Why I Want Wegmans in Columbia

The Wegmans planned for Columbia is not going to change your life, but it certainly will change the way that Mrs. HowChow and I shop for food.

If you want an update on the Howard County Wegmans

construction, click here for Wegmans news. If you want to hear someone hate the supermarket, talk to my sister-in-law who says that it's too big, too expensive and just not what she needs.

But I'm here as a fan of Danny (as my aunt in Syracuse refers to the chain's president), and I'd bring a shovel to Snowden River Parkway if they'd let me help dig the foundation. For now, my Wegmans visits are limited to detours on visits to Fairfax or long drives up to the Hunt Valley store north of Baltimore. They're fun, but that's a big shopping trip, not a regular place to pick up snacks.

I love Wegmans because it democratizes great food. For a moment, ignore the aisles and aisles of packaged goods where Wegmans sells everything from every national brand. (In the way that Bloom sells a few sizes of each item, Wegmans sells every size and every flavor so there are miles of crackers.) I'd love Wegmans for just the fresh side of the store where they sell vegetables, cheeses, olives, and the long row of meats, fish and bakery.

• High-medium-and-low. The beauty of Wegmans is that it sells on several levels -- exotic, expensive items; an interesting, but affordable middle ground; and good-quality basics. Take the cheese as an example. At the high, Wegmans sells ridiculous little buttons that cost more than $20 a pound. They live in a special refrigerator along with bries covered by layers of fruits and nuts. If that's too much, Wegmans sells you that fruit and nut concoction. Buy your own brie and top it yourself. Serve with a stilton that costs the same but tastes better than Harris Teeter's and some Spanish sheep's cheese that one of the employees will let you sample. And, then, when you need cheddar for nachos, there is a case with blocks of basics. Same price as Giant, but more than just the Cabot brand.

• Interesting items at affordable prices. That selection runs through everything -- the deli, the vegetables, the olives. Oh, the cerignola olives. Large green olives with an almost-buttery flavor. That is the middle ground. They're priced like the Bloom olive bar, but they're this unique, delicious item that I can't find anywhere else. That goes double in the produce aisle. Like the H Mart, Wegmans offers rows of varieties when fruits are in season -- five kinds of pears, 10 kinds of apples. Better than the H Mart, they often have both organic and regular varieties. They're not buffed like Whole Foods. They're sitting ready for you to choose and discover. On our last visit, Mrs. HowChow picked up kohlrabi. I'd never cooked it before, but the price was reasonable enough that I could take a chance and explore.

• Semi-prepared foods. The irony is that Wegmans might be even better for people who cook less than I do. Wegmans makes things easy. The meat and fish departments sell dozens of rotating variety of ready-to-go entrees. Chicken encrusted with nuts. Fish seasoned and ready to bake. Those are alternatives to takeout, and Mrs. HowChow would love to pick up some fish and a great baguette on the way home from the office. She also loved the Wegmans menus. The stores creates a little station, serves you a dish, and puts all the ingredients within reach. One night, we tasted pork loin and walked out with pork, a package of pre-cut squash and a very special bottle of lavender honey. That was fun for Mrs. HowChow, who rarely orders pork and certainly doesn't pile cookbooks on her night table.

On top of the fresh items, Wegmans sells all kinds of exotic packaged foods. Next to the cheeses are just shelves of products from England, Japan, Latin America, etc. There are organics like Whole Foods. There are low-cost grains and dried fruits like Trader Joe's. Once, we stumbled on an absolutely delicious smoothie mix, and Mrs. HowChow has bemoaned every visit since because we never found it again. All the choices -- and the affordable choices --make shopping fun because there is something new or unusual in almost every aisle.

Ironically, I'm not a huge fan of the prepared food that is a huge part of the Wegmans reputation. The subs are okay, but I wouldn't drive there just for dinner. The pizza and the "Chinese bar" are just your basic takeout food. You will do far better if you just drive down Snowden to An Loi or House of India.

(UPDATE: I have announced when *I'm* going to Wegmans:  2/14/2011.  Click that link.  Join the Facebook group.  We'll either be shopping on Valentine's Day 2011 or helping them build the store.)

The Columbia Wegmans is planned for Snowden River Parkway across from Apple Ford. That is just south of Rte 175. Last I checked, the Wegmans site listed new stores opening through 2010 and described the Columbia store as "to be determined."

This is part of the "What I Learned" series of posts. They're organized in rings. See below to continue on the ring of ideas about food in Howard County. Or click to switch to the posts about different cuisines or posts about shopping.

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