Do You Grocery?

In case you haven't noticed, I am passionate about food. Organic, locally grown, nutrient-rich and color-loaded nourishment. Obviously the best place to get such deliciousness is from your own garden/farm. Second choice: the farmer's market. My third choice has always been Whole Foods, but a few weeks back, my sister changed my mind.

Ever been to the Phoenix Public Market? It's like farmer's market...but in an air-conditioned building with a deli and wine bar! And from our first little visit, well, let's just say I spent a lot of money and they were very, very nice to us. :)

It's a cozy little place with a coffee bar just outside the doorway and all of the food and other products (you can get Tom's products and Braggs and other necessities) are either locally produced/grown, organic or both. And the best part? You don't have to get there at the crack of dawn for the best produce! That's right--strawberries will still be there even at noon!

Not to mention that the extremely helpful staff (they actually hand-carry by many, many bags out to the car for me!!! Should I repeat that? Hand-carry--and I never even asked!) is all local (obviously...) and make a point to get to know you and build relationships with you.

We used to spend our weekend going to the many various stores/farmer's markets around town to get all the good stuff we like, but now (besides a few necessities) we can get just about everything at one great store! And actually support farmers/growers/businesses right here in town. You can get milk (soy or dairy), meat (AZ raised and grass-fed), chicken, eggs, yogurt, cheese (so far only dairy and alternative, no goat yet), pasta, cereal, baby food, deodorant, floss, olive oil (from Queen Creek), produce (they carry a lot of Maya's Farm which is primo quality in my book) and more. Plus, they only offer in-season produce (that which the AZ land can produce at the moment), so it's significantly more trust-worthy than Whole Foods who import a lot from Chile and other cities/states/countries.

Basically, we're in love. If you're in the downtown area (we make the drive about once a week and find it completely worthwhile), stop in for lunch, wine, coffee, or your entire grocery list! It's a fun place to visit and extremely valuable endeavor to support.

(Photo credit: http://www.phoenixpublicmarket.com/)