It probably wasn’t the best timing on our part to visit the new Santa Rosa Whole Foods Market in Coddingtown…  It was late afternoon and we hadn’t eaten lunch yet, so that made everything in the store look twice as delicious. You’ll see by our shopping list that we ended up buying way too many carbs, but we had a great adventure!

At the entrance dozens of fragrant Christmas trees announced the season along with bins of colorful sweet cooking pumpkins, squashes and gourds.   The scent of flowers and winter fruits enticed us to explore further.  A half dozen Fuji apples called my name.

Inside the store there were elaborate pyramids of cascading produce.  Further on towards the back led to the fish monger and a beautiful selection of fresh organic meats and poultry.  I felt like I was entering a show of Broadway proportions as the lighting, sounds, smells set the stage, and the actions of the truly friendly and helpful staff came together to do their parts at every turn of every aisle.

The beer selection at the back of the store appears to have every micro-beer you’ve ever heard of and then some.  As you may have heard, you can get a beer at the Tap Room while waiting for other shoppers…or taking a lunch break. A group of determined customers sat contentedly at the bar sipping their brews overseen by a big screen TV on a sports channel.

At the Health and Beauty aisle I picked up some grapefruit deodorant that sounded interesting and a bar of sandalwood soap.  I passed over a really cute pink alpaca hat with multi-colored tassels; maybe someone will get that for me for Christmas?

By now we are really getting hungry and items from every corner of the store are calling out to assuage us.  Unfortunately, it was at exactly this moment that we turned down an aisle that can only be described as Heaven to me – think crunch, salt, oil, and sugar – the chip, cracker, and cookie department!  “…and it’s all so healthy too!”  I remarked as packages of Akmak, Rice Chips, Bunny Crackers, Lemon Scones, and Sesame Thins end up in the basket. (I did skip the peanut butter chocolate cookies).

By the time we make it to the Deli section where gorgeous deli meats, cheeses. sandwiches, and prepared foods of every sort and taste await us, we have added a jar of Bubbie’s pickles, a loaf of seeded pumpernickel, some naan bread, and a pound and a half of cooked Indian food-to-go including saag paneer, Tandoori chicken, potato and pea samosas, rice, and lentils!

This is a great place for lunch – or dinner for that matter!  Just load up your biodegradable to-go container with salad, chicken, turkey, stuffing, potatoes, vegetables, soup, gravy, etc. for $7.50 per pound.  All food cooked fresh and tasty on the premises!

We ended up eating our lunch leaning on our car in the parking lot under the clear sunny wintery Santa Rosa sky with a murder of crows perched on the light fixtures around us waiting for the remnants…. Beautiful day!

Whole Foods is located at the west end of the Coddingtown Shopping Center in Santa Rosa, CA in beautiful Sonoma County.  See you there!

Whole Foods
390 Coddingtown Mall
Santa Rosa, CA
(707) 542-7411