Half or 3/4?

I love Whole Foods. Where else can I get prepared food that's actually made out of vegetables? And then arrange them as I desire? For example, last week, I layered organic baby spinach, carrot ginger salad, gingered beets, and lime-marinated tofu in a small brown cardboard box. It was delightful! Finally a meal I could eat without worrying what was in it, how much fat, how many calories, what kinds of processing, etc.  I could have actual iced tea that was just tea, chilled. No corn syrups, funny coloring, or fake flavoring. Not that I'm a crazy health nut, but my body really does prefer being treated well.

The problem is that I also sort of hate Whole Foods. Does it really need to be so frickin' expensive? Do they understand that just because their lasagna is made with organic cheese that it's still something likely to cause a coronary? Do they really think we're all a bunch of yoga-studying, liberal hipsters? In fact, here in South Florida, Whole Foods is one of the only places you'll see urban-style "hipsters." So actually, there's sort of a comfort in that. Also, I can buy mint-herb body wash (a la Aveda's ridiculously costly Rosemary Mint line) for about $3. Oh, right, we're talking about why I hate Whole Foods. It's so easy to blur the line.

Whole Foods in NYC was my kitchen and fully-stocked pantry. I didn't cook; I'd just stop at Whole Foods on my way home. In the mornings, they offered breakfast. At lunch time, they were a destination for me and my weary co-workers. And for dinner, well, no matter what neighborhood I was in, there was always one nearby. My ex-boyfriend lived around the corner from one, and refused to set foot inside it, preferring instead the cheap, scary steaks from the regular grocery store. I took my mother there once, and she nearly went ballistic over the complicated queuing system. But they had so many good things, plus my $8 dates. Again, the love/hate gets stirred together (like the Emergen-C I could get in a big box for $11... way cheaper than anywhere else).

The Whole Foods(es) of Chicago were adequate. The Gold Coast store was actually kind of small and crappy, given the neighborhood. In general, I preferred the one closest to my apartment, though simply because of geography. They did have organic sesame sticks and plenty of fresh fruit. But their prepared food selection sucked. All of the stores had pitiful prepared food sections. The salad bars were weak, and mostly their entrees were cleaned-up versions of traditional heavy midwestern fare: casseroles, cheesy pastas, and pot roasts. There was no hot Indian bar, so I had to content myself with vegetarian sushi wrapped in brown rice, which was pretty ok. Chicago was clearly a city where people cooked for themselves. And with winter being what it was, why wouldn't you?

The Whole Foods here is in Boca. Last week, it contained an odd mixture of senior citizens, yuppie business workers on their lunch breaks, polished housewives straight out of a Talbots catalog, college students just rolling out of bed, and some random beach-bound girls in designer sunglasses. I guess that's what bothers me the most... that this food should only be for the elite. That Gucci handbags and men in clothes so clearly expensive that they look like girls would be the norm. Why did my tiny cube of tofu and gingered vegetables need to cost $8?

Why can't everyone have access to food that is good for them? I love an Egg McMuffin as much as the next person, but I eat them because they're a special treat (great for hangovers), not because it's all I can get. It doesn't seem right, and if Whole Foods were actually so concerned about the planet, maybe they would want to do something to ensure that ALL of its inhabitants had access to quality produce and hormone-free dairy.