If you’ve ever read a blog post by me before, you know that I am from Buffalo, NY. Sure, I may live in Mississippi now, but I was born and raised a “Yankee”. This past week, I had the opportunity to head back home for a business trip and extend it for the weekend so I could visit with my family. I am fortunate to travel to many cities for work, but heading home is one of the best benefits of all! Especially since the food in Buffalo, NY is SO SO SO good!
I will sum up this past weekend in seven words: Wine, Chicken Wings, Wegmans, Gluten Free Beer… After this weekend, I am starting to wonder what else you could possibly need in life.
It started Friday night with an innocent trip to Wegmans. I mean, the store WAS right next to the place we intended to have dinner at, so a short trip wouldn’t hurt anybody. Plus my Mother in Law was visiting with me and she had never visited the greatness that is Wegmans before. Well, was she in for a surprise. In my younger days, Wegmans was the norm for me. It was the ONLY grocery store that I shopped at. It was friendly, “homey” and delicious; why would I need to visit anywhere but there?
Then I moved to Mississippi four years ago. Since then, I have experienced grocery shopping at Wal-Mart, the brightly light aisles of Kroger, and even Fresh Market. But none of those places compare to the shopping experience at Wegmans. With its chalk-board signs and home-like dim lighting, as soon as you walk through the doors you immediately feel welcome. Then, you head through the incredible fresh market area, with fresh fruits, vegetables, cheese and deli meat, as you make your way towards the Organic and Gluten Free section.
Now when I say “section”, I mean a Gluten Free section FIVE TIMES the size of the one at my local Kroger (at least). I mean so many options that you have NEVER EVEN HEARD OF to choose from. I mean gluten free mixes and pastas specially made by Wegmans at prices so LOW you’ll think you’re dreaming. (Gluten Free pasta for 1.29?!!! I was in Heaven!)
*sigh*
I was so overwhelmed that I had to walk both Gluten Free aisles and the frozen Gluten Free section three times before deciding to purchase items. When I did finally make a decision, I threw so many things in my basket that I started to worry about how I would get them all back to Mississippi. (Don’t worry, I had packed an extra duffel bag, just in case).
Frozen Gluten Free Foods – at least part of the section! Crazy!
And Wegmans even makes their own Gluten Free products including pasta, cake, brownie, cookie and cornbread mixes!
Wegmans Gluten Free Awesomeness
By the end of the trip, I had ended up with the following items: Glutino Strawberry Toaster Pastries (2 boxes), Sam Mills Corn-Based Gluten Free Pasta (3 boxes), Wegmans GF Sugar Cookie Mix, Wegmans GF Spaghetti Noodles (3 Packages), Wegmans GF Cornbread Mix, Crunchmaster Cheezy Crisps, Tonya’s GF Kitchen Original Soft Pretzels, Snyder’s Gluten Free Pretzels, Glutino Chocolate Covered Gluten Free Pretzels, Mi-Del GF Pie Crust, Glutenfreeda Granola Cereal/Snack, Glutino Cornbread Stuffing Mix, and Glutino GF Pretzels. Seriously – I packed ALL of that stuff and carried it back to Mississippi with me. That is how excited I was!
Heaven in a Basket
To make a long story short, if you live in a city with a Wegmans, I am now so jealous of you it is unbelievable. When I lived in Buffalo, I didn’t even realize what I was taking for granted before. Enjoy every shopping moment that you have in that incredible store!
For those of you who live in Mississippi, don’t worry – our day will come. Though I am not exactly holding my breath until then….
glutenfreegirlms 