. If no scent, it's probably dry.
-I love tomatoes, but it's hard to find good tomatoes in the supermarket. Unlike stone fruits, tomatoes ripen after picking, so when you bring them home, keep them in a paper bag to slow down the ripening. Also, don't store tomatoes in the fridge as it ruins the taste.
I try to buy organic, but sometimes, price is a factor, as is limited selection. And to be perfectly honest, I hardly eat any fruit..
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